Laminated foam article and associated method and electric vehicle battery pack

A method of forming a laminated foam article comprising:

• thermally laminating first and second prepregs to opposing major surfaces of a foam core to form a laminated foam article comprising the foam core and first and second fiber-reinforced skins adhered, respectively, to opposing major surfaces of the foam core;
• wherein the foam core has a thickness of 2 to 40 millimeters and a density of 0.06 to 0.24 grams/centimeter3 determined according to ASTM D1622-14, and comprises a foam composition comprising, based on the total weight of the foam composition,
• 40 to 79 weight percent of a poly(phenylene ether);
• 10 to 48 weight percent of a polystyrene, a rubber-modified polystyrene, or a combination thereof;
• 1 to 10 weight percent of a block copolymer comprising a polystyrene block and a polybutadiene block, a block copolymer comprising a polystyrene block and a hydrogenated polybutadiene block, or a combination thereof;
• and
• 10 to 25 weight percent of an organophosphate flame retardant;
• wherein the sum of the weight percent values of the poly(phenylene ether), the polystyrene or rubber-modified polystyrene or combination thereof, the block copolymer, and the organophosphate flame retardant is 95 to 100 weight percent;
• and
• wherein the first and second prepregs independently have a thickness of 0.2 to 2 millimeters, and independently comprise
• 35 to 65 weight percent of reinforcing fibers selected from the group consisting of glass fibers, carbon fibers, basalt fibers, poly(para-phenylene terephthalamide) fibers, and combinations thereof, and
• 35 to 65 weight percent of a thermoplastic skin composition,
• the thermoplastic skin compositions of the first and second prepregs independently comprising, based on the total weight of the thermoplastic skin compositions,
• 22 to 65 weight percent of a thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of poly(phenylene ether)s, poly(phenylene ether)-polysiloxane block copolymers, and combinations thereof, wherein the thermoplastic resin has an intrinsic viscosity of 0.28 to 0.5 deciliter/gram determined at 25° C. in chloroform by Ubbelohde viscometer;
• 14 to 26 weight percent of a polystyrene or rubber-modified polystyrene or combination thereof;
• 14 to 40 weight percent of an organophosphate flame retardant;
• 4 to 12 weight percent of a hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin;
• and
• 3 to 12 weight percent of a maleic anhydride-grafted polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer;
• wherein, independently for each of the thermoplastic skin compositions of the first and second prepregs, the sum of the weight percent values of the thermoplastic resin, the polystyrene or rubber-modified polystyrene or combination thereof, the hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin, the organophosphate flame retardant, and the maleic anhydride-grafted polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer is 95 to 100 weight percent.