Ethylene–propylene–diene terpolymer foam was prepared by two different processing routes. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the foams with wide relative density ranging from 0.11 to 0.62 have been studied via scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the foam with lower relative density has a unique bimodal cell size structure, which the larger cells inlay among the smaller cells, while the foam articles with higher relative density have thicker cell walls with few small cells. The compressive stress–strain curves show that the foam articles with lower relative density have three regimes: linear elastic, a wide slightly rising plateau, and densification, while the foam articles with higher relative density have only two regimes: the longer linear elastic and densification. The relative modulus increases with the increase in the relative density. The contribution of the gas trapped in the cell to the modulus could be neglected. The energy absorbed per unit volume is relationship with the permitted stress and the relative density. The efficiency and the ideality parameter were evaluated from the compressive stress–strain plots. The parameters were plotted against stress to obtain maximum efficiency and the maximum ideality region, which can be used for optimizing the choice for practical applications in cushioning and packaging. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007

EPDM foam was prepared by dynamically vulcanizing EPDM compound in a HAAKE rheometer firstly, then mixing the partially precured EPDM compound with a blowing agent and a sulfur vulcanizing system on a two roll mill. The compound was extruded through a cold feed extruder, and the extrudate was foamed in a circulating hot air oven. EPDM compound was vulcanized partly in the HAAKE rheometer, the final torque increases with increasing sulfur content. Rheological measurement shows the dynamic storage modulus, the loss modulus, and the complex viscosity of precured EPDM compound increase with increasing sulfur content. Then the partially precured EPDM compound was compounded with a blowing agent and a sulfur vulcanizing systems, Rheometric measurement shows that the rate of vulcanization of partially precured EPDM compound is not affected by the precure. The blowing results show that the foam processibility could be improved and the expansion ratio increases in the same processing condition for optimum partially precured EPDM compound, which indicates the optimum crosslink density for EPDM could enhance the efficiency of blowing agent AC. SEM shows that the foam articles have a closed-cell structure with few open cells, and the large cells inlay among the small cells. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 3387–3394, 2006