Experimental and numerical analysis of bubble nucleation in foaming polymer

This paper investigates the bubble nucleation of polymer (LDPE) foams using nucleation theory and establishes a mathematical model based on in-situ observations and measurements. The effects of different foaming agent contents and shot sizes on bubble nucleation were studied in an injection foaming experiment and a new mathematical model describing the bubble nucleation kinetics was obtained based on classical nucleation theory. The model fittings were obtained for different experimental conditions. The process of foaming nucleation could be characterized intuitively through this model and can be used as a general form for other nucleation processes.