Synthesis and Characterization of Open-Cell Foams for Sound Absorption With Rotational Molding Method

Foams with open-cell structures have improved sound absorption abilities over conventional closed-cell foams. One technique to optimize the acoustic abilities of open-cell foams is to control their cellular properties through the manipulation of processing parameters. This article presents a novel process to synthesize open-cell polymeric foams for acoustic applications. The process combined rotational foam molding and particulate leaching to produce foams with open-cell networks that are desirable for acoustic absorption. Open-cell foams with open-porosity of about 0.90 were successfully fabricated with this combined foaming process. Effects of processing parameters on the cellular and acoustic properties of the foam samples were examined and discussed. On the basis of the results from the study, the cellular and acoustic properties of the foam fabricated from the proposed method can be controlled through the use of different salt particle sizes in the process. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:1744-1754, 2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers