轻质环氧树脂微孔发泡材料的力学及隔热性能

通过添加不同含量的化学发泡剂,制备了较小密度(0.5 g/cm~3)的环氧树脂基微孔发泡材料,研究了发泡剂含量(0.25%~2%)对环氧复合发泡材料发泡行为的影响,并讨论了材料的力学性能及隔热性能的变化规律。结果表明,随着发泡剂含量的增加,材料的表观密度不断降低,但泡孔尺寸不断增大,泡孔密度则不断降低。力学性能及隔热性能测试表明,随发泡剂含量的增加,材料的压缩屈服强度和压缩弹性模量不断降低,但是材料的隔热性能不断提高。     

Improved dimensional stability of water-blown polyurethane foam with aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide

Water is eco-friendly and safe; thus, it used as a blowing agent in the fabrication of water-blown polyurethane (PU) foam. However, water-blown PU foam may experience dimensional instability due to shrinkage of the cells inside the foam. In order to reduce cell shrinkage due to the loss of CO₂ gas, vacuum formation is prevented in the closed-cell foam and the maximum reaction temperature must be raised to increase the degree of curing of the PU foam. In this study, two flame retardants, aluminum trihydrate (ATH) and magnesium dihydrate (MDH), were selected as additives to partially open the cells and increase the maximum reaction temperature. ATH and MDH were both effective for increasing the maximum foam reaction temperature and decreasing dimensional change. Notably, PU foams with 7.5 wt% ATH were the most dimensionally stable at both room temperature and high temperature. Moreover, the compressive strength and flexural strength of such foams were also improved compared to those of the foams without any additive.     

Mechanical,acoustic, and thermal performances of shear thickening fluid–filled rigid polyurethane foam composites: Effects of content of shear thickening fluid and particle size of silica

Shear thickening fluid (STF) features a rheological property, and rigid polyurethane (PU) foams feature low thermal conductivity and excellent acoustic insulation. In this study, an STF/PU rigid foam composite sandwich structure was designed using different contents (0, 0.5, 1, or 1.5 wt %) of STF that contained 14 nm, 40 nm, or 75 nm silicon dioxide (SiO₂). The effects of STF content and silica size on the cell structure, mechanical performance, acoustic absorption, and thermal performance of the STF/PU foam were explored. The test results show that STF/PU foam exhibited three characteristic acoustic absorption peaks, and the maximum acoustic absorption coefficient reached 0.841. STF addition increased compression, bending strength, and maximum acoustic coefficient, as well as initial mass loss temperature. STF-filled PU foam composites containing 14 nm and 40 nm SiO₂ had a mild rise in thermal insulation. The rigid STF/PU foam composites with a cell structure had the maximum thermal conductivity of 0.22 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and sound absorption coefficient of 0.841, which confirm that they are a good candidate for sound-absorbing energy conservation materials. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47359.     

Hierarchically porous lanthanum zirconate foams with low thermal conductivity from particle-stabilized foams

Lanthanum zirconate (LZO) ceramic foams with hierarchical pore structure were fabricated by particle-stabilized foaming method for the first time, and the as-prepared ceramics have high porosity of 90.7%-94.9%, low thermal conductivity, and relatively high compressive strength. The LZO powder was synthesized by solid-state method. The porosity of the ceramic foams was tailored by suspensions with different solid loadings (20-40 wt%). The sample with porosity of 94.9% has thermal conductivity of 0.073 W/(m·K) and compressive strength of 1.19 MPa, which exhibits outstanding property of thermal insulation and mechanical performance, indicating that LZO ceramic foam is a promising thermal insulation material in high temperature applications.     

Effect of auxiliary blowing agents on properties of rigid polyurethane foams based on liquefied products from peanut shell

The bio‐based rigid polyurethane (PU) foams were successfully prepared based on liquefied products from peanut shell with water as the blowing agent. The influence of reaction parameters on properties of rigid PU foams was investigated. Rigid PU foams showed excellent compressive strength and low shrinkage ratio, whereas their open‐cell ratio and water absorption were higher. Therefore, rigid PU foams were synthesized with petroleum ether, diethyl ether, and acetone as auxiliary blowing agents and their inner temperature, shrinkage performance, density, compressive strength, water absorption, and open‐cell ratio were determined. The results indicated that above rigid PU foams showed lower compressive strength than the original foam but their water absorption and close‐cell ratio were improved. Compared with the original foam, the highest inner temperature of rigid PU foams with petroleum ether, diethyl ether, and acetone as auxiliary blowing agents was reduced by 11, 19, and 23 °C, respectively. Typically, foams with petroleum ether as auxiliary blowing agent displayed better water absorption and swelling ratio in water and exhibited obvious improvement in close‐cell ratio. These foams were preferable for application in thermal insulation materials because of low thermal conductivity and better corrosion resistance. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45582.     

