<p>This thesis concerns the fate of the meteoric smoke in the Middle Atmosphere, and its effect on ice phenomena such as noctilucent clouds (NLC) and polar stratospheric clouds (PSC). </p><p>The potential role of NLC as tracer for mesospheric processes and variability, and as a tool for monitoring this remote and inaccessible region, has generated substantial interest within the scientific community. The nucleation of ice in such a dry environment is not trivial. Supersaturation is considered too low for homogeneous nucleation. Hence, pre-existing condensation nuclei are deemed necessary, with smoke particles having long been considered the most likely candidate. Here we show that the atmospheric circulation transports meteoric smoke particles away from the polar region before they coagulate large enough to efficiently act as ice condensation nuclei. We also show that the charging of meteoric smoke, in combination with deviations from the mean thermal state, may solve this dilemma by significantly altering the ice nucleation properties of smoke. Thus, while it is highly questionable whether neutral smoke can provide sufficient amounts of condensation nuclei for ice formation at the polar summer mesopause, charged meteoric smoke proves to be a promising candidate to explain mesospheric ice phenomena as we observe them.</p><p> We further show that the bulk of the meteoric material is transported to the Arctic winter stratosphere, yielding significantly higher concentrations of meteoric smoke in the region of PSC nucleation than has previously been believed. Our new predictions of meteoric smoke in this region may thus shed new light on open questions relating to PSC nucleation.</p>

Understanding the mechanism of bubble-particle interactions plays a critical role in advancing flotation technology. In this study, submicron size bubbles with an average diameter less than 1 μm and a life time of at least several hours were generated using a novel hydrodynamic cavitation method. Effect of mechanical force and water chemistry on generation and stability of submicron size bubbles is investigated. With recent development in measuring zeta potential distributions of colloidal systems, interactions of bubbles and fine solid particles in various electrolyte, surfactant and frother solutions as well as in industrial process water were studied using the stable submicron size bubbles generated by hydrodynamic cavitation. The outcome of this study provides not only a better understanding of bubble-particle attachment mechanism and its role in flotation, but also a direct evidence of armour-coating of bubbles and enhanced bubble-particle interactions by in situ gas nucleation. / Chemical Engineering

For more than 70 years, understanding of the mechanism of particle nucleation in emulsion polymerization has been one of the most challenging issues in heterophase polymerization research. Within this work a comprehensive experimental study of particle nucleation in emulsion polymerization of styrene at 70 °C and variety of conditions has been performed. To follow the onset of nucleation, on-line conductivity measurements were applied. This technique is highly sensitive to the mobility of conducting species and hence, it can be employed to follow aggregation processes leading to particle formation. On the other hand, by recording the optical transmission (turbidity) of the reaction mixture particle growth was followed. Complementary to the on-line investigations, off-line characterizations of the particle morphology and the molecular weight have been performed. The aim was to achieve a better insight in the processes taking place after starting the reaction via particle nucleation until formation of colloidally stable latex particles. With this experimental protocol the initial period of styrene emulsion polymerization in the absence as well as in the presence of various surfactants (concentrations above and below the critical micellization concentration) and also in the presence of seed particles has been investigated. Ionic and non-ionic initiators (hydrophilic and hydrophobic types) have been applied to start the polymerizations. Following the above algorithm, experimental evidence has been obtained showing the possibility of performing surfactant-free emulsion polymerization of styrene with oil-soluble initiators. The duration of the pre-nucleation period (that is the time between starting the polymerization and nucleation) can be precisely adjusted with the initiator hydrophobicity, the equilibration time of styrene in water, and the surfactant concentration. Spontaneous emulsification of monomer in water, as soon as both phases are brought into contact, is a key factor to explain the experimental results. The equilibration time of monomer in water as well as the type and concentration of other materials in water (surfactants, seed particles, etc.) control the formation rate and the size of the emulsified droplets and thus, have a strong influence on the particle