• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1828-1833
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• 2003

In a foaming process of microcellular plastics (MCPs) with a batch process, amorphous plastics and crystalline plastics have different characteristics for a foaming temperature. It is known that a foaming of amorphous plastics occurs at the temperature above a glass transition temperature, however, it is discovered that crystalline plastics do not take place above a glass transition temperature without exception, and even though the foaming occurs, it does not in all the range. In this research, to measure foaming temperature of crystalline polymer, a foaming experiment was performed using one of the typical crystalline polymer, polypropylene. To analyze whether the foaming occurs both at amorphous and crystalline fields, SEM was applied

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.22 no.6 s.171
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• pp.168-174
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• 2005

Nowadays, the companies use polymer materials for many purposes fur they have many advantages. The costs of these materials take up too high a proportion of the overall cost of products that use these materials as their major material. It is advantage for polymer industries to reduce these costs. The microcellular foaming process was developed in the early 1980s to solve this problem and proved to be quite successful. Microcellular foaming process uses inert gases such as $CO_2,\;N_2$. As these gases solve into polymer matrices, many properties are changed. The microcellular foaming process makes the glass transition temperature of polymers to low, and diminish the residual stress of polymer matrices. Besides, the microcellular foaming process has several merits, impact strength elevation, thermal insulation, noise insulation, and raw material saving etc. In previous research, many facts of microcellular foaming process are founded its characteristics. But previous researcher found the characteristics of microcellular foaming process with pure gas, for example $CO_2,\;N_2$ and so on, they did not found the characteristics of microcellular foaming process with one more gases. If one more gases inlet the resin, the characteristics of microcellular foaming process is changed very amazingly. In this paper, discuss on the characteristics of microcellular foaming process wi th gas cocktail about cell morphology.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.991-996
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• 2004

Plastics are widely used in industry, because they are light, easily manufactured, and have high specific strength. And many researches to increase the strengths and to reduce the price are being conducted at now. One of these researches is concerning to additives. Foaming techniques are used to endow insulation properties, to improve specific strength, or reduce the material cost. Due to their unique properties, foamed plastics are applied to refrigerator, pipe, and insulators. Micro-cellular foaming is the latest foaming technique that was invented at 1980 in MIT. It is known that many tiny small cells are generated in the polymer matrices and micro-cellular foamed plastics show relatively high specific strength. We investigated the role of CaCO3 which is one of the most widely used additives in plastics industry as an additive for nucleation in view of cell morphology. CaCO3 used in this paper was treated to increase the dispersibility and to lower the density, so it has many pores at his body. Two experiments were conducted, in order to check the role of an additive for nucleation. One is compound-ability and the other one is role of nucleation agents.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.637-644
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• 2001

Polymer materials have a lot of merits including the low cost and the easiness of forming. For these reasons they are widely using at many manufacturing industries. Microcellular foaming process appeared at MIT in 1980s to save a quantity of material and increase mechanical properties. There are many process variables in appling microcellular foaming process to the conventional injection molding process. They can be solved by using Axiomatic Design Method which is very useful design method for designing a new product. Its main character is scientific and analytical. The information about the thickness of cavity plays an important role in making an effective foam. The goal of this research is to design mold system for advance of foaming magnitude with axiomatic design method. There is a relation between the change of cavitys thickness and foaming magnitude made after inserting a gas. R/t is a conception that indicate proportion between radius and thickness of cavity in mold system. By means of SEM observation of side surface of cavity sample, foaming magnitude of polymer in microcellular foaming process is decreasing gradually as the value of R/t is increasing. In this paper, an advanced mold system was presented by mapping the relation between functional requirements and design parameters.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06c
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• pp.414-419
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• 2001

Microcellular foamed plastic is a foaming technology that is safer to the environment and has no significant deterioration of mechanical properties compared to the conventional foamed plastic. Currently, the development of the injection-molding machine for microcellular plastic (MCP) is nearing completion. Currently, researches on the mass production system for the MCP injection-molding machine are under progress. The purpose of this paper is to design the gas supply system suitable for microcellular foaming in the injection-molding machine. For the design process, Axiomatic Approach, a powerful tool for design, will be used.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.108-113
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• 2000

