What is EPE Foam for Indoor Playground

Created on 09.19

In the rather complicated environment of children indoor playground which are also called as the soft playground, the child's safety comes first and foremost in all design and construction considerations. And among all the safety measures, the soft padding of the rigid structures are of vital importance. Expanded Polyethylene (EPE) foam has an indispensible position in the skeleton of the protective layer of the facilities provided for children due to the special physical properties and the safety qualification it owns. 

In this paper, we will make a thorough analysis of the application of EPE foam in indoor playground, which includes the material definition, physical properties, application advantages, specific application methods and safety qualification.

1.Material Definition

Expanded Polyethylene(EPE) foam is a high performance polymer material manufactured by physical foaming process. The manufacturing process starts with Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) resin as raw material which is melted and injected blowing agent under high pressure and then extruded. This unique physical foaming process creates a closed-cell, non-cross-linked structure, which means in the product, innumerable tiny, independent and sealed air bubbles are existed in countless inside of the material. This unique physical form gives the EPE foam its physical characteristics of extremely low density and excellent resilience. When the material is applied under external force, the air inside can be compressed and flexed to absorb and diffuse energy and then complete its essential functions of cushioning and shock absorption. This closed-cell structure also gives the material excellent waterproof and moisture proof performance to prevent the liquid penetration which may cause the performance decline of the material or the growth of bacteria, which makes the product a very hygienic environment. The durable property of the material ensures the product can be used for a long time with repeated application. And the excellent malleability of the material allows the products formed by the material can be cut, bent and folded to the perfect shape conforming to all kinds of irregular forms of the equipment of the children's play area, providing protection in all gaps.

2. Core Advantage

Among the numerous cushioning materials, EPE foam has gained a first choice for indoor playgrounds because it fundamentally overcome the limitations of traditional foam materials, such as fragile, deformation, unable to recover, etc, to offer the same and sustainable cushioning protection, and meanwhile, it is also recognized to be an environmentally friendly material; it is non-toxic and with no bad odor in its whole life of production and service and can be recycled after use; it is smooth on surface and can be laminated with various colorful synthetic leathers or coated fabrics which can meet the requirements of colorful and vivid indoor playground and meanwhile facilitate the routine cleaning and maintenance to keep the long-term hygiene of indoor playground.

3. Application

In the whole structure system of indoor playground, EPE foam is used in certain thickness to meet the required protection level and expected impact. To avoid the possible collisions of running and playing together with children, all steel posts and structure frames are carefully wrapped with 1.5 cm thick EPE foam tubing. The thickness of 1.5cm is accurately calculated and just enough to buffer the most routine impacts from children. In the areas that required higher cushioning level, such as the edges of multi-level platform, the underneath floor mat, the inner filling of all kinds of soft play equipment, etc, 3cm thick EPE foam sheet is uniformly used. The thickness of 3cm will mean that if by any chance any child would jump to that platform or in case any fall would happen inside any of the above equipments, the impact force would be more uniformly absorbed and would minimize the injury as much as possible and provide much stronger protection for children.

4.Material Safety

For any material that is directly contacting with children, the safety would be the most concerned evaluation index for this material. The safety of EPE foam comes from the purely physical foaming process that no harmful chemical residue would left in its whole life of production and service. The main component of EPE is polyethylene, which is inherently stable and non-toxic. The SGS test report of this material indicates that in the extreme condition of combustion, the only substances released are carbon dioxide and water, with no toxic gases. So in the normal operating environment of children playground, there would be no unknown risks for the health of children and this would be a high standard and reliable and trusted safety material for parents and operator.

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