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Past and present developments in bead foams and bead foaming technology

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DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2014.10.078

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 Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Polymer
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/polymer

Feature article

Past and present developments in polymer bead foams and bead

foaming technology
Daniel Raps a, 1, Nemat Hossieny b, 1, Chul B. Park b, *, Volker Altsta
€dt a, *
a
Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Bayreuth, Germany
b
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Polymer bead foaming technology has expanded the market for plastic foams by broadening their ap-
Received 30 July 2014 plications because of the breakthrough in the production of low-density foamed components with
Received in revised form complex geometrical structure. This review presents the recent advances in the processing, sintering
27 October 2014
behaviour and properties of bead foam products, which possess unique advantages such as excellent
Accepted 31 October 2014
Available online 7 November 2014
impact resistance, energy absorption, insulation, heat resistance, and flotation. The key features such as
the mechanical properties of the commercially available bead foams, namely expanded polystyrene (EPS)
and expanded polypropylene (EPP), are presented. Furthermore, recent developments of new types of
Keywords:
Bead foam
bead foams based on biopolymer such as expanded polylactide acid (EPLA) and engineering thermo-
Expanded polypropylene plastics such as expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (ETPU) and expanded poly(butylene tere-
Expandable polystyrene phthalate) (EPBT) are discussed.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The parts manufactured from polymer bead foams consist of
numerous foamed particles, which are welded with each other into
three dimensionally shaped products with densities in the range of
15e120 g/l. Generally, they show similar properties as extruded
foams of the same density range with regards to the mechanical
properties (as high energy adsorption at impact [1]), low thermal
conductivity and acoustical insulation [2]. Compared to extruded
foams, their main advantage is that extremely lightweight parts
with complex geometries and a high dimensional accuracy can be
produced [3]. In fact, bead foams are the only foams that combine a
relatively free choice of shape with a very low density below 2% of
the unfoamed polymer. Therefore, they are not only used in pack-
aging i.e. for electronic devices but also for insulation and furniture
[4]. Recently, bead foams have received a lot of attention in the
automotive industry due to their unique combination of low den-
sity and free shapeability making them interesting candidates for
parts, which have to withstand comparatively small stresses only,
* Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: daniel.raps@uni-bayreuth.de (D. Raps), nemat@mie.utoronto.ca
(N. Hossieny), park@mie.utoronto.ca (C.B. Park), altstaedt@uni-bayreuth.de
(V. Altst€
adt).
1
N. Hossieny and D. Raps contributed to this work equally.
e.g. in the interior of the automobile like sun visors [5]. Further-
more, bead foams are also gaining popularity for structural parts in
automotive industry, such as crash absorbers in bumpers, due to
their high specific energy absorption at impact [6]. The driving
force for the growing use of bead foams is weight-reduction, which
correlates directly to saving fuel and material.
Currently, bead foams made of three base-polymers are estab-
lished in the market as expanded/expandable beads, namely
expandable polystyrene (EPS), expanded polyethylene (EPE) and
expanded polypropylene (EPP) as well as blend-systems.
EPS is the oldest bead foam product, which was invented 1949.
In 2011, the worldwide demand of EPS has grown to 5.8 million tons
a year [7]. In the 1970s, EPE was released into the market, followed
by EPP in the early 1980s [8].
Since not every polymer can fulfil the requirements for bead
foaming like the ability for welding (also referred to as sintering),
the focus of scientific interest went in the direction of modification
of these less appropriate materials with the aim to make more and
more polymers suitable for bead foaming and thereby widening the
area of possible applications. For example, the development of bead
foams made of bio-based polymers like PLA is a major field of
development. Also an improvement in mechanical properties and
especially an enhanced thermal stability of beads foams is desired,
which is a critical requirement for the application in the motor
compartment of cars.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2014.10.078
0032-3861/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
6 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
To achieve the goal of using bead foams for the motor
compartment, the development of high-temperature steam-chest
moulding for bead foams made of technical thermoplastics is
crucial. Another trend goes towards more energy-efficient pro-
cessing of the beads by optimisation of the steam-chest moulding
process.
This article will focus mainly on the unique properties and
processing of EPS and EPP, but also present the efforts made with
different, alternative materials and give an overview of future
prospects of bead foaming technology. Besides the above-
mentioned commodity thermoplastic polymers (EPS and EPP),
there is a huge interest on the processing of bead foams and
products based on advanced polymers and biopolymers, which is
also presented in this review literature.
2. Basics of foaming
In order to understand the morphological development of bead
foams and their processing techniques, knowledge of the general
background of foaming is necessary. This is explained in many
publications [9,10], so the subject will be explained only briefly. The
foaming process can be divided into four steps:
1. Creation of a homogeneous polymer/gas mixture
2. Nucleation of cells
3. Cell growth
4. Cell stabilisation
The first step, the homogenisation of the polymer with the
blowing agent, is mainly determined by mass-transfer process.
During this step, the blowing agent has to diffuse into the melt or
solid bead and remain in the polymeregas solution. The well-
known second Fick's law can describe the temporal and spacial
dependency of this transport. Besides temperature, diffusion also
depends on pressure and gas-concentration in the polymer [11]. So,
it is time and space dependent. For diffusion, the free volume of the
polymer is important [12] as with increasing free volume, diffu-
sivity is increased. In contrast to diffusion, the solubility of the gas
in the polymer is highly dependent on pressure. Henry's law de-
scribes the pressure dependent concentration of a dissolved
blowing agent in a polymeric melt. The temperature dependency of
solubility is exponential in a negative manner: with higher tem-
perature solubility is reduced. Furthermore, high shear-rates
reduce the solubility of the blowing agent in the polymer melt
due the decrease in the free volume caused by the aligning polymer
chains [13].
The second step of the foaming process, nucleation of cells in the
polymer, is the creation of nuclei, which act as centre for cell
growth after a pressure drop for example in an under-water
pelletizing system or autoclave. A sudden pressure drop causes a
reduction of solubility (the melt becomes super-saturated) creating
a driving force to reduce the gas-content of the polymeregas-
mixture. Alternatively, a sudden drop in solubility can be achieved
by a temperature jump.
Nucleation can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous. The
latter mechanism dominates the nucleation process, if a solid sec-
ond phase exists (e.g. a particle or surface of the processing
equipment), gas will diffuse to micro-voids on this surface and form
a bubble.
According to nucleation theory, nucleation starts at clusters of
gas-molecules inside the melt [14]. Those voids act as nucleating
sites. The homogeneous nucleation rate is heavily dependent on the
pressure drop. A high pressure drop leads to a high nucleation rate.
From the material's side it is dependent on the surface tension
between polymer-melt and gas. Another nucleation process is
stress, both in elongation and shear [15,16]. Extensional stress
around growing cells is responsible for pressure fluctuations, which
reduces solubility and thereby increases super-saturation [17].
Shear introduces micro-voids and causes an elongation of already
existing bubbles. Those mechanisms lead to an increased nucle-
ation rate and higher cell densities.