nucleation and the particle morphology. One of the main tasks was to investigate the effect of surfactant molecules and especially micelles on the nucleation mechanism. Experimental results revealed that in the presence of emulsifier micelles the conductivity pattern does not change essentially. This means that the presence of emulsifiers does not change the mechanism of particle formation qualitatively. However, surfactants assist in the nucleation process as they lower the activation free energy of particle formation. Contrary, seed particles influence particle nucleation, substantially. In the presence of seed particles above a critical volume fraction the formation of new particles can be suppressed. However, micelles and seed particles as absorbers exhibit a common behavior under conditions where monomer equilibration is not allowed. Results prove that the nucleation mechanism comprises the initiation of water soluble oligomers in the aqueous phase followed by their aggregation. The process is heterogeneous in nature due to the presence of monomer droplets. / Polymere dominieren unsere Welt. Die natürlich vorkommenden Polymeren, wie Proteine, Polynukleotide, und Polysaccharide, sind nötig um das Leben zu erhalten. Ebenso wichtig sind die kommerziell erhältlichen Makromoleküle. Beides sind Bausteine, um Materialien zu konstruieren, welche man in beiden Welten finden kann- der natürlichen und der „Mensch-gemachten“ Welt. Unter den verschiedenen Polymerisationsmethoden hat sich die Emulsions-polymerisation zu einem weit verbreiteten Prozess entwickelt. Die Emulsionspolymerisation ist ein einzigartiger Polymerisationsprozess, bei dem ein Monomer oder ein Gemisch von Monomeren in einem wässrigen Medium polymerisiert wird. Dabei entsteht eine Dispersion von Polymeren, welche auch als Latex bezeichnet wird. Derzeit werden mehrere Millionen Tonnen von synthetischen Latices mit Hilfe der Emulsionspolymerisation hergestellt. Diese finden zum Beispiel Verwendung als synthetische Gummi, Latexschaum, Latexfarben, Papierbeschichtungen und Klebstoffen. Außerdem findet man sie auch bei Spezialanwendungen, wie Diagnosetests, Pharmakotherapien und chromatographischen Trennmethoden. Trotz der Vielzahl von industriellen Anwendungen, sollten all jenen, die sich mit Emulsionspolymerisation beschäftigen, den wissenschaftlichen und technologischen Herausforderungen, die sich stellen, bewusst sein. Die wichtigsten Fragen beim Umgang mit der Emulsionspolymerisation beinhalten das Verständnis des Prozesses der Partikelbildung und des Partikelwachstums. Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Frage der Keimbildungs-etappe in Emulsionspolymerisationen. Die Untersuchungen wurden mit Hilfe eines on-line Leitfähigkeitsmessverfahren sowie einigen off-line analytischen Experimenten durchgeführt. Basierend auf den klaren experimentellen Daten, wurde ein besserer Einblick in die tatsächlichen Zustände des Polymerisationssystems, von der Zeit der neu geboren Kerne bis zu endgültig stabilisierten Teilchen, gewonnen.

This thesis provides a novel view on the early stage of crystallization utilizing calcium carbonate as a model system. Calcium carbonate is of great economical, scientific and ecological importance, because it is a major part of water hardness, the most abundant Biomineral and forms huge amounts of geological sediments thus binding large amounts of carbon dioxide. The primary experiments base on the evolution of supersaturation via slow addition of dilute calcium chloride solution into dilute carbonate buffer. The time-dependent measurement of the Ca2+ potential and concurrent pH = constant titration facilitate the calculation of the amount of calcium and carbonate ions bound in pre-nucleation stage clusters, which have never been detected experimentally so far, and in the new phase after nucleation, respectively. Analytical Ultracentrifugation independently proves the existence of pre-nucleation stage clusters, and shows that the clusters forming at pH = 9.00 have a proximately time-averaged size of altogether 70 calcium and carbonate ions. Both experiments show that pre-nucleation stage cluster formation can be described by means of equilibrium thermodynamics. Effectively, the cluster formation equilibrium is physico-chemically characterized by means of a multiple-binding equilibrium of calcium ions to a ‘lattice’ of carbonate ions. The evaluation gives GIBBS standard energy for the formation of calcium/carbonate ion pairs in clusters, which exhibits a maximal value of approximately 17.2 kJ mol^-1 at pH = 9.75 and relates to a minimal binding strength in clusters at this pH-value. Nucleated calcium carbonate particles are amorphous at first and subsequently become crystalline. At high binding strength in clusters, only calcite (the thermodynamically stable polymorph) is finally obtained, while with decreasing binding strength in clusters, vaterite (the thermodynamically least stable polymorph) and presumably aragonite (the thermodynamically intermediate