SBIR Phase II: Processing of Microcellular Foams from Unfilled and Filled Liquid Crystalline and Semicrystalline Polymers

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将重点优化加工技术，并扩大公司的微孔LCP和PPS泡沫的规模。传统的硬泡沫加工工艺涉及多个工序，使用的发泡剂是有毒的，有些硬泡沫在后处理过程中会释放有害气体。在第一阶段的研究中，该公司开发了一种处理微孔泡沫的新技术，不使用或释放任何有害化学物质/气体。发泡技术利用热力学不稳定性原理，以惰性气体为发泡气体。我们发泡了未填充和填充的液晶和半晶体聚合物（lcp & PPS），它们具有优异的强度和刚度重量比，良好的耐溶剂性，阻隔性和高温稳定性。低密度微孔LCP & PPS泡沫有望有许多商业应用，包括高速飞机、航空航天、外太空飞行器、火箭和推进部件的外壳和支撑结构的夹层结构材料。lcp和PPS的传统应用包括各种电子连接器，电子和视听设备。它们可以被所提出的微孔LCP和PPS泡沫所取代，它们具有相同的性能，但重量要轻得多。在地面上的应用包括使用这些微孔泡沫制造的梯子和桥梁，它们的重量比现有的要轻得多。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will focus on optimizing the processing techniques and scale up of the firm's microcellular LCP and PPS foams. Conventional processing techniques for rigid foams involve multiple steps and the blowing agent used is toxic, Some rigid foams give off hazardous gases during the post-processing steps. In the Phase I research the firm developed a novel technique to process microcellular foams that does not use or release any hazardous chemicals/gases. The foaming technique uses the principle of thermodynamic instability with inert gas as the foaming gas. We have foamed both the unfilled and filled liquid crystalline and semicrystalline polymers (LCPs & PPS) which have excellent strength and stiffness to weight ratio, good solvent resistance, barrier properties, and high temperature stability. Low-density microcellular LCP & PPS foams are expected to have many commercial applications including sandwich structural materials for high speed aircraft, aerospace, outerspace vehicles, housing and support structures for rockets and propulsion components. Conventional applications of LCPs and PPS include various electronic connectors, electronic and audiovisual devices. They can be replaced by the proposed microcellular LCP and PPS foams with equivalent performance but much lighter in weight. On the ground applications include ladders and bridges fabricated using these classes of microcellular foams that would be much lighter in weight than those currently available.