A thermally expandable sheet according to the present invention includes a stress buffer layer provided on one surface of a base material and having an elastic property, a thermal expansion layer provided on the stress buffer layer and containing a first thermally expandable material that expands according to heat and a first binder, and a cover layer provided on the thermal expansion layer and having an elastic property.

The present invention relates to an expanded beads molded article containing a block copolymer of a polyethylene block and an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer block and having a density of 30 kg/m.sup.3 or more and less than 150 kg/m.sup.3 and a modulus of repulsion elasticity of 60% or more. The sole member of the present invention includes the expanded beads molded article of the present invention.

The present disclosure provides a composite material layer including a core layer and a shell layer. The core layer includes foamed elastomers. The shell layer encapsulates the core layer and continuously covered surfaces of the foamed elastomers, wherein the shell layer includes a material having light absorption. The melting point of the core layer is higher than the melting point of the shell layer.

A method for making a low cost, lightweight carbon aggregate from coal at, above, or below atmospheric pressure, and a lightweight concrete composition utilizing the lightweight carbon aggregate is described.

Improvements in the extrusion of thermohardenable materials are achieved by cooling the material in the initial zone of the extruder and reducing residence time by use of a prescribed length to diameter ratio and screw speed, particularly useful for intermittent application during robotically controlled mass production.

The invention relates to a method for producing a moulded part (50) by structural foam moulding, in which a polymer melt (18) is provided by melting a thermoplastic material, in which the polymer melt (18) is charged with a foaming agent (22) and in which the polymer melt (18) charged with the foaming agent (22) is injected under pressure into a cavity (26) of a mould (28), and so the polymer melt (18) fills the cavity (26) behind a melt front (34) running through the cavity (26), wherein the rate of injection at which the polymer melt (18) is injected into the cavity (26) of the mould (28) is set such that the internal pressure of the polymer melt (18) in the cavity (26), in a region (40) that follows a portion of the melt front (34) with a time delay of at most 0.15 seconds, is greater than the critical pressure of the foaming agent (22), at least at one point in time during the injection-moulding operation. The invention also relates to a moulded part (50) of an expanded thermoplastic material, wherein the moulded part (50) has a surface region with visual structuring formed by the expanded thermoplastic material of which the average ratio of the degrees of gloss measured in the direction of flow in relation to the degrees of gloss measured transversely to the direction of flow is below 1.9, preferably below 1.5, in particular below 1.2. The invention also relates to uses of such a moulded part.

The invention relates to a molding composed of extruded foam, wherein at least one fiber (F) is present with a fiber region (FB2) within the molding and is surrounded by the extruded foam, while a fiber region (FB1) of the fiber (F) projects from a first side of the molding and a fiber region (FB3) of the fiber (F) projects from a second side of the molding, and the extruded foam is produced by an extrusion process comprising the following steps: I) providing a polymer melt in an extruder, II) introducing at least one blowing agent into the polymer melt provided in step I) to obtain a foamable polymer melt, III) extruding the foamable polymer melt obtained in step II) from the extruder through at least one die aperture into an area at lower pressure, with expansion of the foamable polymer melt to obtain an expanded foam, and IV) calibrating the expanded foam from step III) by conducting the expanded foam through a shaping tool to obtain the extruded foam.

A method for producing a foam-molded product by using a plasticizing cylinder, includes: plasticizing and melting the thermoplastic resin to provide the molten resin in a plasticization zone of the plasticizing cylinder; introducing a pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent at a fixed pressure into a starvation zone of the plasticizing cylinder to retain the starvation zone at the fixed pressure; allowing the molten resin to be in the starved state in the starvation zone; bringing the molten resin in contact with the pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent at the fixed pressure, in the starvation zone in a state in which the starvation zone is retained at the fixed pressure; and molding the molten resin having been brought in contact with the pressurized fluid containing the physical foaming agent into the foam-molded product.

The present invention relates to a molding made from foam, wherein at least one fiber (F) is partly within the molding, i.e. is surrounded by the foam. The two ends of the respective fibers (F) that are not surrounded by the foam thus each project from one side of the corresponding molding. The foam comprises at least two mutually bonded foam segments.

A method for making a low cost, lightweight carbon aggregate from coal at, above, or below atmospheric pressure, and a lightweight concrete composition utilizing the lightweight carbon aggregate is described.