stable polymorph) are obtained additionally. Concurrently, two different solubility products of nucleated amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) are detected at low binding strength and high binding strength in clusters (ACC I 3.1EE-8 M^2, ACC II 3.8EE-8 M^2), respectively, indicating the precipitation of at least two different ACC species, while the clusters provide the precursor species of ACC. It is proximate that ACC I may relate to calcitic ACC –i.e. ACC exhibiting short range order similar to the long range order of calcite and that ACC II may relate to vateritic ACC, which will subsequently transform into the particular crystalline polymorph as discussed in the literature, respectively. Detailed analysis of nucleated particles forming at minimal binding strength in clusters (pH = 9.75) by means of SEM, TEM, WAXS and light microscopy shows that predominantly vaterite with traces of calcite forms. The crystalline particles of early stages are composed of nano-crystallites of approximately 5 to 10 nm size, respectively, which are aligned in high mutual order as in mesocrystals. The analyses of precipitation at pH = 9.75 in presence of additives –polyacrylic acid (pAA) as a model compound for scale inhibitors and peptides exhibiting calcium carbonate binding affinity as model compounds for crystal modifiers- shows that ACC I and ACC II are precipitated in parallel: pAA stabilizes ACC II particles against crystallization leading to their dissolution for the benefit of crystals that form from ACC I and exclusively calcite is finally obtained. Concurrently, the peptide additives analogously inhibit the formation of calcite and exclusively vaterite is finally obtained in case of one of the peptide additives. These findings show that classical nucleation theory is hardly applicable for the nucleation of calcium carbonate. The metastable system is stabilized remarkably due to cluster formation, while clusters forming by means of equilibrium thermodynamics are the nucleation relevant species and not ions. Most likely, the concept of cluster formation is a common phenomenon occurring during the precipitation of hardly soluble compounds as qualitatively shown for calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. This finding is important for the fundamental understanding of crystallization and nucleation-inhibition and modification by additives with impact on materials of huge scientific and industrial importance as well as for better understanding of the mass transport in crystallization. It can provide a novel basis for simulation and modelling approaches. New mechanisms of scale formation in Bio- and Geomineralization and also in scale inhibition on the basis of the newly reported reaction channel need to be considered. / Die vorliegende Arbeit zeichnet ein neuartiges Bild der frühen Kristallisationsphase von Calciumcarbonat. Calciumcarbonat hat als Hauptbestandteil der Wasserhärte und als weit verbreitetes Biomineral und Geomineral, das als Sediment in den Ozeanen große Mengen Kohlendioxid bindet, große Bedeutung. Die grundlegenden Experimente basieren auf der sehr langsamen Einstellung von Übersättigung, die durch langsame Zugabe verdünnter Calciumlösung in verdünnten Carbonatpuffer erreicht wird. Zeitabhängige Messung des Ca2+ Potentials bei gleichzeitiger pH = konstant Titration zeigt, dass zeitgemittelt vor der Nukleation gleiche Stoffmengen von Calcium- und Carbonat Ionen in Clustern gebunden sind, die bis jetzt noch nicht experimentell nachgewiesen werden konnten. Analytische Ultrazentrifugation belegt unabhängig die Existenz der Cluster, und es zeigt sich, dass sich die bei pH = 9,00 bildenden Cluster zeitgemittelt aus insgesamt etwa 70 Calcium und Carbonat Ionen bestehen. Die Experimente weisen darauf hin, dass sich die Clusterbildung auf der Grundlage von Gleichgewichtsthermodynamik beschreiben lässt. Ein multiples Bindungsgleichgewichtsmodell ermöglicht die Bestimmung der freien Standard Reaktionsenthalpie für die Bildung von Calcium/Carbonat Ionenpaaren in den Clustern, die ein Maß für die Bindungsstärke in Clustern darstellt. Die Bindungsstärke weist ein Minimum bei pH = 9,75 auf, und es zeigt sich, dass außerhalb dieses Minimums amorphes Calciumcarbonat ausfällt, das sich letztendlich in Calcit (das thermodynamisch stabile Calciumcarbonat Polymorph) umwandelt, während im Minimum und in der Nähe des Minimums amorphes Calciumcarbonat ausfällt, das sich letztendlich hauptsächlich in Vaterit (das thermodynamisch am wenigsten stabile Polymorph), Calcit und möglicherweise Spuren von Aragonit (das Polymorph mittlerer Stabilität) umwandelt. Gleichzeitig treten zwei unterschiedliche Löslichkeitsprodukte für das bei hoher und niedriger Bindungsstärke in Clustern ausgefällte, amorphe Calciumcarbonat auf (ACC I 3,1EE-8 M^2, ACC II 3,8EE-8 M^2). Das zeigt, dass die sich vor der Nukleation bildenden Cluster Vorläuferspezies (Precursor) des ausgefällten, amorphen Calciumcarbonats darstellen, wobei ACC I in der Literatur