Study of the effect of thermally reduced graphene oxide on the physical and mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams

Flexible polyurethane (PU) foams were obtained from a two‐component system via the one‐step method. The foams were modified with thermally reduced graphene oxide added in the amount equal to 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 wt%. The morphology, static and dynamic properties, and thermal stability of modified foams were determined. The application of carbon filler resulted in the visible increase in the cell size, apparent density, and rigidity of the modified systems, as confirmed by the measurements of glass transition temperature. Glass transition temperature increased with increasing content of nanofiller. In addition, thermally reduced graphene oxide had an effect on the thermal stability of the obtained foam systems. The addition of 0.5 wt% of nanofiller resulted in an increase in T₅ by 16°C compared with the reference foam. This study also demonstrated that after exceeding a specific content of thermally reduced graphene oxide, that is, 0.5%, the physicochemical properties of the obtained systems start to deteriorate. The research results showed that thermally reduced graphene oxide can be successfully used as a modifier of mechanical and thermal properties in flexible PU foams. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:2248–2253, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Processing‐structure‐property relationship in rigid polyurethane foams

Rigid polyurethane (PU) foam is used as a thermal insulating and supporting material in domestic refrigerator/freezers and it is produced by reaction injection molding (RIM) process. There is a need to improve the thermal property of rigid PU foam but this is still a challenging problem. Accordingly, this work investigates the RIM process parameters to evaluate their effects on rigid PU foam's structure and hence property. It has been found that mold temperature is a key parameter whereas curing time has negligible effect on structure of PU foam. Cell size, strut thickness, and foam density have been found very critical in controlling the thermal and mechanical properties. Upper and lower values of 30 to 32 kg/m³ density are critical to observe contribution of radiation and solid conductivity separately. Finally, PU foam with 160 µm average cell size, 16 µm strut thickness, below 10% open cell content, and 30 to 32 kg/m³ density allow obtaining better thermal insulation without significant reducing in the compressive strength. The presented work provides a better understanding of processing‐structure‐property relationship to gain knowledge on producing high‐quality rigid PU foams with improved properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44870.     

Mechanical and thermal properties of phenolic/glass fiber foam modified with phosphorus‐containing polyurethane prepolymer

Phenolic foam exhibits outstanding flame, smoke and toxicity properties, good insulation properties and low production costs. However, the brittleness and pulverization of phenolic foam have severely limited its application in many fields. In this study, a novel phosphorus‐containing polyurethane prepolymer (DOPU) modifier was firstly synthesized, and then the foaming formula and processing of toughening phenolic foam modified with DOPU and glass fiber were explored. The structure and reactive behavior of prepolymer and phenolic resin were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of DOPU and glass fiber on the apparent density, compressive strength, bending strength and water absorption were investigated. The results suggested that the apparent density, compressive strength and bending strength of modified phenolic foam tended to increase irregularly with increasing content of DOPU. The addition of DOPU led to lower water absorption of glass fiber‐filled foam. Thermal stability and flame retardancy were examined using thermogravimetric analysis and limiting oxygen index (LOI) tests. It was found that foam with 3% DOPU and 0.5% glass fiber added exhibited good thermal stability and high char yields. The LOI value of modified phenolic foams decreased with increasing DOPU content, but it still remained at 41.0% even if the amount of modifier loaded was 10 wt%. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Toward mechanistic understanding the effect of aspect ratio of carbon nanotubes upon different properties of polyurethane/carbon nanotube nanocomposite foam

