MECHANICAL AND ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF COMPRESSION MOLDED OPEN CELL POLYPROPYLENE FOAMS

The mechanical and acoustic performance of open cell polypropylene (PP) foam has been studied in this paper. The particulate leaching method was used to fabricate the open cell PP samples. Foaming parameters such as salt size and salt/polymer mass ratio were controlled to produce samples with different open cell morphologies. The study analyzes the effects cell size, cell density, and relative density have on mechanical and acoustic performance. Mechanical testing was conducted to quantify stiffness and strength of the open cell PP foams. Optimal cellular morphologies for acoustic absorption and mechanical performance were identified.