Effect of Cellular Structure on Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Foam Curing Materials

Based on the mechanical properties and microstructure of polyurethane foam solidified material, a two-dimensional model of polyurethane foam solidified material was constructed. Polyurethane foam was obtained by fully and uniformly mixing the two components. The research was carried out through the combination of experimental test and finite element simulation. The experimental results show that when the pore density is constant, the size of the bubble hole is an important factor affecting the mechanical properties of the model. The smaller the size of the bubble hole, the less likely it is to produce stress concentration inside the model, and the stronger the resistance to material deformation. Under the random distribution, the lower the density of the polyurethane cured material, the higher the probability of damage between the adjacent bubbles, which is not conducive to the stability of the material. The density of the cured material should not be lower than 199 kg/m^3.

Effect of Post-Added Water Amount on Pre-Concentrated Bark Foaming Materials by Mechanical Stirring

In this study,pre-concentrated bark,furfuryl alcohol and other biomass raw materials were used to prepare foaming materials by high-speed mechanical stirring without using a foaming agent.We investigated the effect of the postadded water amount on the properties of foaming materials.In particular,we determined basic physical properties of these materials,including the limiting oxygen index(LOI),porosity,thermal conductivity,thermogravimetric analysis,pore size distribution,and microstructure.The results of scanning electron microscopy(SEM)indicated that the pore size distribution was uniform and the pore size increased with increasing water volume.Thermogravimetric analysis(TG/DTG)showed that when the temperature reached 410°C,the foam was easily decomposed,the final residual mass was only 2.8%,and water addition had little effect on it.Moreover,the amount of post-added water is 5–30 g,the density and compression strength of the foamed materials gradually decreased,while the degree of pulverization increased.LOI ranged from 26.1%to 30.79%,and porosity ranged from 81%to 83%.The change in water volume greatly affected the foam’s performance,the performance of foamed material deteriorated as the amount of added water increased,but the effect on thermal conductivity was not very obvious.The highest thermal conductivity was only 0.0179 W/(m·K),still providing excellent thermal insulation.

Electroless copper plating on microcellular polyurethane foam

In order to obtain substrates with good conductive foam for high porosity foam metal materials used in the metal electrodes,the technique of electroless copper plating on the microcellular polyurethane foam with pore size of 0.3 mm was investigated.The main factors affecting the deposition rate such as the solution composition,temperature,pH value and adding ultrasonic were explored.The results show that the optimum process conditions are CuSO4 16 g/L,HCHO 5 mL/L,NaKC4H4O6 30 g/L,Na2EDTA 20 g/L,K4Fe(CN)6 25 mg/L,pH value of 12.5-13.0 and temperature of 40-50℃.Under these technical conditions, the process has excellent bath stability.Adding ultrasonic on the process can elevate the deposition rate of copper by 20%-30%.The foam metal material with a porosity of 92.2%and a three-dimensional network structure,was fabricated by electro-deposition after the electroless copper plating.

Formaldehyde Free Renewable Thermosetting Foam Based on Biomass Tannin with a Lignin Additive

This study presents easily prepared free formaldehyde bio-based foam based on a prepared thermosetting resin comprising tannin–lignin–furfuryl alcohol-glyoxal(TLFG)via mechanical stirring in presence of ether as a foaming agent.The foam was developed through a co-polycondensation reaction of glyoxal and furfuryl alcohol with condensed tannin and lignin,which is a forest-derived product.Investigation using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)showed more closed-cell structure without cracks and collapse in the TLFG foam,with a higher apparent density with respect to tannin–furanic–formaldehyde(TFF)foam.Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),dynamic thermomechanical analysis(DTMA),and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)investigations revealed that the curing process of TLFG foam proceeds easily even at a lower temperature.Additionally,it acquired higher heat resistance than TFF foam.Moreover,TLFG has a more robust chemical network structure,which contributes efficiently to the mechanical strength and a lower pulverization degree compared with TFF-derived foam.Fourier transform infrared spectrometry(FTIR)and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(ESI-MS)proved that the cross-inking reactions between tannin,lignin,furfuryl alcohol,and glyoxal have been proceeded efficiently.

Hierarchical graphene foam-based phase change materials with enhanced thermal conductivity and shape stability for efficient solar-to-thermal energy conversion and storage

Recently, graphene foam （GF） with a three-dimensional （3D） interconnected network produced by template-directed chemical vapor deposition （CVD） has been used to prepare composite phase-change materials （PCMs） with enhanced thermal conductivity. However, the pore size of GF is as large as hundreds of micrometers, resulting in a remarkable thermal resistance for heat transfer from the PCM inside the large pores to the GF strut walls. In this study, a novel 3D hierarchical GF （HGF） is obtained by filling the pores of GF with hollow graphene networks. The HGF is then used to prepare a paraffin wax （PW）-based composite PCM. The thermal conductivity of the PW/HGF composite PCM is 87% and 744% higher than that of the PW/GF composite PCM and pure PW, respectively. The PW/HGF composite PCM also exhibits better shape stability than the PW/GF composite PCM, negligible change in the phase-change temperature, a high thermal energy storage density that is 95% of pure PW, good thermal reliability, and chemical stability with cycling for 100 times. More importantly, PW/HGF composite PCM allows light-driven thermal energy storage with a high light-to- thermal energy conversion and storage efficiency, indicating its great potential for applications in solar-energy utilization and storage.

Additive Manufacturing of Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite Sandwich Structures with Multiscale Cellular Cores

The use of composite sandwich structures with cellular cores is prevalent in lightweight designs owing to their superior energy-absorbing abilities.However,current manufacturing processes,such as hot-press molding and mold pressing,require multiple steps and complex tools,thus limiting the exploration of advanced sandwich structure designs.This study reports a novel multi-material additive manufacturing(AM)process that allows the single-step production of continuous fiber-reinforced polymer composite(CFRPC)sandwich structures with multiscale cellular cores.Specifically,the integration of CFRPC-AM and in situ foam AM processes provides effective and efficient fabrication of CFRPC panels and multiscale cellular cores with intricate designs.The cellular core design spans three levels:microcellular,unit-cell,and graded structures.Sandwich structures with a diverse set of unit-cell designs,that is,rhombus,square,honeycomb,and re-entrant honeycomb,were fabricated and their flexural behaviors were studied experimentally.The results showed that the sandwich structure with a rhombus core design possessed the highest flexural stiffness,strength,and specific energy absorption.In addition,the effect of the unit-cell assembly on the flexural performance of the CFRP composite sandwich structure was examined.The proposed design and fabrication methods open new avenues for constructing novel and high-performance CFRPC structures with multiscale cellular cores that cannot be obtained using existing approaches.

Foam structure to improve microwave absorption properties of silicon carbide/carbon material

Foam structure materials are well known for their lightweight,efficient,and broadband microwave absorption properties compared to bulk material.However,little has been understood about the effect of a foam structure on the absorption performance of the foam material.In this study,the role of foam structure properties of the silicon carbide/carbon(SiC/C)foam material on microwave absorption is explored using experiment and simulation.We find that the foam structure of SiC/C foam material causes diffraction,multiple reflections,improves the interfacial polarization,and compatibilization.The absorption performance of SiC/C foam material is also studied.The-10 dB effective absorption bandwidth can be adjusted from 4.0 GHz to 18 GHz by tuning SiC/C foam material thickness to 3-7 mm.Therefore,the foam structure design is an effective way to improve the absorption performance of the SiC/C foam material.