An important process for making a new class of polymeric material is called microcellular plastics invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Many researches for microcellular plastics have been done in various ways and fields. But a research for the polymer which has previous history has not been tried yet. In this paper, weight gain of $CO_2$ was measured in a polymer matrix which had previous history and no history. In each case, experimental data for solubility and diffusivity was shown. A model for $CO_2$ solution process in molecular range was made. The conclusion of this paper is that the previous history has an effect on diffusivity but not solubility and the previous history made by $CO_2$ in supercritical state makes diffusivity of $CO_2$ larger.

• Design & Manufacturing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.64-69
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• 2023

This paper explores the impact of gate shape changes on the size and density of foamed cells in microcellular foam injection molding. Five different gate shapes were examined while varying the amount of nitrogen gas(N2) injected for foaming. Analysis of the results showed that while average values did not change significantly, deviation values decreased by approximately 65% for cell size and 56% for density when 3.5wt% of nitrogen gas was injected in the film gate. Further analysis was conducted to verify this phenomenon, revealing that the contact area between the gate and product had the greatest impact. Our findings indicate that to ensure uniform generation of foamed cells in microcellular foaming product design, a gate with a wide contact area should be secured.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.186-191
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• 2000

We use so many plastic products in everyday. Because polymer materials have a lot of merits including low cost and easiness of forming, they are widely using at many manufacturing industries. Microcellular foaming process appeared at MIT in 1980's to save a quantity of material and increase mechanical properties. The information about the thickness of cavity plays an important role in appling microcellular foaming process to the conventional injection molding process. It is essential to make an effective foam. The goal of this research is to measure the relation between the change of cavity's thickness and foaming magnitude made after inserting a gas. R/t is a conception that indicate proportion between radius and thickness of cavity in mold system. By means of SEM observation of side surface of cavity sample, foaming magnitude of cavity is mold system. By means of SEM observation of side surface of cavity sample, foaming magnitude of polymer in microcellular foaming process is decreasing gradually as the value of R/t is increasing. The proposed foaming magnitude changes data of polymer in relation to mold system can be applied in more extensive injection molding process, such as optimum design of mold for microcellular foaming process.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.24 no.4 s.175
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• pp.824-829
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• 2000

The industries use polymer materials for many purposes because they have many merits. But these materials' costs take up too much proportion in overall cost of products that use these materials as their major material. So it is very economical for polymer industries to reduce these costs. Microcellular foaming process appeared in 1980's to solve this problem and it proved to be quite successful. This process uses inert gases such as CO2, N2. As these gases are dissolved into polymer matrices. many properties are changed. Glass transition temperature is one of these properties. DSC, DMA are devices that measures this temperature, but these are not sufficient to measure the temperature of polymer containing gas. In this paper, we devised a new tester that uses magnetism. We used this device to acquire data of the change of glass transition temperature and made Cha-Yoon model that can predict the change of glass transition temperature. Using this model, the change of this temperature can be estimated as a function of weight gain of gas. Cha-Yoon model proved that Chow's model is inappropriate to predict the change of glass transition temperature of polymer matrices containing gas.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.101-106
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• 2000

As the rotational speed of optical disk drive is increasing nowadays, the reliability to vibration and shock becomes more important. For this, various of rubber vibration isolators are being developed by varying the shape and hardness. But it is difficult for the hardness of common used rubber to be lowered below Duro 30 degrees, and because of the shape complexity of rubber vibration isolator there are difficulties of analysis. Microcellular foamed vibration isolator has various cell densities and cell sizes, so it can vary the stiffness and damping coefficient. In addition, its hardness can be lowered below Duro 30 degrees. Axiomatic Approach is very useful design method for designing new product or new process. Axiomatic Approach's character is scientific and analytical method. In this paper, developing process of microcellular foamed vibration isolator for DVD is presented with Axiomatic Approach.