(737h) Simulation of Urethane Foaming Processes

Urethane formulations typically consist of two to five co-monomers and from four to eight additives including catalysts and surfactants.  These thermoset polymers form in a process of rapidly changing physical and chemical properties.  The complexity of this process has resulted in an industry that has been dominated by expertise embedded in people and formulation development that can accurately be described as an art.  This creates a particularly difficult situation for advances in sustainability, especially use of soy-based polyols, because of how the momentum of proven formulations dominate the industry.

This paper is on the simulation of the complex urethane forming processes.  A simulation program for urethane-forming reactions has been developed to assist in adopting soy-based resins in formulations.  This paper describes Matlab program used to simulate urethane-forming reactions including the ability to simulate the reactions, viscosity, and gas formation in formulations containing up to three different polyols.