diskutiertem, calcitischem ACC entsprechen und ACC II vateritischem Calcit entsprechen kann. Eine detaillierte SEM, TEM, WAXS und Lichtmikroskopie Untersuchung der bei minimaler Bindungsstärke in Clustern (pH = 9,75) ausgefällten Partikel zeigt, dass sich hauptsächlich Vaterit mit Spuren von Calcit und möglicherweise Aragonit bildet. Die sich früh bildenden, kristallinen Partikel sind jeweils aus nano-Kristalliten von etwa 5 bis 10 nm Größe aufgebaut, die wie in Mesokristallen eine hohe wechselseitige Ordnung aufweisen. Die Untersuchung der frühen Kristallisation in Gegenwart von Additiven wurde ebenfalls bei minimaler Bindungsstärke in Clustern durchgeführt. Als Additive wurden Polyacrylsäure (PAA) als Beispiel für einen Hemmstoff gegen die Bildung von Verkalkungen und drei Peptide, die Bindungsaffinität zu Calciumcarbonat zeigen, als Beispiel für Kristallisations-Modifikatoren untersucht. Die Analyse zeigt, dass ACC I und ACC II parallel ausfallen; pAA stabilisiert ACC II gegenüber Kristallisation und führt dazu, dass es sich zugunsten von Kristallen, die sich aus ACC I bilden, auflöst, wobei letztendlich reines Calcit erhalten wird. Die Peptide hingegen hemmen die Bildung von Calcit in analoger Weise, wobei in einem Fall letztendlich reines Vaterit entsteht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die klassische Nukleationstheorie auf die Nukleation von Calciumcarbonat kaum anwendbar ist. Das metastabile System wird durch die Clusterbildung deutlich stabilisiert, und nicht Ionen, sondern Cluster sind die relevanten Spezies in der Nukleation. Wahrscheinlich ist das gefundene Konzept der Clusterbildung ein allgemeines Phänomen, das während der Kristallisation aller schwer löslichen Substanzen auftritt, da es auch für Calciumoxalat und Calciumphosphat qualitativ gezeigt werden konnte. Das Ergebnis ist wichtig für das fundamentale Verständnis der Nukleation, von Nukleationshemmung und der Modifikation von Kristallen mit Auswirkungen auf Materialen von großer industrieller und auch wissenschaftlicher Bedeutung. Ferner gibt es einen Hinweis, wie Masse während der Kristallisation –auch in Lebewesen transportiert werden kann und es kann einen neuen Ansatz für Kristallisationssimulationen liefern. Auf der Basis dieses neuartigen Reaktionskanals müssen neue Kristallisations-Mechanismen in Bio- und Geomineralization in Betracht gezogen werden.

Admixtures like reactants and byproducts are solublenon-crystallizing compounds that can be present in industrialsolutions and affect crystallization of the main substance.This thesis provides experimental and molecular modellingresults on the influence of admixtures on crystal nucleation ofvanillin (VAN). Seven admixtures: acetovanillone (AVA),ethylvanillin (EVA), guaiacol (GUA), guaethol (GUE), 4-hydroxy-acetophenone (HAP), 4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde (HBA), andvanillic acid (VAC) have been used in this study. Classicalnucleation theory is used as the basis to establish arelationship between experimental induction time andsupersaturation, nucleation temperature, and interfacialenergy. A novel multicell device is designed, constructed, andused to increase the experimental efficiency in thedetermination of induction times by using 15 nucleation cellsof small volumes simultaneously. In spite of the largevariation observed in the experiments, the solid-liquidinterfacial energy for each VAN-admixture system can beestimated with an acceptable statistical confidence. At 1 mole% admixture concentration, the interfacial energy is increasedin the presence of GUA, GUE, and HBA, while it becomes lower inthe presence of the other admixtures. As the admixtureconcentration increases from 1 to 10 mole %, the interfacialenergy also increases. The interfacial energies obtained are inthe range 7-10 mJ m-2. Influence of admixtures on metastable zone widthand crystal aspect ratio of VAN is also presented. Theexperimental results show that the admixtures studied arepotential modifiers of the nucleation of VAN. Molecularmodelling by the program Cerius2 is used to identify the likelycrystal growth faces. Two approaches, the surface adsorptionand the lattice integration method, are applied to estimatequantitatively the admixture-crystal interaction energy on thedominating crystal faces of VAN,i.e., {0 0 1} and {1 0 0}. However, a simple and clearcorrelation between the experimental values of interfacialenergy and the calculated interaction energies cannot beidentified. A qualitative structural analysis reveals a certainrelationship between the molecular structure of admixtures andtheir effect on nucleation. The determination of the influenceof admixtures on nucleation is still a challenge. However, themolecular and crystal structural approach used in this thesiscan lead to an improved fundamental understanding ofcrystallization processes. Keywords: Crystallization,nucleation, vanillin, admixtures, additives, impurities,induction time, interfacial energy, molecular modelling,interaction energy.

