Advancements in soft polyolefin bead foams for automotive interior trim components permit a more targeted response to automotive industry requirements, including: cushioning, energy management efficiency, parts consolidation, elimination of restricted materials and substances, recycleability, and lower prices.
This paper will describe these recent advancements in the properties of and processing techniques for soft polyolefin foams.
Soft polyolefin foam properties allow interior components to meet increasingly stringent environmental substance regulations. They also allow interior components to meet a broad range of application requirements from the requirements for soft feel at low strain rates to the requirements for energy absorption at higher strain rates.
The unique properties of these soft polyolefin foams address interior application requirements, including weight reduction, energy absorption performance (per recent FMVSS changes), and styling.
New processing techniques for moldable soft polyolefin bead foams include the ability to produce molded part densities as low as 13 g/l (0.8 pcf), the ability to produce varying degrees of cross-linking to affect the degree of foam softness and resilience, and the ability to produce one-step Class-A surface molded parts with TPO laminated skins.
This paper will describe advances in polyolefin resins, a discussion of advanced polyolefin bead foam processing techniques, information regarding quasi-static and dynamic stress-strain curves, and information regarding foam cushioning.