Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2020
Volume 65, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 2–6, 2020; Denver, Colorado
Session R28: Physics of Foams: From Beer to Windmill Blades and Everything in BetweenIndustry Invited Session Undergrad Friendly
|
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: DPOLY FIAP Chair: Valeriy Ginzburg, Dow Chemical Co Room: 405-407 |
Thursday, March 5, 2020 8:00AM - 8:36AM |
R28.00001: Following a Theoretical Roadmap to Low Nucleation Barriers for CO2 Nucleation in Polyol Invited Speaker: Julia A Kornfield The quest for insulation with thermal conductivity as low as stagnant air motivates production of ultra-low density foams with cells as small as 1μm across, requiring the controlled nucleation and growth of 1010 bubbles/(cm3 mother liquid). In relation to polyurethane foam, we seek high nucleation density guided by predictions from density functional theory (DFT) with the string method for the activation barriers. Predicted composition profiles across the interface suggest that cyclopentane (C5), a physical blowing agent, promotes CO2/polyol nucleation in multiple ways: C5 increases the density of the CO2-rich nucleus, and C5 preferentially concentrates at the interface---both tend to reduce the interfacial tension. To test theoretical predictions, we validated the thermodynamic properties of binary (CO2/polyol) and ternary (CO2/C5/polyol) systems. Experimental results for binary systems quantify the reduction of interfacial tension near the critical point and accord with predictions. In ternary systems, theory directed our attention to a range of composition and pressure in which three-phase coexistence may occur and preliminary results support the theoretical predictions. Then we investigated nucleation kinetics using a high-pressure microfluidic apparatus. Initial results obtained using optical microscopy will be presented, laying the foundation for future scattering measurements to quantify the number and size of incipient bubbles. This work was conducted in collaboration with Dow, including T Fitzgibbons, WJ Zhou, HK Chao, J Griffith, B Winniford, S Horsch and V Ginzburg; E DiMaio at Uni Naples and A Ylitalo, ZG Wang and RC Flagan at Caltech. |
Thursday, March 5, 2020 8:36AM - 9:12AM |
R28.00002: Polymer Foams for Building Insulation (STYROFOAM and beyond) Invited Speaker: Stephane Costeux Thermoplastic foams have been used in buildings for over 75 years, since the initial introduction of STYROFOAM™ extruded polystyrene foam. Although significant progress has been made to improve the product performance, durability and sustainability, the process itself has remained relatively unchanged, and the levers used to control foam structure – and thus performance - still rely on empiricism. An examination of mechanisms involved in the foaming process of thermoplastic polymers points to the difficulty of predicting cell nucleation density, as well as the quantitative influence of cells interactions during expansion and stabilization. These limitations are particularly apparent now that the foam community has turned its attention to nanocellular foams, which are expected to demonstrate superior properties but are very difficult produce by known commercial processes. |
Thursday, March 5, 2020 9:12AM - 9:48AM |
R28.00003: Polyurethane Application Innovation: Translating Chemistry to Materials to Solve Real-World Problems Invited Speaker: William Koonce Polyurethane materials have grown rapidly in recent years and now touch most facets of modern life from comfortable sleep to energy efficiency and transportation among others. Polyurethane chemistry provides high versatility in application processes with conversion from low viscosity liquids to polymeric solids in seconds. This processing versatility enables generation of varied foam structures, filling of complex geometries, and coating of diverse substrates. Beyond processing, polyuerthane polymers can be designed to deliver a range of structures and resulting properties from hard to soft, viscoelastic to elastic, hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Examples of using these versatile processing and material properties to solve real world problems will be shared. |
Thursday, March 5, 2020 9:48AM - 10:24AM |
R28.00004: Modeling Nucleation in Polymeric Foams using Self-Consistent Field Theory Invited Speaker: Russell B Thompson Self-consistent field theory is a method in statistical mechanics that is effective for the study of inhomogeneous polymer structures, typically block copolymer self-assembly. Self-consistent field theory can also be used to understand some aspects of nucleation in polymer foaming, especially for nano-cellular foams. An introduction to this approach, including its advantages and disadvantages, will be given. Implications for the validity of classical nucleation theory and nucleation barriers from this perspective will be discussed, as will some new predictions related to heterogeneous nucleation. |
Thursday, March 5, 2020 10:24AM - 11:00AM |
R28.00005: Fluid dynamics of bubbly drinks Invited Speaker: Roberto Zenit Most people find bubbly drinks to be attractive and refreshing. With the excuse of trying to answer why, we explore the physics involved in this particular kind of two-phase, mass-transfer-driven flows. Discussion and analysis of the processes of bubble formation, ascention, accumulation and bursting are presented. Links to other relevant flow phenomena are presented in each case. |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2025 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700