Pouring Cup Test

Use the basin (cup) icon to run an optional pouring cup test to evaluate a material that you want to assign to your model for a foaming simulation.

Location: Foaming ribbon, Pouring Basin satellite icon on the Foam Part icon.

The pouring cup test shows you how parameters such as temperature and fill percentage can determine the foaming behavior of a material relative to a particular mold shape. The simulated expansion of the foam can help you determine the optimal conditions and material amounts to use in the physical manufacturing of the foam part.

The pouring cup test is conducted separately from the foam part setup and simulation. Run a pouring cup test before loading your foam part model, otherwise you will be prompted to close your model.

Hover over the Foam Part icon and click the Pouring Basin satellite icon.

The default basin appears prefilled at 20%.

Use the microdialog options to define the basin and material, and to run the test.


Microdialog option	Description
	Select a shape for the pouring basin, then expand the dialog and enter the dimensions for the basin: For the cylinder, enter a radius and height. For the cone, enter a bottom radius, top radius and height. For the cube, enter a length, width and height.
	Specifiy the amount of material in the basin at the start of the test either by mass (in units) or volume (as a percentage of the basin capacity). The default prefill is 20% of the basin's capacity.
	Click the View Materials button to open the Materials dialog and review the material properties of your selected material. You can also edit, import, export and assign materials from this dialog.
	Select a material for the pouring cup test. You can also assign a material from the Materials dialog.
	Enter the initial temperature for the selected foaming material.
End time condition	Enter the desired duration of the test in seconds. The default value of 300 seconds will usually be sufficient.
Environmental HTC	Enter the environmental heat transfer coefficient for the material.
Environmental Temperature	Enter the ambient temperature for the simulation.
Sensors	Click the to place one or more virtual sensors in the pouring cup, if desired. The sensors will show data from their location during the simulation.
Shape options	Click the chevrons to reveal fields that control the dimensions of the pouring cup.
	Click the Run button to run the pouring cup test.
Material Characterization	Check the checkbox to enable the Material Characterization process.
Configure	Click to open the Material Characterization window. Note: You will need data gathered from a real-world pouring cup experiment to use the Material Characterization feature.

Select the completed run in the Run Status window.
Select a Stage and Result Type in the Analysis Explorer and review the results.
The following examples show results for the Crash Pad material in a cone basin with default settings.

Figure 1. Air pressure results for the defects stage

Figure 2. Polyol [mgKOH] results for the foaming stage

Note: To view data from sensors, select the Callouts button in the Analysis Explorer.

Material Characterization

Use data from your own physical pouring cup experiments to refine the results for PolyFoam's virtual pouring cup test and other simulations.

Material Characterization Window

Before you use the Material Characterization window, you will need to gather data from a real-world pouring cup experiment. In your experiment, use one of the materials described in the Materials Database, or one of the customized materials in My Materials. See Create/Edit Materials for details.

When the real-world data is available, enter it into the Material Characterization window.

Once the material characterization process is complete, the Material Charactrization Results window appears, along with the foam shape of the optimal result. You can use the plots to compare your experimental data with the simulation data.

If the curves do not align, you can adjust the Material Characterization settings and re-run the analysis. After running a material characterization analysis where simulation results match experimental results, future simulations for that material will be much more accurate.


Window Option	Description
Material Type	Note: This field is not directly controllable. Either "Soft Material" or "Rigid Material" will appear, depending on the material selected in the Pouring Cup microdialog.
Name	Enter a name for your modified material.
Polyol : Isocyanate	Enter the parts by weight of isocyanate per 100 parts of polyol. Generally, as this number increases, the finished product will be more rigid. Other additives can also affect the properties of the product.
Water	Enter the parts by weight of water per 100 parts of polyol. Usually, more water in the mixture results in quicker and greater expansion.
OH Value	Enter the milligrams of KOH per gram of other material.
NCO	Enter the percentage by weight of unreacted isocyanate groups in the material.
Blowing Agent	Enter parts by weight of blowing agent per 100 parts of polyol. Note: This field appears only for rigid materials.
Blowing Agent Boiling Point	Enter the blowing agent's boiling temperature. Note: This field appears only for rigid materials. Mold temperature control is important. If the mold's temperature is below the blowing agent's boiling temperature, the reaction will not occur. If the mold's temperature is too high, an explosive reaction may occur.
Quick run	Limit the number of simulation iterations to the number specified in the Preferences. The default value of 200 iterations will otherwise apply. Note: Visit File > Preferences > Inspire Foam > Analysis > Material Characterization > Quick Run Maximum Iteration to change the iteration limit.
Base Material	Note: This field is not directly controllable. To change the Base Material entry, you must select a different material in the Pouring Cup microdialog.
Gelling E	Enter the lower and upper limit of the gelling activation energy for the material.
Gelling dH	Enter the lower and upper limit of the gelling latent heat.
Chemical Blowing E	Enter the lower and upper limit of the chemical blowing activation energy for the material.
Chemical Blowing dH	Enter the lower and upper limit of the chemical blowing latent heat of the material.
Physical Blowing E	Enter the lower and upper limit of the physical blowing activation energy for the material. Note: This field appears only for rigid materials.
Physical Blowing dH	Enter the lower and upper limit of the physical blowing latent heat of the material. Note: This field appears only for rigid materials.
CO2 Saturation	Enter the lower and upper limit of the CO₂ saturation of the material.
Import Data	Import height curve and temperature curve data from a formatted .csv or .txt file. Note: The plots are not directly controllable. You must import your data to populate the plots. Height curve data must be expressed in mm. Temperature curve data must be expressed in degrees C. Height curve data is required; temperature curve data is optional.