Journals / Gazi Üniversitesi Mühendislik Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 41 Sayı: 2

Industrial assessment of polyurethane foams and influence processing parameters of raw materials on mechanical properties

Poliüretan köpüklerin endüstriyel değerlendirmesi ve hammaddelerin işleme parametrelerinin mekanik özellikler üzerindeki etkisi

Pages
1155–1170
Publication Date
2026-07-20
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

In addition, SEM analysis was used to examine the morphological structures of the PUFs, and it was determined that increases in temperature and flow rate led to larger pore sizes, while increases in the I:P ratio and total I–P content reduced porosity.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Work life constitutes a significant part of daily living, and offices have become the spaces most frequently used by individuals.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The aim of this study is to determine the industrial-scale production parameters at which polyurethane foams (PUFs), widely used in office furniture, exhibit optimum performance, and to examine the effects of these parameters on PUFs through various analyses.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:In addition, SEM analysis was used to examine the morphological structures of the PUFs, and it was determined that increases in temperature and flow rate led to larger pore sizes, while increases in the I:P ratio and total I–P content reduced porosity.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Poliüretan sünger · ergonomik tasarım · endüstriyel üretim

Abstract

Work life constitutes a significant part of daily living, and offices have become the spaces most frequently used by individuals. Therefore, ergonomic design and furniture choice, which greatly enhance employee productivity, are highly important. The aim of this study is to determine the industrial-scale production parameters at which polyurethane foams (PUFs), widely used in office furniture, exhibit optimum performance, and to examine the effects of these parameters on PUFs through various analyses. In the PUF trials, stepwise studies were carried out to obtain the optimum formulation by varying the I:P ratio, total I–P content, flow rate during molding, and mold temperature. Various mechanical tests were conducted to determine the performance of the samples, and it was identified that the most suitable production conditions for the sample with the optimum formulation are a 60:100 I:P ratio, 700 g total I–P content, 350 g/s flow rate during molding, and a mold temperature of 45 °C. Under these production conditions, mechanical analyses revealed values of 52.1% ball rebound, 4.04% permanent deformation, 170.63 N hardness, 0.871 N/cm tear strength, and 113.9 kPa tensile strength. In addition, SEM analysis was used to examine the morphological structures of the PUFs, and it was determined that increases in temperature and flow rate led to larger pore sizes, while increases in the I:P ratio and total I–P content reduced porosity.

Özet

Çalışma hayatı günlük yaşantının önemli bir bölümünü kapsamakta olup ofisler kişilerin en çok kullanım sağladığı mekânlar olmuştur. Bu sebeple çalışanların verimliliğini önemli ölçüde arttıran ergonomik tasarım ve mobilya tercihi oldukça önemlidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı ofis mobilyalarında yoğunlukla kullanılan poliüretan süngerlerin (PUF) en iyi performans gösterdiği endüstriyel boyuttaki üretim parametrelerinin belirlenmesi ve bu parametrelerin PUF’lar üzerindeki etkisinin çeşitli analizler ile incelenmesidir. PUF denemelerinde I:P oranı, toplam I-P miktarı, kalıplama sırasındaki akış hızı ve kalıp sıcaklığı parametreleri değiştirilerek optimum formülasyon eldesi için kademeli çalışmalar yürütülmüştür. Numunelerin performanslarının tespitinde çeşitli mekanik analizler yürütülmüş olup en uygun formülasyona sahip numunenin üretim koşullarının 60:100 I:P oranı, 700 g toplam I-P miktarı, 350 g/s kalıplama sırasındaki akış hızı ve 45 °C kalıp sıcaklığı olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu üretim koşullarındaki mekanik analizler sonucunda %52,1 ball rebound, %4,04 kalıcı deformasyon, 170,63 N sertlik, 0,871 N/cm yırtılma direnci, 113,9 kPa çekme direnci değerleri tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte SEM analizi ile PUF’ların morfolojik yapıları incelenmiş olup sıcaklık ve akış hızı artışının gözenek boyutunu arttırdığı, I:P oranı ve toplam I-P miktarı artışının gözenekliliği azalttığı tespit edilmiştir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Şenkon, F. P., Şimşek, B., Tosun, Z., Akıllılar, A. (2026). Industrial assessment of polyurethane foams and influence processing parameters of raw materials on mechanical properties. Gazi Üniversitesi Mühendislik Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 41 Sayı: 2, 1155–1170. https://doi.org/10.17341/gazimmfd.1838390