This thesis concerns the fate of the meteoric smoke in the Middle Atmosphere, and its effect on ice phenomena such as noctilucent clouds (NLC) and polar stratospheric clouds (PSC). The potential role of NLC as tracer for mesospheric processes and variability, and as a tool for monitoring this remote and inaccessible region, has generated substantial interest within the scientific community. The nucleation of ice in such a dry environment is not trivial. Supersaturation is considered too low for homogeneous nucleation. Hence, pre-existing condensation nuclei are deemed necessary, with smoke particles having long been considered the most likely candidate. Here we show that the atmospheric circulation transports meteoric smoke particles away from the polar region before they coagulate large enough to efficiently act as ice condensation nuclei. We also show that the charging of meteoric smoke, in combination with deviations from the mean thermal state, may solve this dilemma by significantly altering the ice nucleation properties of smoke. Thus, while it is highly questionable whether neutral smoke can provide sufficient amounts of condensation nuclei for ice formation at the polar summer mesopause, charged meteoric smoke proves to be a promising candidate to explain mesospheric ice phenomena as we observe them. We further show that the bulk of the meteoric material is transported to the Arctic winter stratosphere, yielding significantly higher concentrations of meteoric smoke in the region of PSC nucleation than has previously been believed. Our new predictions of meteoric smoke in this region may thus shed new light on open questions relating to PSC nucleation.

This thesis highlights a comprehensive research for the cell nucleation, growth and coarsening mechanisms during plastic foaming processes. Enforced environmental regulations have forced the plastic foam industry to adopt alternative blowing agents (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon and helium). Nevertheless, the low solubilities and high diffusivities of these viable alternatives have made the production of foamed plastics to be non-trivial. Since the controls of the cell nucleation, growth and coarsening phenomena, and ultimately the cellular morphology, involve delicate thermodynamic, kinetic, and rheological mechanisms, the production of plastics foams with customized cell morphology have been challenging. In light of this, the aforementioned phenomena were investigated through a series of theoretical studies, computer simulations, and experimental investigations. Firstly, the effects of processing conditions on the cell nucleation phenomena were studied through the in-situ visualization of various batch foaming experiments. Most importantly, these investigations have led to the identification of a new heterogeneous nucleation mechanism to explain the inorganic fillers-enhanced nucleation dynamics. Secondly, a simulation scheme to precisely simulate the bubble growth behaviors, a modified heterogeneous nucleation theory to estimate the cell nucleation rate, and an integrated model to simultaneously simulate cell nucleation and growth processes were developed. Consequently, through the simulations of the cell nucleation, growth, and coarsening dynamics, this research has advanced the understanding of the underlying sciences that govern these different physical phenomena during plastic foaming. Furthermore, the impacts of various commonly adopted approximations or assumptions were studied. The end results have provided useful guidelines to conduct computer simulation on plastic foaming processes. Finally, an experimental research on foaming with blowing agent blends served as a case example to demonstrate how the elucidation of the mechanisms of various foaming phenomena would aid in the development of novel processing strategies to enhance the control of cellular structures in plastic foams.