This study investigated the carbon nanotube's aspect ratio's influence on the nanocomposite foams' cellular structure and mechanical, acoustic absorption characteristics. The free-rising foaming process has been used for producing different flexible polyurethane (PU) foams embedded with other multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT's). Dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis, flow resistivity, and compressive mechanical measurements were achieved on the prepared samples. The acoustic absorption coefficient in a wide range of frequencies was estimated for the prepared PU/CNT foamed nanocomposite samples. Results indicated that by increasing the aspect ratio of MWCNT, the absorption coefficient's peak shifts toward the lower frequencies and improved sound absorption characteristics of PU foam in the low-frequency region. Moreover, the Young modulus of nanocomposite samples increases by increasing the aspect ratio of MWCNT's, whereas the stored strain energy or area under the stress–strain curve increases. Based on the obtained results, it is observed that the acoustic absorption coefficient of produced nanocomposite foams at the frequency of 800 Hz has been reported to have a 70% improvement in 2 cm samples and a 40% improvement in 3 cm samples compared to obtained results from pure PU foam.     

Aramid fiber reinforced EPDM microcellular foams: Influence of the aramid fiber content on rheological behavior,mechanical properties,thermal properties,and cellular structure

In this paper, aramid fiber (AF)/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) microcellular foams added with different content of AF are prepared by the supercritical foaming method. The effect of the AF content on the rheological behavior, mechanical properties, thermal properties and cellular structure of the AF/EPDM microcellular foams has been systematically studied. The research illustrates that compared with pure EPDM, the AF/EPDM matrix has greater viscosity and modulus, which is conducive to reduce the cell size and increase its density. And the thermal stability of EPDM foams is improved with the addition of aramid fiber. Meanwhile, when the content of AF is added to 1 wt%, the AF/EPDM microcellular foam exhibits a relatively low thermal diffusion coefficient and apparent density with the thermal conductivity to 0.06 W/mK. When the AF is added to 5 wt%, the tensile strength of the AF/EPDM microcellular foam increases to 1.95 MPa, which is improved by 47% compared with that of the pure EPDM foam. Furthermore, when the compressive strain reaches to 50%, the compressive strength of the AF/EPDM microcellular foam is 0.48 MPa, improved by 296% compared with that of the pure EPDM foam.     

Rigid polyurethane foams with halogen-free flame retardants: Thermal insulation,mechanical, and flame retardant properties

Rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) composites with triphenyl phosphate (TPhP), aluminum trihydrate (ATH), and zinc borate (ZnB) alone, as well as their binary blends, were prepared via a one-shot process. The amount of flame retardant (FR) or FR blend was varied from 10 to 50% by polyol weight percentage, and the weight fraction of the blends was also fixed at 40%. The effects of additives on thermal insulation, mechanical, and flame retardancy properties of the composites were investigated. Thermal conductivity of the neat foam (RPUF) decreased from 22.53 to 21.04–21.58 mW m⁻¹ K⁻¹. The compressive strength of foams displayed an increase with increasing the amount of TPhP, ATH, and ZnB till 40% by weight. The limited oxygen index values of all foams increased and the flame spread rates of all foams significantly decreased. It was also observed that the flame was self-extinguished in some cases. The cone calorimeter test results indicated that the FR additives improved the flame retardancy of the RPUF. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 47611.     

Microstructural,mechanical, and thermal‐insulation properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/silica aerogel bimodal cellular foams

Novel poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/silica aerogel bimodal cellular foams were prepared by melt mixing and a supercritical carbon dioxide foaming process. The effects of the silica aerogel content on the morphologies and thermal‐insulating and mechanical properties of the foams were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, mechanical tests, and heat‐transfer analysis. The experimental results show that compared to the pure PMMA foam, the PMMA/silica aerogel microcellular foams exhibited more uniform cell structures, decreased cell sizes, and increased cell densities (the densities of the foams were 0.38–0.45 g/cm³). In particular, a considerable number of original nanometric cells (ca. 50 nm) were evenly embedded in the cell walls and on the inner surfaces of the micrometric cells (<10 μm). A 62.7% decrease in the thermal conductivity (0.072 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) in comparison to that of raw PMMA after 0.5 wt % silica aerogel was added was obtained. Mechanical analysis of the PMMA/silica aerogel foams with 5 and 2 wt % silica aerogel showed that the compressive and flexural strengths were distinctly improved by 92 and 52%, respectively, and the dynamic storage moduli increased. The enhanced performance showed that with the addition of silica aerogel into PMMA, one can obtain thermal‐insulation materials with a favorable mechanical strength. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44434.     