After nucleation, cell growth takes place. During cell growth the
stored gas diffuses out of the melt to the nucleation sites. The
driving force behind this process is super-saturation caused by the
pressure drop or temperature increase. So, typical quantities
determining this process are temperature, which is influencing
diffusion, pressure drop rate and the actual pressure [17]. Another
important factor for foaming is the visco-elastic properties of the
melt, since the melt is subjected to elongational deformation dur-
ing bubble growth [18].
To obtain foams with a favourable cell size, cell size distribution
and thereby good properties (e.g. mechanical behaviour or thermal
transport properties), the morphology must be stabilised and cell
growth has to cease, otherwise cell coalescence or coarsening (large
cells grow at expense of small ones) takes place and deteriorates
the final foam morphology. The main factor for stabilisation is a
reduction of the polymer's temperature due to which the melt's
viscosity increases. As the blowing agent is diffusing out of the
polymer, the viscosity increases even further, because dissolved gas
in a polymer acts as a plasticising agent [19]. At large elongations
strain-hardening is important. It raises elongational viscosity above
the linear value due to the stretching of chains [20]. Due to strain
hardening thin sections of a cell wall are more difficult to extend
than thicker ones (thinner sections are subjected to higher strains
and thereby a higher degree of stretching of chains). So the thick
sections are extended preferentially, the so called self-healing effect
[21]. Strain-hardening can be induced by long chain branching
[22e25], the introduction of high-aspect-ratio nano-additives
[26e29] or by blends having a fibril morphology [30]. Effects
countering cell stabilisation are the creation of crevices by large and
fast deformations and rupture of cell walls [10].
3. Production of foamed beads
In principle, two approaches for the production of foamed bead
exist: a) the creation of expandable beads, which must be pre-
expanded and b) the production of already expanded beads. The
first approach can be applied for amorphous thermoplastic resins
only, like polystyrene, since only they retain a blowing agent in
solid state (temperature below TG). Expandable beads are polymer
granules in which a blowing agent (e.g. pentane) is trapped and the
impregnated polymer granules are expanded in a separate step (i.e.
pre-expansion step) before the actual welding-process (i.e. sinter-
ing). Efficient transportation of the unfoamed blowing agent
impregnated polymer material and control of density by the part-
manufacturer are main advantages compared to expanded beads
[3].
Expanded beads are produced from semi-crystalline thermo-
plastics, since the presence of crystalline domains prevents the
storage of a blowing agent inside the solid bead [31]. An overview
of the possible methods for producing polymer bead foams is given
in Fig. 1.
The most often used method to produce high quantities of
expandable beads of polystyrene is the suspension-polymerisation
with a blowing agent [32]. This process consists of two steps,
namely the polymerisation where the granules are formed and the
addition of pentane and/or other blowing agents, which diffuse into
the granules [33]. After this process the beads are sieved to get
several fractions with a narrow size distribution and coated with
antistatic agents to prevent agglomeration [32]. Problems arise
 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
Fig. 1. Methods for the production of expandable and expanded bead. The base-material is highlighted in green, the processing steps in blue and the final bead either in black for
expandable beads or red for already expanded products. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
with additivation, since the additives have to meet high re-
quirements. They are not allowed to change the polymerisation
process and the interfacial tension between water and styrene [34].
Another drawback is that not all polymers can be synthesised via
suspension-polymerisation.
Another method to produce expanded beads is the impregna-
tion (loading with blowing agent) of micro-granules, which contain
all required additives, with the blowing agent in an autoclave. This
is the main production process for EPP [35]. In a first impregnation
vessel the solid PP-beads are saturated with gas close to the melting
point of PP (i.e. 150  C). After the saturation step, the materials with
blowing agent are released to an expansion vessel [35]. Afterwards
the beads are washed to remove any residual suspension stabilizer,
which would inhibit proper welding of the beads [3]. For amor-
phous polymers, expandable beads can be produced as well, if the
saturation step takes place at temperature below the glass-
transition of the polymer-blowing agent-solution.
Alternatively, foam extrusion with under-water pelletizing al-
lows the production of expandable beads or already expanded beads
[36]. It is schematically shown on Fig. 2. In this method, gas-loaded
polymer melt is extruded through a hole-plate into a water-stream
and cut by rotating knifes. If the water-pressure is above the vapour
pressure of the blowing agent (for example 10.1 bar for pentane at
125  C), the blowing agent is trapped within the solidifying polymer
during cooling and expandable beads are produced. At low pressure,
the dissolved gas evaporates and forms bubbles resulting in
expanded beads. Advantages of this method are the exact dosing of
the blowing agent(s) into the melt, a continuous and flexible process
and the applicability of additive that cannot be used in suspension
polymerisation [32,35], which theoretically allows the processing of
Fig. 2. Schematic of under-water pelletisation as a following unit of a foam extrusion
system. For expandable beads the water pressure is set above the vapour pressure of
the blowing agent, for expanded it lies at atmospheric pressure.
7
any thermoplastic polymer with additives. Furthermore, the bead
size is rather uniform [32]. A challenge is the keeping of the required
temperature, since a deviation of only a few degrees might lead to
unusable products [35]. Variable process parameters are tempera-
ture and pressure of the water, the rotational speed of the knives and
the temperature of the perforated plate.
4. Principles of the moulding-process and machine design
Parts from bead foams are made in a complex, yet efficient
process, which allows the production of parts with a high
geometrical degree of freedom at very low density.
For the production of parts, foamed beads are welded together
in a steam-chest moulding machine. The surface of the beads is
molten or softened [35], using high pressure (i.e. high temperature)
steam, which leads to an inter-diffusion of polymer chains between
different beads resulting in a cohesion of the beads [37]. Good
cohesion between the beads and a low content of macro-voids
(marked with arrow in Fig. 3) are necessary to ensure favourable
mechanical properties [38,39].
4.1. Description of the steam-chest moulding process
The processing of foamed beads to a finished part is done in a
steam-chest-moulding machine in five steps. The steps are shown
on Fig. 4 and will be explained below.
Fig. 3. Macro-voids in bead foams at the intersection of several beads.
8 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19

Fig. 4. Bead foam processing in a steam-chest moulding machine: 1: closing and 2: filling the mould, 3: steaming, 4: cooling, 5: ejection of moulded part.

4.1.1. Closing of the mould
The first step in the steam-chest moulding cycle is the closing of
the mould.
4.1.2. Filling of the mould
Foamed beads are drawn by air pressure out of a container and
blown into the mould by an injector, which usually functions ac-
cording to the venturi-principle. This step is critical to achieve a
homogenous distribution of the beads inside the mould and even
considered to be the most important step [40].
4.1.3. Welding of the beads
After the filling process, the beads are fused together by hot
steam flowing through the mould. During steaming, the beads form
physical links due to inter-diffusion of chains of neighbouring
beads. To ensure a high quality of welding between the beads,
elevated temperatures and a sufficient steaming time are necessary
[38]. Furthermore, a high contact area and force between the beads
is also important to achieve good bonding between the beads. With
a low contact area, force is transferred only at a few points, which
leads to bad mechanical properties. On the other hand, if the con-
tact force is low, the beads might not touch sufficiently thus also
leading to bad welding.