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

↗New Tab

References (38)

  1. 1. Kariptaş FS., Kariptaş M., Changing Office Interior Design in Pandemic Conditions, NEU Journal of Faculty of Architecture (NEU-JFA), 2 (3), 57-70, 2021.
  2. 2. Belay M., Analyzing parameters of sustainable design in office furniture sector in Türkiye, 2022.
  3. 3. Demirel, S., Ergun Tuna, B., Constant-Fatigue Performance of Different Polyurethane Foams for Sitting Purposes, Kastamonu Univ., Journal of Forestry Faculty, 2 (19), 225-234, 2019.
  4. 4. Demirel, S., Ergun Tuna, B., Evaluation of the Cyclic Fatigue Performance of Polyurethane Foam in Different Density and Category, Polymer Testing, 76, 146-153, 2019.
  5. 5. Chen, Y., Das, R., Battley, M., Effects of cell size and cell wall thickness variations on the strength of closed-cell foams, International Journal of Engineering Science, 120, 220-240, 2017.
  6. 6. Harbron, Dale R., Page, Christopher J., Scarrow, Kaith R., Methods of Minimising Density Gradients in Rigid Polyurethane Foams, Journal of Cellular Plastics, 37, 43-57, 2001.
  7. 7. Marvi-Mashhadi, M., Lopes, C. S., Llorca, J., Surrogate models of the influence of the microstructure on the mechanical properties of closed- and open-cell foams, Journal of Materials Science, 18 (53), 12937-12948, 2018.
  8. 8. Thirumal, M., Khastgir, D., Singha, Nikhil K., Manjunath, B. S., Naik, Y. P., Effect of foam density on the properties of water blown rigid polyurethane foam, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 3 (108), 1810-1817, 2008.
  9. 9. Ramirez, Brian J., Gupta, V., High tear strength polyurea foams with low compression set and shrinkage properties at elevated temperatures, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 150, 29-34, 2019.
  10. 10. Karagiozova, D., Shu, D. W., Lu, G., Xiang, X., On the energy absorption of tube reinforced foam materials under quasi-static and dynamic compression, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 105, 102-116, 2016.
  11. 11. Linul, E., Marşavina, L., Vălean, C., Bănică, R., Static and dynamic mode I fracture toughness of rigid PUR foams under room and cryogenic temperatures, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 225, 106274, 2020.
  12. 12. Hwang, B-K., Kim, S-K., Kim, J-H., Kim, J-D., Lee, J-M., Dynamic compressive behavior of rigid polyurethane foam with various densities under different temperatures, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 180, 105657, 2020.
  13. 13. Maurya, Atul K., de Souza, Felipe M., Gupta, Ram K., Polyurethane and Its Composites: Synthesis to Application, Polyurethanes: Preparations, Properties and Applications, 1452, American Chemical Society,1, 1-20, 2023.
  14. 14. Cornille, A., Auvergne, R., Figovsky, O., Boutevin, B., Caillol, S., A perspective approach to sustainable routes for non-isocyanate polyurethanes, European Polymer Journal, 87, 535-552, 2017.
  15. 15. Beran, R., Zárybnická, L., Machová, D., Večeřa, M., Kalenda, P., Wood adhesives from waste-free recycling depolymerisation of flexible polyurethane foams, Journal of Cleaner Production, 305, 127142, 2021.
  16. 16. Heintz, Amy M., Duffy, Daniel J., Hsu, Shaw L., Suen, W., Chu, Wayne., Paul, Charles W., Effects of reaction temperature on the formation of polyurethane prepolymer structures, Macromolecules, 36 (8), 2695-2704, 2003.
  17. 17. Narayan, R., Chattopadhyay, DK., Sreedhar, B., Raju, KVSN., Mallikarjuna, NN., Aminabhavi, TM., Synthesis and characterization of crosslinked polyurethane dispersions based on hydroxylated polyesters, Journal of applied polymer science, 99 (1), 368-380, 2006.
  18. 18. Rampf, M., Speck, O., Speck, T., Luchsinger, Rolf H., Structural and mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams cured under pressure, Journal of Cellular Plastics, 1 (48), 53-69, 2011.
  19. 19. Ates, M., Karadag, S., Eker, Aysegul A., Eker, B., Polyurethane Foam Materials and Their Industrial Applications, Polymer International, 10 (71), 1157-1163, 2022.
