Bead Foam
E-TPU BEAD FOAM
WHAT IS E-TPU?
E-TPU (Expanded Thermal Polyurethane) is produced by expansion of the air. E-TPU beads are ultralight with high resilience, and they can be expanded to 5~10 times bigger than original size. There are numerous cells whose diameter range is from 30 to 300um with a plenty of air inside of the beads. E-TPU is a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer which is widely used for applications requiring high durability because of its excellent mechanical properties such as tensile strength, tear strength, and abrasion resistance.
Eco-friendly ETPU materials fully meet the criteria of EURoHS (a restriction of using harmful components in electronic devices) and other regulations. In addition, ETPU materials are completely recyclable, which is a definite advantages for environment protection.
E-TPU ELASTICITY & THE PRINCIPLE
After pre-treatment to foamed granules of ETPU beads by pressure heating, each of TPU (thermoplastic elastomer material) particle expands like popcorn. In this process, the original particles with size of 0.5mm can expand to 10 times bigger, thus turns to E-TPU, an oval and non-crosslinked foamed particle, which contains micro-closed cells that look like “popcorn.” During the expansion process in autoclave, ETPU beads are heated at 150℃, the softening point of TPU. CO2 blowing agent is impregnated into Soft Segment (SS) which results in expansion of TPU and arrangement of crystal domain of Hard Segment(HS). This is the basic principle of excellent elastic property of E-TPU.
E-TPU CHARACTERISTICS
Low density (Ultralight)
Great chemical resistance
High tensile
strength
Outstanding
resilience
Eco-friendly
material
High elasticity
E-TPU APPLICATIONS
ETPU can be used wherever a combination of light weight, good mechanical properties and good long-term durability is required. Possible areas of application for this durable material include reusable recycling trays in the sports and leisure sector (paddle tennis rackets, table tennis rackets, bicycle tires, helmets), vehicle construction (vibration decoupling), mechanical engineering (buffers for cushion elements industrial compressors) as well as in the footwear industry, as well as reusable recycling trays in the logistics sector.