For EPP, the steam has an inlet pressure between 7 and 8 bar
[41]. However, the pressure inside the mould is lower e pressures
between 2.5 and 4 bar are common [41]. Thus, a steam-
temperature up to 150  C is achieved corresponding to steam
pressure of 4 bar.
The steaming process consists of three steps, which are shown
on Fig. 5. At first, the air between the beads is purged out and the
mould is pre-heated. During this step, steam is flowing parallel to
the mould (Fig. 5 e 1) with all the valves open. In the second step,
the steam flows through the mould (Fig. 5 e 2), which is called
cross steaming. During this step, the steam supply and exit valves

Fig. 5. Steps for steaming bead foams: 1: purging, 2: cross-steam, 3: autoclave steaming.
 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
Fig. 6. a) Steam nozzles to allow the flow of steam from the steam chamber into the mould and b) their imprints on the final part (EPS).
opposite to each other are open. To ensure a temperature distri-
bution as homogeneous as possible and to ensure uniform quality
of welding throughout the entire part, the mould is steamed from
both sides. Finally, steam is guided into the steam chamber while
the exit valves are closed to improve surface quality by the creation
of a skin (autoclave steaming, Fig. 5 e 3) [42].
During steaming, the characteristic imprints of the steam noz-
zles on the part's surface are formed. The nozzles and exemplary
imprints are depicted in Fig. 6.
5. Cooling and stabilisation
For dimensional stability of the part, cooling of the mould is a
crucial step. If the part is ejected without cooling, further expansion
of the beads is possible, which leads to a deviation of the original
size. For cooling, the mould is sprayed with water until a temper-
ature of around 80  C is reached [40].
6. Ejection of the moulded part
After moulding and cooling, the part is finally ejected. Pressur-
ized air and mechanical ejectors are used to eject the part.
7. Post-processing of the final part
At low part density, shrinkage can be a major challenge. For
example EPP at a density of 22 g/l can have a shrinkage up to 2.8%
[43], which comes from the condensation of steam inside the beads
that leads to a lower pressure compared to the outer atmosphere.
For components requiring high dimensional accuracy, a tempering
step of the parts is necessary, e.g. at a temperature of 80  C [44]. In
this step, the original shape is restored, since air diffuses quickly
into the part at this elevated temperature thus reducing the vac-
uum inside the beads and leading to a volume expansion.
Furthermore, condensed water from the steaming step is removed
as well [3].
Fig. 7. Concept of the crack filling method.
9
7.1. Moulding technology
In contrast to EPS, which still contains a certain amount of
blowing agent, EPP-beads do not expand any further inside the
mould without special treatment [35]. Therefore, this matter must
be dealt with special processing techniques. In principle, the EPP
beads can be processed with two different moulding techniques,
namely the crack filling process and the pressure filling process
[41]. Both can be combined with the so-called pre-loading step
[45].
At first, the crack-filling method will be explained. Its concept is
shown on Fig. 7. With this method the beads are filled into a
compression-mould at ambient pressure. Before the steaming-
process, the mould is closed to its final dimensions, so that the
beads are compressed. With this technique very thin parts with a
thickness even below the bead thickness can be achieved. The
drawback of this method is an inhomogeneous density distribution
in the final part [40] and if the wall thickness is not constant, the
part shape is not optimal.
Alternatively, counter pressure filling method can be used,
which is depicted in Fig. 8. In this method, the beads are subjected
to an elevated air-pressure from a compressor during the filling
process, which leads to a compression of the beads [35]. After
filling, the pressure is released and the beads re-expand thus
reducing macro-porosity. According to the level of filling-pressure,
the compression of the beads and thereby the final density of the
part can be controlled. For EPP usually back-pressures between 1.5
and 3.5 bar are applied [44].
With the above-mentioned processing method only moderate
densities can be achieved. To lower the density the moulding
methods discussed earlier must be combined with pressure pre-
loading [45]. During the pressure pre-loading step, the beads are
subjected to pressurized hot air for several hours until the inside
pressure of the beads reaches equilibrium with the outside prior to
the actual moulding process. The trapped air leads to additional
Fig. 8. Concept of the pressure filling method.
10 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
expansion of the beads during steaming thus allowing lower den-
sities in the moulded parts. Furthermore, pressure pre-loading re-
duces macro-voids between the beads, which leads to better
mechanical properties.
7.2. Aspects of energy saving processing and environmental friendly
processing
One fundamental topic in bead foaming is energy saving during
the steam-chest moulding process, since the prices for energy are
rising steadily (e.g. electricity in the industrial sector in Germany:
2010: 0.1207 V/kWh, 2013: 0.1487 V/kWh [46]). Also environ-
mental protection is one of the most pressing questions amongst
the population in the present [47]. Those two factors drive the
trend of a more economical and ecological production of bead foam
parts.
Energy can be saved in every processing step from the manu-
facture of the expanded beads to moulding. For example, the pro-
duction of beads can be optimised by more efficient extrusion
equipment with better drives, since they consume most of the
energy during extrusion [48]. Steam-chest moulding has a huge
potential to reduce energy consumption as well. Most of the energy
of the steam is lost for heating up the mould and steam chamber
[49]. To overcome this issue, the walls of the steam chamber can be
coated with an insulating material [50]. For EPS, moulding systems
with steaming and cooling taking place in separate moulds are
available, thus eliminating the need for heating and cooling the
mould every cycle. Another measure is the construction of a mould
without a steam chamber, but with a system distributing the steam
directly within the mould [51]. Steaming without controlling
steam-pressure for a short duration reduces energy consumption
significantly [49]. Hossieny et al. studied the usefulness of hot air as
a second energy transport medium [6]. It was found that an addi-
tion of hot air to the steam reduces the moulding time and energy
consumption. Furthermore, mechanical properties (tensile
strength) of the part were improved at the same time.
In the cooling step there is also space for optimisation. Impulse
cooling is such a measure. Instead of cooling the mould with con-
stant spraying of water, the spraying is done in intervals. Those
intervals are repeated until the mould reaches its target tempera-
ture. Thereby, cycle time can be reduced slightly and water con-
sumption significantly. By applying vacuum to the mould during
cooling the amount of residual water can be removed, which
shortens the cooling time.
A more extreme approach would be the complete change of the
welding machinery and mechanism. Instead of steam, microwaves
can be used to heat up the expandable beads thus expanding and
welding them to a foamed part [52] with a reduced energy con-
sumption [53]. Since the polymers commonly used for bead
foaming are transparent for microwaves, the beads must be coated
with a microwave active substance or a microwave active blowing
agent must be used for expansion. With this approach the volatile
organic blowing agent n-pentane could be substituted with 2-
propanol for EPS [54]. Starch-based bead foams were also pre-
pared in the past using this method [55e58]. Especially for poly-
mers requiring elevated temperatures for sintering this method is a
promising approach to achieve good welding without the invest-
ment in high-temperature steam-chest moulding technology,
which is not a state-of-the-art technology.
