2.3. Characterizations
The structure of each foam was investigated using a Varian 1000 infrared spectrometer (Varian, Palo Alto, CA, USA) and ESI-MS spectrometer (Waters, Milford, MA, USA). For the FTIR examination, the samples preparation involved mixing 1 g of KBr with 0.01 g of each sample in powder form and the investigation run covered a wavenumber range of 500 to 4000 cm−1.
The apparent density of foam samples was determined according to the GB/T 6342-2009 national standard. The size of each sample was measured and Eq.(1) was applied for calculating the apparent density:
where,
m is the mass of the sample, g;
v is the volume of the sample, mm
3;
ρ is the apparent density, kg/m
3.
Thermal conductivity can effectively reveal the insulation performance of the sample, therefore a lower thermal conductivity can maintain the foot temperature and improve the comfort of the wearer. The thermal conductivity of the samples was tested using a thermal conductivity meter (YBF-2, MINSKS, Xian, China). The samples were cut into cylinders with radius (R) 50 mm and thickness (h) 10 mm, and the obtained data was processed according to the Eq.(2):
where,
λ is the thermal conductivity of the foam, W·m
-1·K
-1;
m is the mass of the lower copper plate, g;
c is the specific heat capacity of the copper block,
and
are the radius and thickness of the lower copper plate, mm, respectively;
R is the radius of the sample, mm;
h is the height of the sample, mm;
is the temperature difference between the upper and lower copper plates;
is the cooling rate of the copper plate exposed to the air.
Hardness is the main feature of any outsole, midsole or foam insole, because it is related to flexibility and cushioning effect. Shore hardness tester is often used for soft plastics and rubber materials. The test method depends on pressing a specific indenter into the material under specific conditions and measure the hardness of the material by the numerical value displayed by the hardness tester. In the current study, Shore hardness tester (LX-C, HANDPI, Shanghai, China) was selected for measuring the hardness of foam samples.
The rebound rate of the samples was tested according to the national standard GB/T 6670-2008. The samples were cut according to the dimensions (100 ± 0.5) mm × (100 ± 0.5) mm × (50 ± 0.5) mm then tested using a falling ball rebound meter (PMLQ-400, Beiguang Precision Instrument Co., Beijing, China). The drop height of the steel ball was 500 mm ± 0. 5 mm and the mass of the steel ball was 16. 8 g ± 1. 5 g. Three measurements were conducted for each specimen and the average value was recorded.
Under the environmental conditions of room temperature, 23 °C and relative humidity not more than 75%, the foam samples were cut to a dumbbell shape with a thickness of 2 mm according to the standard of GB/T 528-2009 in accordance with
Figure 1. A universal testing machine (WDW-20D, Bairoe Test Equipment Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China) was used to apply tensile force at a speed of 500±50 mm/min until the specimen is broken, while the test was repeated five times under the same conditions. The elongation at break of the specimens was calculated according to the Eq.(3):
where,
E is the elongation at break of the specimen, %;
L is the specimen fracture distance, mm;
L0 is the specimen original distance, mm.
The tensile strength of the foam samples was tested according to the national standard GB/T 528-2009. The foam samples were cut according to the dimensional requirements appearing in
Figure 1 and tested using a universal testing machine (WDW-20D, Bairoe Test Equipment Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China) with a jig stretching rate of 500 ± 50 mm/min until the specimens were pulled off, and the maximum tensile force and the cross-sectional area of the specimens were recorded and calculated according to Eq.(4):
where,
TS is the tensile strength of the sample, kPa;
F is the maximum load on the sample, N;
A is the original cross-sectional area of the sample, mm
2.
The tear strength of the samples was tested according to the national standard GB/T 6342-1996. The foam samples were cut into rectangular specimens as illustrated in
Figure 2, and each specimen should have a 50±5 mm long cut on one side. The samples were tested with a tear strength tester (INSTRON-6800, INSTRON Ltd., Boston, USA) with a fixture moving at a speed of 50 mm/ min. The test results were calculated according to Eq.(5):
where,
R is the tear strength, N/m;
F is the maximum tear value, N;
d is the initial average thickness of the sample, m.