There are many types of foam molding methods. The most commonly used methods are the pressure foaming method, in which foam resin is mixed with a foaming agent at high temperature and high pressure, and the normal pressure foaming method, which foams at high temperature without pressure. The polymer resins used for foaming have different viscosities. For foaming under normal pressure, they need to be designed and analyzed for optimal foaming conditions, to obtain resins with low melt-viscosity or a narrow optimal viscosity range. This study investigated how changes in viscosity, molding temperature, and cross-link foaming conditions affected the characteristics of the molded foam, prepared by blending rubber polymer with biodegradable resin. The morphologies of cross sections and the cell structures of the normal pressure foam were investigated by SEM analysis. Properties were also studied according to cross-link/foaming conditions and torque. Also, the correlation between foaming characteristics was studied by analyzing tensile strength and elongation, which are mechanical properties of foaming composites.

The purpose of this study is to develop a zirconium-based alloy with low modulus and magnetic susceptibility to prevent the stress-shielding effect and the generation of artifacts. Zr-7Cu-xSn (x = 1, 5, 10, 15 mass%) alloys are prepared by an arc melting process. Microstructure characterization is performed by microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Mechanical properties are evaluated using micro Vickers hardness and compression test. The magnetic susceptibility is evaluated using a SQUIDVSM. The average magnetic susceptibility value of the Zr-7Cu-xSn alloy is 1.176 × 108 cm3g1. Corrosion tests of zirconiumbased alloys are conducted through polarization test. The average Icorr value of the Zr-7Cu-xSn alloy is 0.1912 A/cm2. The elastic modulus value of 14 ~ 18 GPa of the zirconium-based alloy is very similar to the elastic modulus value of 15 ~ 30 GPa of the human bone. Consequently, the Sn added zirconium alloy, Zr-7Cu-xSn, is very interesting and attractive as a biomaterial that reduces the stress-shielding effect caused by differences of elastic modulus between human bone and metallic implants. In addition, this material has the potential to be used in metallic dental implants to effectively eliminate artifacts in MRI images due to low magnetic susceptibility.