7.3. Physical processes during steam-chest moulding
7.3.1. Processes for inter-bead bonding
The working mechanism of inter-bead bonding is similar to a
sintering process. The major difference between the two processes
is that the former uses high temperature steam as an effective
heating/cooling medium [37,59], while the latter normally uses hot
air [60e62]. During the steam-chest moulding process [63,64], high
temperature steam is injected into the mould in the three cycles
explained in the previous section to soften and fuse the beads. In
the case of EPS, the steam vaporises the volatile gas present in the
beads and hence causes an expansion in volume, as well as re-
blowing of the beads. In case of EPP, the beads need to be com-
pressed as discussed earlier. Through this process of steam-chest
moulding, the empty space between the beads is filled and the
inter-bead fusion is created. To improve bead foaming technologies
and bead-moulded products, many researchers performed me-
chanical property tests of bead-moulded products based on the
commercially available beads such as EPS and EPP. The formation of
inter-bead bonding in EPS beads involves the diffusion of polymer
chains across the inter-bead regions during the heating process of
steam-chest moulding process. Whereas, the cooling cycle freezes
the physical entanglement of the polymer chains at the inter-bead
boundaries and results in the bonding of the EPS bead foams. The
steam temperature and moulding time are two critical parameters
affecting the extent of bead fusion and significantly affects the
overall mechanical properties of the moulded EPS bead foam
samples [37,39,65,66].
The physical effects during the bonding process between the
beads are explained below. After the establishment of an intimate
contact of the beads (Fig. 9), the actual “healing” of the interface
takes place. The temporal evolution of intimate contact is depen-
dent on pressure, temperature, time and the surface topography
[67,68]. Either the establishment of the intimate contact of the
surfaces or the healing can be the limiting mechanism [69]. The
correct choice of processing settings cannot only reduce the macro-
porosity in the final part but also leads to good bonding strength
between the beads.
During steaming, the beads surface softens or melts. At first only
wetting and van-der-Waals-forces dominate the welding process,
which would result only in weak bonding. These are followed by
the actual healing by inter-diffusion of polymer chains across the
interfaces between the beads [68], as depicted in Fig. 10. The
diffusion step is described well by several authors in the context of
welding, healing of interfaces/cracks or novel measurement tech-
niques to quantify the inter-diffusion across a surface
[67,68,70e75]. A brief summary of the underlying processes, their
time-scales and ultimately their relevance for bead foaming is
given here.
The most well known type of diffusion is Fickian diffusion,
which applies to small molecules (like a blowing agent) diffusing in
a homogeneous matrix without entanglements. Small molecules
diffusing and dissolving in a network of entangled chains causes
swelling, which leads to an increased entanglement density and
changes the relaxation mechanism of the polymer resulting in non-
Fig. 9. Schematic process of the formation of intimate contact between the beads
during steam chest moulding. Initially the contact is limited to a few points, when the
beads expand further the contact area, where inter-diffusion can occur is increased.
 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
Fig. 10. The molecular arrangement before and after steam-chest moulding. At the
initial state, a sharp interface between the beads exists, so the beads are just touching.
After long enough steaming, the polymer chains crossed the interface due to inter-
diffusion thus forming a solid bond.
Fickian behaviour (case II diffusion) [70]. The inter-diffusion of
polymers across an interface is a complicated topic depending on
molecular weight, distribution of chain ends and temperature
history [67]. It can be modelled from the reptation theory taking
into account the so-called minor chain segments, which are the
non-constrained segments outside of their original confining tube.
At the initial stage, all chains are constrained to a tube and can just
move along this tube due to Brownian motion. After some time, the
ends escape the tube, which are now called minor chains. This
process is illustrated in Fig. 11.
The minor chains grow in length with time t since more seg-
ments of the chain are moving out of the constraining tube. The
minor chains can move across the bead boundary, since this is a
thermodynamically more favourable state, thus leading to a poly-
mer network across the interface. For interfaces without an excess
of chain ends as expected in bead foaming, the time scale for the
bond strength varies with (t/tRep)½, which is also depicted in Fig. 12.
In contrast, fractured surfaces with an excess of chain ends vary
with (t/tRep)¼, where tRep (reptation time) is the time necessary for
the chain to move completely out of its original tube. It gives the
temperature dependency of the process according to the
Arrhenius-equation or other equations. Bousmina et al. [70]
observed a transition of the time scaling laws: at small times the
t½-law holds, at longer the t¼-law. Healing is also dependent on
molecular weight (Mw) of the polymer. For a linear and mono-
disperse polymer, the reptation time scales to tRep ~ M3w, the
diffusion coefficient to D ~ Mw2 [69]. Therefore, the melts with
lower molecular weight exhibit faster healing.
Those dependencies emphasize that both steaming time and
temperature must be sufficiently long and high for a given material
to achieve good bonding.
Fig. 11. Formation of minor chains by diffusion of chain ends out of their former constraining tube into a new one.
11
Fig. 12. The strain energy release rate GIc as an indicator of bond strength. GIc is plotted
vs. t1/2*M 1/2 for the welding of polystyrene with the molecular weights 152,000 and
400,000 (Pressure Chemical) at 115  C [reprint from Ref. [68] with permission from
John Wiley and Sons].
Stupak et al. [38] conducted fracture toughness experiments on
EPS, which was moulded at different temperatures and for differ-
ently long time intervals. He observed, that fracture toughness
varied with moulding time by t1.25 and moulding pressure (equiv-
alent to steam temperature) by p6.7. The time-scales differ from the
ones shown above, which can be attributed to several reasons.
Firstly, the contact area between the beads is highly time-
dependent, which changes the flow resistance of the beads bead
for the steam and makes the degree of healing inhomogeneous.
Secondly, the polymer chains are neither mono-disperse nor in
thermo-dynamic equilibrium at initial condition.
Rossacci et al. [37] investigated the effects of varying moulding
pressure and moulding time on the tensile property of EPS part
with densities ranging from 19 kg/m3 to 34 kg/m3. The EPS beads
were sintered in a mould with a thickness of 60 mm. They reported
that the steam temperature and moulding time are two critical
parameters affecting the extent of bead fusion, which significantly
affected the overall mechanical properties of the EPS moulded bead
foam samples [47]. Zhai et al. [39,65] showed that at high steam
pressure, the tensile properties of EPP moulded part with a thick-
ness of 10 cm was much higher than the samples moulded at lower
pressure as a result of improved bead-to-bead bonding. However,
experience and literature shows that if the foamed beads are
steamed for too long, their cell structure might collapse and dete-
riorate the surface property of the moulded product [38].
