A Feasibility Study on ECT Monitoring of Froth Molding of Polyurethane

This paper presents our recent experimental investigation on the feasibility of monitoring the froth molding, a special case of solidification process, of polyurethane by using electrical capacitance tomography. The major challenge is the extremely low solid density of the solidified material during the process due to the very large expansion ratio. Suitable calibration method is sought and adequate image reconstruction algorithm is applied for such a task. Different expansion modes have been observed during experiment and corresponding images reconstructed. This visualization technique clearly revealed the expansion process by a time series of images of the solid density. The test results proved the capability of electrical capacitance tomography in monitoring the expansion of polyurethane. Future ways for improvement are also suggested.