(119an) Effective Diffusion of Polystyrene Film and EPS Foam

Diffusion coefficients for
expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) and polystyrene film are vital information to
many industries worldwide. The method used to obtain the data in this study was
a transmission flow method. The diffusion data obtained during this study were
on the same order of magnitude as previous researchers, and was rather
consistent. The diffusion coefficients were obtained for argon gas through
0.08, 0.11 and 0.27 mm thick films, and helium gas through 0.11 mm thick film.
The diffusion coefficients for argon through the 0.08 mm thick polystyrene film
were between 2.07 and 2.21 x 10^-11 m²/s , through 0.11 mm thick film were between 5.27 and
7.24 x 10^-12 m²/s,
through 0.27 mm thick film were between 4.91 and 6.22 x 10^-12 m²/s, and the diffusion coefficients for helium through
0.11 mm thick film were between 5.1 and 6.08 x 10^-11 m²/s. Some work was also done with diffusion through
EPS, and the diffusion coefficients were on the order of magnitude of 10^-7
m²/s.