12 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
7.3.2. Formation, function and evolution of the double melting-
point of EPP
In the case of moulding of EPP beads with a steam-chest
moulding machine, good sintering requires a desirable double
crystal melting peak structure as shown in Fig. 13. The high-
temperature melting peak crystals (Tm-high) are formed during the
isothermal annealing step in a batch-based EPP bead foaming
process. The low-temperature (Tm-low) is formed during the cooling
as foaming occurs. The hatched area in represents the desirable
steam temperature range between the low and high melting peaks
(Tm-low and Tm-high) of EPP beads within the steam-chest moulding
machine [76e83]. When EPP beads are processed in the steam-
chest moulding machine, crystals associated with Tm-low melt and
contribute to the fusing and sintering of individual beads. The
unmolten Tm-high crystals help to preserve the overall cellular
morphology and dimensional stability of the moulded EPP product.
A very narrow processing window between the two melting peaks
poses a significant challenge in setting the processing steam tem-
perature during the moulding process in steam-chest moulding
machine. A slight variation in steam temperature may cause the Tm-
high crystals to get affected and destroy the cellular morphology of
the EPP beads and cause shrinkage of the moulded EPP product.
The steam penetrates into the EPP beads during the steam-chest
moulding process. During the cooling cycle, at the end of the
moulding process, the high-temperature steam, which diffused
into the beads, tends to condense in the cells and leads to a negative
pressure. Due to the characteristic closed cell structure of EPP
beads, air cannot penetrate into the foam within a short span of
time, which results in a dramatic decrease in the internal pressure
of the foams. Consequently moulded EPP parts tend to shrink after
completion of the moulding process. An annealing process is
generally used at 80  C for 4 h to enhance the diffusion rates of
steam and air and thus prevent shrinkage [39].
7.3.3. Challenges and improvements of steam-chest moulding
The processing steam in a steam-chest moulding machine is in
the superheated state and its temperature is coupled with the
processing pressure [84]. However, as the steam enters the mould
cavity via small ports, the overall pressure starts decreasing due to
condensation of the steam on the beads. Furthermore, the pressure
of the steam decreases because of the resistance of the flow
through the beads, which subsequently reduces the temperature
and makes it difficult to determine the actual temperature of the
mould. Moreover, considering the large volume and complicated
Fig. 13. A typical double-peak melting behaviour of foamed beads.
shape of the mould, cavity the temperature distribution and
thereby also density is not uniform. Hence the optimum processing
condition required for the desired properties in the moulded bead
foam products must be achieved by trial and error. Nakai et al. [79]
investigated some fundamental aspects of steam-chest moulding,
such as the evaporation and condensation of steam and heat con-
duction, using numerical simulation techniques. They reported
reduced heat conduction to the core area of the mould caused by a
decrease in steam temperature as a result of drop in the steam
pressure. Generally, higher operating steam pressure is imple-
mented to improve the heat conduction to the core area of the
mould. However, a higher operating steam pressure relates to
higher operating cost and a higher temperature leading to an in-
crease in localized temperature near the steam entry. Beads
exposed to this high temperature may melt resulting in shrinkage
at the surface of the product. This dramatically deteriorates the
surface property of the moulded product.
The introduction of dry hot air into the steam has shown an
improvement of the heat transfer in the core of the moulded bead
foam product (Fig. 14) and hence improved the overall mechanical
property across the moulded bead foam products as compared to
the sample moulded with pure steam [6]. Thermodynamically, the
lower JouleeThomson coefficient (mJ) of hot air reduces the sensi-
tivity of a decrease in the steam temperature with a drop in steam
pressure [6,85,86]. However, steam cannot be eliminated
completely due to its high thermal conductivity and heating
capability due to condensation and high heat capacity compared to
hot air. The introduction of hot air also reduces the local temper-
ature at the steam entry port and hence the melting of beads on the
surface is decreased resulting in better surface quality [6].
8. Commercially available bead foams
8.1. EPS
8.1.1. Advantages and disadvantages
EPS is the most widely used bead foam material with a con-
sumption of 4.7 Mt per year [87], because of its low price and high
availability [88]. It is heavily used for packaging applications. This
also causes major problems due to enormous amounts of EPS-
waste. So, recyclability is very important [89]. EPS offers a less
competitive compression set compared to EPP, which makes the
latter material the favourite for applications with multiple impact
deformation. With EPS, lower densities can be achieved compared
to EPP but it has a less favourable chemical and temperature
resistance. However, transport and storage of EPS is much cheaper.
In contrast to EPP, much higher masses of EPS can be transported.
EPS is transported in the form of gas-loaded micro-granules having
a bulk density of 0.64 g/cm3 [3], where EPP has to be transported in
the form of foamed beads, which have a much lower density thus
requiring much more space for a given mass.
EPS offers good thermal insulation capabilities, which leadein
combination with the low price e to the second highest market
share of insulation materials after glass wool [90].
8.1.2. Mechanical properties
In principle, the mechanical behaviour of EPS is similar to EPP,
since they possess the same basic structure. However, EPS has a
higher modulus and strength (compressive stress at 10% strain;
EPS: 110 kPa [91]; EPP: 70 kPa [43]; 20 g/l) at the cost of elasticity
(compression set; 50% strain, 24 h; EPS: 45% [35]; EPP: 28e33 kPa
[92]). Also the maximum temperature of usage for EPS is lower than
EPP, so EPP exhibits a size alteration after 4 days at 110  C of less
than 2% [44], whereas EPS can only stand long-term service tem-
peratures between 80 and 85  C [91]. Mechanical properties are
 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
Fig. 14. Effect of hot air and its flow rate on the processing temperature during (a)1st steaming cycle and (b) 2nd steaming cycle. (c) A schematic illustrating the locations where the
processing temperatures of T1 and T3 were measured.
highly dependent on the quality of welding of the beads, which was
studied in numerous publications [37,38,93,94]. For the application
in the sectors of thermal insulation and packaging, the knowledge
of creep behaviour of EPS is of utmost importance [95e97]. Pro-
tective systems often put EPS to use as a shock absorber, therefore
the dynamic properties of this material were studied in many
publications [89,98,99].
In contrast to EPP, EPS has lower elasticity imposing constrictions
on the use of EPS for packaging of high-value goods, which might be
subjected to multiple impacts. This lead to the development of bead
foams from PS based blends, which offer higher elasticity, toughness
at low temperature and better chemical resistance [100].
8.1.3. Thermal properties
In contrast to EPP, EPS is a commonly used material for thermal
insulation, since it offers advantageous thermal insulation proper-
ties (EPS: 33 mW/mK [91]; EPP: 36 mW/mK [44]) and a more
competitive price in this field of application.
Thermal transport in foams comprises of conduction through
the solid cell walls and struts as well as the cell gas, convection and
radiation. Convection can be neglected for cell smaller than 3 mm
[101]. Thermal conduction of foams consists of the conduction
through the solid and the cell gas. The conduction of the polymeric
matrix is affected by crystallinity and their orientation [102e104],
which are heavily affected by the foaming process. Either conduc-
tion through the solid or through the cell gas can be dominant,
depending on density. For low densities, the cell gas dominates the
thermal transport over the solid polymer because of its high vol-
ume fraction. For very small cells with a cell diameter in the same
order of magnitude as the free path length of an air molecule, the
Knudsen-effect becomes important and the thermal conductivity of
the cell gas is reduced drastically [105].