  20. 20. IQS, Plastic Injection Molding: Processes, Advantages and Disadvantages, Industrial Quick Search, https://www.iqsdirectory.com/articles/plastic-injection-molding.html, 22.09.2025.
  21. 21. Park, S-J., Seo, M-K., Element and Processing, Interface Science and Technology, 18, Elsevier, 431-499, 2011.
  22. 22. Lima Torres, Marina Verenčević, An experimental procedure for Reaction Injection Moulding – RIM – materials formulation design, PhD., Universidade do Porto, Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2014.
  23. 23. Gallagher, Polyurethane Durometer, Precision Polyurethane Molding, https://gallaghercorp.com/polyurethane-durometer hardness/#:~:text=The%20most%20popular%20scales%20for,)%20to%20100%20(hard, 25.11.2015.
  24. 24. ISO, Cellular plastics and rubbers — Determination of apparent density, International Standard, https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/fadd326f-2f2f-4c55-8169-abf05ccdb050/iso-845-2006, 845, 2006.
  25. 25. Foam Sales, Polyurethane Flexible Foam- Physical Properties, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-34A1sC7YFSzRYrQeFHdn_k6iGx8c5plQ4RGcIJa5HM/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0, 2024.
  26. 26. Union Win, What is Foam Density, https://uwinfoam.com/foam-density-and-chart/#:~:text=%E2%80%93%20Low%2Ddensity%20foams%20around%201.0,vehicle%20seating%2C%20and%20specialty%20applications, 2015, 25.11.2025.
  27. 27. ISO, Flexible Cellular Polymeric Materials — Determination of Resilience by Ball Rebound, International Standard, https://cdn.standards.iteh.ai/samples/70214/18cfe56b9d9e4fb8b15695e144efbe0a/ISO-8307-2018.pdf, 8307, 2018
  28. 28. ISO, Flexible Cellular Polymeric Materials — Determination of Compression Set, International Standard, https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/29e682d7-bb9c-406d-8fc4-4a2d4b55fb10/iso-1856-2018, 1856, 2018
  29. 29. ISO, Flexible Cellular Polymeric Materials —Determination of Hardness (Indentation Technique), International Standard, https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/f37401fd-2fd4-4fa6-b15c-8167ee418f6a/iso-2439-2008, 2439, 2008.
  30. 30. Wang, J., Zhang, C., Deng, Y., Zhang, P., A Review of Research on the Effect of Temperature on the Properties of Polyurethane Foams, Polymers, 14 (21), 4586, 2022.
  31. 31. Wang, S. Study on the Control of Polyurethane Foam Pore Structure. Master’s Thesis, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China, 2002.
  32. 32. Kim, H.; Woong, Y.J. A Study on Foaming Characteristics of Polyurethane Depending On Environmental Temperature and Blowing Agent Content. Trans. Mater. Process, 18, 256–261, 2009.
  33. 33. Ochsner, A.; Murch, G. Cellular and Porous Materials: Thermal Properties Simulation and Prediction; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, Germany, 2008.
  34. 34. Oppon, C., Hackney, P. M., Shyha, I., Birkett, M., Effect of Varying Mixing Ratios and Pre-Heat Temperature on the Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane (PU) Foam, Procedia Engineering, 132, 701-708, 2015.
  35. 35. Mohamed, Dhey J., Hadi, Nizar Jawad A., Zoalfokkar K., Investigation of the Polyol Types and Isocyanate Concentrations on the Rheological, Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Foams, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 1094 (1), 012157, 2021.
  36. 36. Zeydan, M., Optimization of Flexible Polyurethane Foam Hardness by Reducing Process Variance, Sigma J Eng & Nat Sci, 4 (38), 1851-1867, 2020.
  37. 37. Ding, D., Xing, J., Yu, F., Shi, Y.-X., Zhang, X., Zeng, X., Li, S., He, L., & Jiang, T., Interplay Between Blowing Agent and Nucleating Agent: Effect of Content Variation on Nucleation Efficiency and Cell Structure. Journal of Polymer Science, 2025.
  38. 38. Minogue, E., An in-situ study of the nucleation process of polyurethane rigid foam formation, PhD thesis, Dublin City University, 2000.