Traditional blowing agents (e.g., hydrochlorofluorocarbons) in plastic foaming processes has been phasing out due to environmental regulations. Plastic foaming industry is forced to employ greener alternatives (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrogen), but their foaming processes are technologically challenging. Moreover, to improve the competitiveness of the foaming industry, it is imperative to develop a new generation of value-added plastic foams with cell structures that can be tailored to different applications. In this context, the objective of this thesis is to achieve a thorough understanding on cell nucleation and growth phenomena that determine cell structures in plastic foaming processes. The core research strategy is to develop innovative visualization systems to capture and study these phenomena. A system with accurate heating and cooling control has been developed to observe and study crystallization-induced foaming behaviors of polymers under static conditions. The cell nucleation and initial growth behavior of polymers blown with different blowing agents (nitrogen, argon and helium, and carbon dioxide-nitrogen mixtures) have also been investigated in great detail. Furthermore, two innovative systems have been developed to simulate the dynamic conditions in industrial foaming processes: one system captures a foaming process under an easily adjustable and uniform extensional strain in a high temperature and pressure environment, while the other achieves the same target, but with shear strain. Using these systems, the extensional and shear effects on bubble nucleation and initial growth processes has been investigated independently in an isolated manner, which has never been achieved previously. The effectiveness of cell nucleating agents has also been evaluated under dynamic conditions, which have led to the identification of new foaming mechanisms based on polymer-chain alignment and generation of microvoids under stress. Knowledge generated from these researches and the wide range of future studies made possible by the visualization systems will be valuable to the development of innovative plastic foaming technologies and foams.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been the main method for synthesizing diamond thin films on hetero substrate materials since 1980s. It has been well acknowledged that both nucleation and growth of diamond on non-diamond surfaces without pre-treatment are very difficult and slow. Furthermore, the weak adhesion between the diamond thin films and substrates has been a major problem for widespread application of diamond thin films. Up to now, Si has been the most frequently used substrate for the study of diamond thin films and various methods, including bias and diamond powder scratching, have been applied to enhance diamond nucleation density. In the present study, nucleation and growth of diamond thin films on Ti3SiC2, a newly developed ceramic-metallic material, using Microwave Plasma Enhanced (MPE) and Hot-Filament (HF) CVD reactors were carried out. In addition, synchrotron-based Near Edge Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy (NEXAFS) was used to identify the electronic and chemical structures of various NCD films. The results from MPECVD showed that a much higher diamond nucleation density and a much higher film growth rate can be obtained on Ti3SiC2 compared with on Si. Consequently, nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films were feasibly synthesized on Ti3SiC2 under the typical conditions for microcrystalline diamond film synthesis. Furthermore, the diamond films on Ti3SiC2 exhibited better adhesion than on Si. The early stage growth of diamond thin films on Ti3SiC2 by HFCVD indicated that a nanowhisker-like diamond-graphite composite layer, different from diamond nucleation on Si, initially formed on the surface of Ti3SiC2, which resulted in high diamond nucleation density. These results indicate that Ti3SiC2 has great potentials to be used both as substrates and interlayers on metals for diamond thin film deposition and application. This research may greatly expand the tribological application of both Ti3SiC2 and diamond thin films. The results demonstrated that NEXAFS is a reliable and powerful tool to identify NCD films.

Traditional blowing agents (e.g., hydrochlorofluorocarbons) in plastic foaming processes has been phasing out due to environmental regulations. Plastic foaming industry is forced to employ greener alternatives (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrogen), but their foaming processes are technologically challenging. Moreover, to improve the competitiveness of the foaming industry, it is imperative to develop a new generation of value-added plastic foams with cell structures that can be tailored to different applications. In this context, the objective of this thesis is to achieve a thorough understanding on cell nucleation and growth phenomena that determine cell structures in plastic foaming processes. The core research strategy is to develop innovative visualization systems to capture and study these phenomena. A system with accurate heating and cooling control has been developed to observe and study crystallization-induced foaming behaviors of polymers under static conditions. The cell nucleation and initial growth behavior of polymers blown with different blowing agents (nitrogen, argon and helium, and carbon dioxide-nitrogen mixtures) have also been investigated in great detail. Furthermore, two innovative systems have been developed to simulate the dynamic conditions in industrial foaming processes: one system captures a foaming process under an easily adjustable and uniform extensional strain in a high temperature and pressure environment, while the other achieves the same target, but with shear strain. Using these systems, the extensional and shear effects on bubble nucleation and initial growth processes has been investigated independently in an isolated manner, which has never been achieved previously. The effectiveness of cell nucleating agents has also been evaluated under dynamic conditions, which have led to the identification of new foaming mechanisms based on polymer-chain alignment and generation of microvoids under stress. Knowledge generated from these researches and the wide range of future studies made possible by the visualization systems will be valuable to the development of innovative plastic foaming technologies and foams.