13
Besides conduction, radiation is a very important transport
mechanism of thermal energy in foams. This effect is mainly
dependent on cell morphology and temperature. Several workers
try to separate the total heat conductivity into its parts
[101,106e111]. However, those contributions cannot be separated
in normal measurements without modelling [112], so the authors
used more or less complex models for separation.
One major drawback of the above-mentioned results of the
theoretical models is an assumed independence of the radiative
and conductive contributions. This matter was tackled by Ferkl
et al. [101] in a (at the time being) spatially one-dimensional model.
No assumption on the propagation of radiation and the individual
geometry was made. In literature, EPS is often used to investigate
the thermal properties of foams in general [2,90,109]. However, the
special particle-structure of bead foams was never investigated in
detail. The authors will consider this matter in an upcoming
publication.
To reduce thermal radiation EPS bead foams are filled with
Graphite-particles, which act as reflectors for infrared radiation
thus reducing the overall thermal conductivity [113].
8.1.4. Applications
EPS is well known for packaging applications. For example,
electronic devices are kept safe from transport-damage using EPS
crash absorbers or spacers. Also in areas, where rigorous safety
restrictions exist, such as helmets for cyclists or bikers or car-seats
for children, EPS is used often [114]. In the automotive industry it is
used for crash-absorbers as well.
Thanks to its advantageous thermal insulation capability, it is
used for the insulation of houses in form of blocks. EPS is used for
acoustic insulation for example against footfall sound. For the
cooling of perishable goods as drugs, food or human blood, EPS
14 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
contributes to keep energy cost low as insulation and makes the
transportation of such goods affordable and practical.
Besides the application as structural or insulation material, EPS
is widely used for lost-foam casting, where it is mostly used as the
core material [115]. The lost-foam casting technique allows the
production of complex parts, mainly from aluminium and iron, for
the automotive industry ranging from cylinder heads to motor
blocks [116,117].
8.2. EPP
8.2.1. Advantages and disadvantages
Among bead foams, EPP has unique advantages, such as excel-
lent impact resistance, energy absorption, insulation, heat resis-
tance and flotation. In addition, it is lightweight and recyclable, and
exhibits good surface protection as well as resistance against oil,
chemicals and water. Thanks to these advantages, the use of EPP is
gaining increased momentum in the automotive, packaging, and
construction industries. The combination of its flexible applica-
bility, reasonable tooling cost, high resilience, good sound damp-
ening at high frequencies, and, especially, its low weight, has made
EPP the material of choice for numerous applications. For instance,
EPP foams are now utilized as bumper cores, providing significantly
higher energy absorption upon impact as opposed to conventional
systems. However, unlike expandable polystyrene EPS, which is
supplied as expandable pellets, suppliers can only provide EPP
beads in an expanded form. The beads are then shipped to the parts
manufacturers for further moulding. Due to the presence of bubbles
in the bead (i.e. the large volume of the bead), the cost of storing,
packaging, and transporting EPP is very high, ultimately rendering
it far more expensive than EPS or a normal PP resin. Moreover, very
little research has been conducted on EPP manufacturing, sintering
behaviour, and steam chest moulding process. Consequently, when
an EPP concept product is targeted, the manufacturer can only
depend on the EPP supplier to obtain a prototype, thus having little
or no control over material selections and processing conditions.
8.2.2. EPP morphology and expansion ratio
The EPP beads feature high closed-cell content, which is typi-
cally 95e98 % as shown in Fig. 15 and is measured using a pyc-
nometer in accordance to ASTM D6226. The closed-cell structure
provides high expansion force, while steam-chest moulding assists
with the bonding of EPP beads. Depending on the bulk density, EPP
beads have cell diameters from 200 to 500 mm and cell densities in
the range of 105e106 cells/cm3.
The cell density, expansion ratio and crystal characteristic of the
individual EPP bead foams have a significant effect on the overall
mechanical properties of the moulded EPP bead foam product
[2,118]. Guo et al. [119] investigated the critical processing param-
eters to produce EPP beads in a lab-scale autoclave system. The
pressure drop was systematically controlled using a modular die at
the discharge port. The die geometry (L/D) was decided to maintain
a high enough pressure inside the chamber to prevent pre-foaming
of the gas-impregnated EPP beads. The cell density was not affected
by die geometry. On the other hand, the volume expansion of the
EPP beads slightly decreased as the die length increased.
The saturation pressure of the blowing agent plays a crucial role
in achieving high cell densities and expansion ratios in autoclave
bead foaming. During foaming of EPP beads with CO2 in an auto-
clave, a higher saturation pressure of CO2 allows a higher gas
content to be dissolved into the PP pellets [120,121]. This higher
CO2 content helps to reduce the energy barrier for cell nucleation
and increases the cell nucleation rate, which leads to a higher final
cell density [122,123]. The volume expansion of EPP beads was
observed to increase dramatically as the saturation pressure was
Fig. 15. SEM micrograph of a cross-section of an EPP bead made with autoclave
foaming setup at 130  C.[122].
increased. The higher cell density achieved at high saturation
pressure decreases the amount of gas loss from the foamed EPP
beads and hence improves the expansion ratio.
8.2.3. Crystallization behaviour of EPP beads
The production of EPP beads with double melting peak char-
acteristics has been well established [5,124e127]. The two-peak
crystal structure is generated by impregnating the PP micro-
pellets with a physical blowing agent in an autoclave chamber at
elevated pressures and temperatures around PP's melting point
over a certain period of time [125,127]. During the gas impregna-
tion stage, a new crystal melting peak is created at a higher tem-
perature, Tm-high. Since the saturation is done close to the melting
point of PP not all the crystals melt. The newly generated crystal
peak (Tm-high) during the isothermal gas-impregnation stage of the
EPP beads stems from the perfection of the a crystal phase out of
the unmolten crystals, which has a higher orientation and hence a
higher melting temperature than the original peak and is known as
a2 [128,129]. The melting temperature of this peak is typically
above the annealing temperature. The Tm-low melting peak is
generated during the rapid cooling process in autoclave foaming
chamber and is known as a1. The a1 and a2 are a forms of crystals
with various degree of perfection [130e136]. Choi et al. [128] have
shown that by ramping the PP to the annealing temperature, the
less perfect crystals melt and the more perfect crystals that exist
above the annealing temperature remain unmolten. However, the
work conducted by Choi et al. [128] was at ambient pressure. The
actual EPP bead manufacturing process is conducted at high pres-
sure in the range of super-critical condition of the blowing agent
(e.g. 74 bar for CO2), which leads to the dissolution of gas into the PP
matrix. The dissolved gas significantly affects the crystallization
behaviour of PP [19].