Liquid‐type nucleating agent for improving thermal insulating properties of rigid polyurethane foams by HFC‐365mfc as a blowing agent

The effects of liquid‐type additives on the morphology, thermal conductivity, and mechanical strength of polyurethane (PUR) foams were investigated. The PUR foams synthesized with perfluoroalkane showed a smaller average cell diameter and a lower thermal conductivity than PUR foams prepared with propylenecarbonate or acetone. The average cell diameter of the PUR foams decreased from 228 to 155 μm and the thermal conductivity decreased from 0.0227 to 0.0196 kcal/mh °C when the perfluoroalkane content was 0.0 to 2.0 php (parts per hundred polyol by weight). The perfluoroalkane likely acted as a nucleating agent during the formation of the PUR foams. The addition of perfluoroalkane induced the smaller cells size of the PUR foams probably due to lower surface tension of the polyol and perfluoroalkane mixture, resulting in high nucleation rate. The smaller cell size appears to be the main reason for the improvement in the thermal insulating and the mechanical properties of these PUR foams. The compressive strength of the PUR foams prepared with perfluoroalkane was higher than the PUR foams prepared with the propylenecarbonate and acetone. Based on the morphology, thermal conductivity, and compressive strength, it is suggested that the perfluoroalkane is an efficient liquid‐type additive for the improving the thermal insulation of PUR foams. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43557.     

Mechanical and thermal properties of modified red mud‐reinforced phenolic foams

A new type of composite based on phenolic foams reinforced with red mud microparticles was prepared using a thermal foaming method. Red mud was ground into ultrafine particles with grain diameters ranging from 1 to 1.5 μm. Silane coupling agent γ‐ureidopropyltriethoxysilane was used to modify the red mud microparticles to improve particle dispersion and adhesion between the particles and the phenolic matrix. The effects of the modified red mud microparticles on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composite were investigated at weight ratios ranging from 0 to 21%. The phenolic foams incorporating 15 wt% of the filler exhibited the best integrated performance. In comparison with native phenolic foams, tensile strength and impact strength were increased by 81.8 and 82.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of modified red mud microparticles to the phenolic foam significantly decreased its thermal conductivity while increasing its limiting oxygen index. A morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy indicated that incorporation of the modified red mud microparticles into the foam produced relatively small and uniformly sized cells within the material, which indicated that the observed improvements in mechanical and thermal properties were primarily due to the chemical adhesion between the particles and the matrix and good dispersion of particles in the matrix. The reinforced foams described in this study can be used in a variety of applications in the field of heat insulation. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

导热绝缘PE-LD/PE-g-MAH/h-BN泡沫塑料的制备及性能研究

采用熔融共混法制备了一系列导热绝缘的低密度聚乙烯/马来酸酐接枝聚乙烯/六方氮化硼(PE-LD/PE-g-MAH/h-BN新型泡沫塑料,研究了相容剂PE-g-MAH的加入、h-BN含量对PE-LD/PE-g-MAH/h-BN泡沫体系导热性能、绝缘性能、力学性能及热稳定性的影响。结果表明,PE-g-MAH有利于增加PE?LD与h?BN的界面黏结,增强泡沫体系拉伸强度和断裂伸长率,显著提高其热导性能;当h-BN含量为30 %时, PE-LD/PE-g-MAH/h-BN泡沫体系的导热率为0.256 W/(m·K),相对于PE-LD/h-BN泡沫体系的0.217 W/(m·K) 和纯PE-LD泡沫体系的0.039 W/(m·K),热导率分别提高1.18和6.57倍,同时保持较好的绝缘性和热稳性。     

Role of additives in fabrication of soy-based rigid polyurethane foam for structural and thermal insulation applications

Environmental concerns continue to pose the challenge to replace petroleum-based products with renewable ones completely or at least partially while maintaining comparable properties. Herein, rigid polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared using soy-based polyol for structural and thermal insulation applications. Cell size, density, thermal resistivity, and compression force deflection (CFD) values were evaluated and compared with that of petroleum-based PU foam Baydur 683. The roles of different additives, that is, catalyst, blowing agent, surfactants, and different functionalities of polyol on the properties of fabricated foam were also investigated. For this study, dibutyltin dilaurate was employed as catalyst and water as environment friendly blowing agent. Their competitive effect on density and cell size of the PU foams were evaluated. Five different silicone-based surfactants were employed to study the effect of surface tension on cell size of foam. It was also found that 5 g of surfactant per 100 g of polyol produced a foam with minimum surface tension and highest thermal resistivity (R value: 26.11 m²·K/W). However, CFD values were compromised for higher surfactant loading. Additionally, blending of 5 g of higher functionality soy-based polyol improved the CFD values to 328.19 kPa, which was comparable to that of petroleum-based foam Baydur 683.     

