Characterization of LDPE and LDPE/EVA blends crosslinked by electron beam irradiation and foamed with chemical foaming agent

Abstract

In this work, low density polyethylene and its blend with poly (ethylene vinyl acetate) (LDPE/EVA) (80/20) were mixed with different concentration of Azodicarbonamide (ACA) as a foaming agent. The specimens were crosslinked by electron beam irradiation in presence of 1,6-Hexandiol diacrylate (HDDA). The foam structure was obtained by heating the crosslinked sheets at 225 °C. The effect of ACA content and irradiation dose on the gel percent, tensile strength, cell density, and thermal stabilities was investigated. The results showed clearly that the increasing of ACA content reduces the stress and strain at break and increase the gel content. On the other hand, the foaming degree increases with increasing the ACA content and decreases with increasing irradiation dose. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.