In the context of EPP bead foam manufacturing, the effect of
dissolved blowing agent on the generation of double crystal
melting peak structure can be systematically investigated using a
high-pressure differential scanning calorimetry (HP-DSC). The
plasticising effect of dissolved blowing agent, decreases the satu-
ration temperature required for the generation of the higher
melting peak with perfected crystals in EPP bead foams [137].
8.2.4. Mechanical properties
For EPP bead foams, copolymers with polypropylene (PP) as
base monomer are preferred compared to homo-PP because the
latter has poor impact properties at low service temperatures
[128,138e143]. The copolymers can be binary, such as a propyle-
neeethylene copolymer or a propyleneebutene copolymer, or a
ternary copolymer, such as a propyleneeethyleneebutene copol-
ymer [128,144]. By using branched high-melt-strength PP [77] and
 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19 15

metallocene-catalysed PP [5,145], the mechanical properties and

compressibility of EPP beads and their moulded foam products can
be improved. Other studies have shown that the mechanical
properties of EPP beads can be improved significantly by choosing
an appropriate PP copolymer that will lead to better control of the
secondary crystal form [146]. For instance, to improve EPP's in-
mould foamability, researchers have employed a PP copolymer
with a lower melting temperature [147]; in another case, graphite
was introduced in order to increase heat resistance [138].
Furthermore, it has been shown that the use of PP nano-composites
can also improve EPP bead properties [148]. Efforts have also been
made to produce expandable PP beads. However, the use of either
an encapsulated physical blowing agent [149] or a dispersed
chemical blowing agent [150] in the beads has not become com-
mon practice in the industry.
As mentioned earlier, for EPP foamed beads to have a good
sintering during the steam-chest moulding stage, they need to
possess a double-peak (or at least broad) melting characteristic. The
ratio between the Tm-low and Tm-high peaks is thus crucial in
determining the surface quality and mechanical properties of the
steam-chest moulded EPP product. If the Tm-low peak is dominant,
then the moulded EPP product may shrink and the overall geom-
etry would collapse. In contrast, if the Tm-high peak is dominant,
then the sintering will be weak resulting in poor mechanical
properties.
The failure mechanism in moulded EPP products has been
attributed to the bead boundaries and a potential fracture path
between the beads [151,152]. This is known as inter-bead bonding
and it has been reported that they determine the mechanical
properties of the bead products [151,152]. Inter-bead fracture arises
due to weak sintering between the EPP beads. However, another Fig. 16. Failure mechanism: a) inter-bead, b) intra-bead.
failure mechanism occurs within the EPP beads and is known as
intra-bead fracture. This failure reflects that there is good sintering
between the EPP beads. The inter-bead and intra-bead failure coating is desired, adhesion between the coating and EPP is still
mechanism can be investigated by observing the crack surface challenging making a surface treatment necessary [155].
under a scanning electron microscope as shown in Fig. 16. Another approach to modify the properties of EPP is hybrid-
The tensile strength of EPP samples has a strong dependency on isation [156]. So, the EPP beads are combined with metal bead
the processing steam pressure and corresponding temperature foams in order to create a hybrid material with highly elastic
used during the steam-chest moulding process. The tensile prop- behaviour at low stress (behaviour dominated by EPP) and high
erties of EPP samples increases at higher steam pressure. A similar energy dissipation at high stress (behaviour now dominated by
phenomenon was observed in EPS bead processing, where a high metal foam). The purpose is to produce better crash bumpers for
tensile strength and a high degree of inter-bead fusion was ob- cars to increase passenger safety while reducing weight.
tained at high moulding pressure [152]. The development of EPP is not at the end, but very dynamic and
The tensile strength of EPP moulded samples also increased rapidly advancing, especially towards design and creativity.
significantly due to the development of crystals in the inter-bead
areas during the cooling cycle of the steam-chest moulding pro- 9. Recent developments of new bead foams
cess [119,153]. EPP bead size is another important parameter, which
affects the inter-bead bonding and improves the mechanical 9.1. Thermoplastic elastomers and thermoplastic polyurethane
properties of moulded products [119].
Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are unique materials with a
wide range of properties, filling the gap between thermoplastics
8.2.5. Trends and elastomers. They combine the properties of elastomers with
EPP is in a state of constant development and getting closer to easy processability of thermoplastics. TPEs differ according to
the customer. Previously EPP was mainly used in the automotive structure, rheological and thermal properties. There has been sig-
industry as structural material in the application as cores for crash nificant amount of work on the foaming of TPEs, however there is
bumpers or for tool boxes in the car boot. For those applications the very limited literature on the processing of TPE bead foams.
specific advantages of EPP as low density and good energy dissi- Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) consist of a phase-
pation at impact are harvested. separated molecular structure of rigid hard segment (HS) do-
Today's trends aim towards higher functionality. For example mains dispersed in a soft segment (SS) matrix, which provides TPUs
hinges, snap fits or fasteners make the material fit for new appli- with a unique combination of strength, flexibility and process-
cations as furniture. Challenges are the steam nozzle imprints and ability. However, the application of TPUs is mostly limited to its
its technical appearance (Fig. 6). Therefore, the development of high hardness and cost. Hence foaming could be a desirable way of
multi-material systems is facilitated [154]. An EPP foam-core can be reducing density and thereby cost. TPUs do not still have a widely
combined with a layer of TPE for decoration. The connection of both used foaming method and is one group of TPEs under a lot of
components can be achieved in an online process. However, if a research.
16 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19
Expanded TPU bead foams (ETPU) and its product have been
developed recently [157]. One example is the shoe sole of the
Adidas “Energy Boost” running shoe, where ETPU with brand name
“Infinergy” from BASF SE with relatively high foam densities of 200
… 300 g/l is used. This material provides good elastic properties
and a high rebound effect. Generally softer grade TPUs with shore
hardness between A 62 and A 80 are preferred to produce ETPU
beads for industrial applications. The advantage is that softer TPUs
have a lower concentration of HSs and hence a lower melting point
with much better flowability. Thus lower processing temperature
and pressure are required during the processing of ETPU beads.
Furthermore, lower steam pressures are required during the sin-
tering step of the ETPU beads, which reduces the sintering cost. The
softness of the beads also makes adhesive-bonding of the ETPU
beads more effective.
The ETPU beads can be produced both in a batch setup using a
high-pressure autoclave as well as a continuous setup using foam
extrusion and an underwater pelletizer. During the processing of
ETPU beads in a high-pressure autoclave setup, the TPU micro-
pellets are fed into the high-pressure autoclave with suspension
medium and saturated with the blowing agent. The autoclave is then
heated to the impregnation temperature, which is generally near
the softening point of the TPU. The blowing agent impregnates into
the SS and results in the swelling of the TPU. The impregnation time
is generally from 0.5 to 10 h [157]. The impregnation with blowing
agent near the softening point of TPU results in the rearrangement of
the existing HS crystalline domains. After completion of the satu-
ration cycle, the autoclave chamber is depressurized, which results
in production of ETPU beads. During the depressurization step,
which results in cooling of the TPU material new HS crystallites are
formed in the microstructure. The HS crystallites in the TPU
microstructure can be effectively utilized as heterogeneous bubble
nucleating agents to produce microcellular ETPU bead foams [158].