Investigation on pore properties,thermal conductivity,and compressive behavior of fly ash/slag-based geopolymer foam

Geopolymer foam has emerged as a promising inorganic porous material in the last decade. Despite of the numerous advantages, there are some pending issues to be addressed, on top of that is the low compressive strength. To overcome this, this study synthesizes a high-strength geopolymer foam by the partial substitution of fly ash (FA) with ground granulated blast furnace slag and carries out an intensive investigation into its microstructure, pore properties, thermal conductivity as well as compressive behavior. The microstructure is firstly analyzed by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The pore characteristics are also scrutinized, including pore size distribution, total porosity and water absorption. Then, the thermal conductivity is investigated and the applicability of basic effective thermal conductivity models to characterize the relationship with total porosity is evaluated. Afterward, the compressive strength together with the softening coefficient is examined, and the relationship with total porosity is also studied. Finally, comparisons between the proposed geopolymer foam and other FA-based geopolymer foams in the literature are performed. The results show that the proposed geopolymer foam possesses not only a comparable thermal conductivity but also a far superior compressive strength, which sheds light on the widespread applications in thermal insulation.     

催化剂对废旧PU硬泡回收再利用的影响

用含有小分子醇的交联剂和催化剂使废旧聚氨酯（PU）硬泡进行降解能够获得多元醇,将降解料与聚醚多元醇、催化剂和发泡剂共混以制备白料,然后与黑料异氰酸酯混合均匀,得到再生PU硬泡。通过对降解产物的黏度、羟值以及获得的再生PU硬泡材料的密度、强度、吸水率、热稳定性、扫描电子显微镜、红外光谱和热失重等进行测试分析,得出了催化剂添加量对废旧PU材料回收再利用的影响因素。结果表明,催化剂（KOH）用量为0.9 g时废旧PU的降解效果最好,获得的再生PU硬泡的密度为37.6 kg/cm³,压缩强度为164.2 kPa,热导率为0.015 24 W/（m·K）,吸水率为0.429 5 %。     

Effect of processing variables on the thermophysical properties of polybenzimidazole foams

Polybenzimidazole foams in the density range of 24 to 80 kg/m³ have excellent thermophysical properties, fire resistance, and low smoke evolution when exposed to heat or flame; they also retain their mechanical properties up to 200°C without any significant degradation. In addition to superior thermal properties, the foams maintain a high degree of flexibility and a good modulus-to-weight ratio, as well as high strength-to-weight relationship at high temperatures. These properties make this foam an attractive candidate as a low-weight, high-temperature insulation for aerospace applications. This paper describes the relationship between prepolymer purity, processing parameters, and additives to the thermophysical and chemical properties of these foams. Foam properties are shown to be affected by differences in prepolymer purity, curing schedule, and the presence of additives in the foam. High-temperature compressive properties were imporved by postcuring at 527°C. Surfactant additives were found to improve uniformity of cell size. Foams were characterized according to high-temperature mechanical properties, density, porosity, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and specific heat.     

Novel preparation and mechanical properties of rigid polyurethane foam/organoclay nanocomposites

A novel method for preparing rigid polyurethane (PU) foam/organoclay nanocomposites was developed through the direct incorporation of an organoclay into PU foam matrices without the addition of any physical or chemical blowing agent. The resultant foams with an appropriate content of the organoclay had a finer cell structure than the pristine PU foams because the organoclay not only acted as a nucleating agent as expected but also acted as a blowing agent of the PU foams; this could be attributed to the bound water between the interlayers of the organoclay. In addition, the incorporation of the organoclay up to 4 phr resulted in improvements in the tensile and compressive strengths, with the maximum values appearing at 2 phr (110 and 152%, respectively). The significant improvement in the mechanical properties could be attributed to the finer cell structure and the increased internal strength of the materials due to the higher degree of hydrogen bonding. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007