9.2. Polyesters
Foaming of polyesters as for example polyethylene tere-
phthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polylactide-
acid (PLA) is challenging, since they possess disadvantageous
rheological properties for foaming like low melt elasticity and low
viscosity [159], which lead to an unfavourable cellular morphology.
Below, the relevance of PET and PBT as a matrix will be described.
PLA bead foams will be treated in the forthcoming chapter on bio-
based bead foams.
Foams of PET are commercially available since the 1990s from
many companies, for example by Airex AG (AIREX T92), Armacell
Benelux S.A. (ArmaFORM PET) and BASF SE (Kerdyn). They are
mainly used for foam-cores in sandwich applications. Extrusion
foaming is the mostly used production method and allows the
production of foams with densities between 30 and 400 kg/m3
[160]. In contrast to extrusion foams, bead foams made of PET are
not available on the market yet. However, patents were filed since
2011 [161e164].
In the past, studies on the foaming behaviour of PBT were done
by extrusion foaming by Jeong and Xanthos [165,166] and finally
achieved a density of 330 kg/m3.
Recently, the bead foaming capability of PBT was studied for
expanded PBT using extrusion with an under-water pelletizing sys-
tem [167]. The lowest density achieved for the processed EPBT beads
was 280 kg/m3. The effects of processing parameters like knife-speed,
water pressure and temperature as well as the viscosity of the PBT-
grade were investigated. A variation of processing conditions
showed moderate influence on bead shape and cellular morphology.
In contrast to that, the viscosity was much more important. Increased
viscosity lead to a better bead shape and cellular structure.
9.3. Biopolymer-based
Among different biopolymers, polylactide acid (PLA) has gained
a lot of interest for bead foaming applications. The interest is due to
its high potential to substitute EPS bead foam products used in
packaging and commodity products [168]. The production of EPLA
beads has been commercialised and the technique is similar to the
processing of EPS beads. In this technique, the PLA micro-pellets are
saturated with blowing agent below PLA's glass transition tem-
perature and the pre-foaming is done in a pre-expander machine
using steam or hot air. The expanded EPLA beads are then sintered
together using a steam-chest moulding machine. Prior to sintering,
the pre-foamed PLA beads are coated with a special coating to
improve the sintering of the EPLA beads during the steam-chest
moulding process. The thermal and mechanical properties of
EPLA beads processed with the technique described above are
similar to the EPS bead foam product compared at the similar
density.
The technique of utilizing the double melting peak crystals
(similar to the EPP beads) is believed to be a promising method to
improve the crystallization kinetics of PLA and also the sintering of
EPLA beads. It is believed that the presence of dissolved gas will
significantly improve the crystallization kinetics of PLA and it will
be beneficial for the production and sintering of EPLA beads [169].
The crystals formed during the processing of EPLA beads would also
enhance the poor foaming behaviour of PLA. The generated crystals
during the saturation process will promote the cell nucleation by
acting as heterogeneous nucleating agents. Furthermore, the
connection of PLA molecular chains through the generated crystals
will improve the low melt strength of PLA and consequently in-
crease the expandability of EPLA beads by minimizing the gas loss
and cell coalescence.
10. Conclusion
This review-paper outlined the work done on bead foams both
from an industrial and scientific viewpoint and showed the trends
and perspectives of state-of the-art materials and machinery, as
wells as new material developments.
Currently, EPS is the most widely used bead foam. It is used for
commodity applications requiring cost effective part production in
huge quantities as packaging and insulation. EPS has a high specific
modulus and strength at the drawback of low elasticity. In contrast
to EPS, the other two commonly used bead foams EPE and EPP are
more expensive, but have a much higher elasticity making them
suitable for the packaging of more sensitive goods. Especially EPP is
gaining more and more attention as new fields for its application
besides the traditional ones as structural material are found.
Nowadays, EPP is used for furniture or multi-material combina-
tions. An advancement of the recent past is ETPU, since thermo-
plastic polyurethane is one of the most elastic thermoplastically
processable materials. Bead foams made of this material shine out
with extraordinary elasticity making parts from ETPU an ideal
candidate for damping high impact forces as found in shoe soles.
ETPU bead foams will open new areas as the foaming reduces TPU
hardness without the use of plasticizers. However, all state-of-the-
art bead foams have a low usage temperature in common. There-
fore, current developments aim to tackle this issue by making
technical thermoplastics like PBT ready for bead foaming. Bead
foams made of bio-based polymers like PLA are also a key-focus of
current research.
Beside research on new materials or their optimisation, the
other focus of investigation lies on the processing of bead foams.
The trends in machinery show that steam-chest moulding ma-
chines are made ready for new types of bead foams requiring high
 D. Raps et al. / Polymer 56 (2015) 5e19 17

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Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Raps joined the Department of Polymer
Engineering in February 2013. His research interest lies in
the subject of fracture mechanics of bead foams with
special emphasis on the structure-property relationship.
From 2007 to 2013, Daniel Raps studied material science at
the University of Bayreuth, Germany. During his studies he
specialized in the field of polymers. He finished his studies
with a Diploma thesis about the ’’Quantification of blowing
agent influence on the rheological properties during foaming
of high melt strength Polypropylene“ in January 2013.
Dr. Nemat Hossieny received his PhD from University of
Toronto in September 2014. His research was focused on
developing bead foaming technology for high-temperature
application engineering thermoplastic elastomers and
their sintering behavior.
Nemat Hossieny joined NatureWorks LLC in Minnetonka,
MN USA in September 2014. He works in the research and
development department as a Material Scientist.
Prof. Chul B. Park received his PhD from MIT 1993. He
holds Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Microcellular Plas-
tics at University of Toronto. He is the Founder and Di-
rector of Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory
and the Centre for Industrial Application of Microcellular
Plastics. He is an academician of Royal Society of Canada,
Canadian Academy of Engineering and Korean Academy of
Science and Technology. He is also a Fellow of AAAS, ASME,
CSME, EIC, and SPE. He is the Editor-In-Chief of Journal of
Cellular Plastics. He has an international recognition in
polymer foaming and has been honoured with over 30
major awards.
€dt since 1st of October 2000, is
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Altsta
full professor at the Department of Polymer Engineering at
the Faculty of Engineering Science (ING) of the University of
Bayreuth.
After his university studies in physics and Dr.-Ing. in 1987
with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ehrenstein at the department of Me-
chanical Engineering in Kassel, respectively, he worked as a
group leader for 8 years in the Department of Polymer
Physics under the Polymer Research Division of BASF AG in
Ludwigshafen. Since 1995 Volker Altst€adt has been a full
Professor for Polymers in Mechanical Engineering and head
of the Department of Polymers and Polymer Composites at
the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Germany.