Compression properties of cost-efficient porous expanded clay reinforced AA7075 syntactic foams fabricated by industrial-oriented die casting technology

In today’s manufacturing industries,hard competition between rival firms makes it compulsory for researchers to design lighter and cheaper machine components due to the megatrends of cost-effectiveness and anti-pollution.At this point,aluminum syntactic foams(ASFs)are new-generation engineering composites and come into the upfront as a problem-solver.Owing to their features like low density,sufficient elongation,and perfect energy absorption ability,these advanced foams have been considerably seductive for many industrial sectors nowadays.In this study,an industrial-oriented automatic die casting technology was used for the first time to manufacture the combination of AA7075/porous expanded clay(PEC).Micro evaluations(optical and FESEM)reveal that there is a homogenous particle distribution in the foam samples,and inspections are compatible with the other ASF studies.Additionally,T6 aging heat treatment was operated on one half of the produced foams to explore the probable impact of aging on the compressive responses.Attained results show that PEC particles can be an alternative to expensive hollow spheres used in the previous works.Besides,a favorable relationship is ascertained between the aging treatment and mechanical properties such as compression strength and plateau strength.

Layered Structural PBAT Composite Foams for Efficient Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

The utilization of eco-friendly,lightweight,high-efficiency and high-absorbing electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding composites is imperative in light of the worldwide promotion of sustainable manufacturing.In this work,magnetic poly(butyleneadipate-coterephthalate)(PBAT)microspheres were firstly synthesized via phase separation method,then PBAT composite foams with layered structure was constructed through the supercritical carbon dioxide foaming and scraping techniques.The merits of integrating ferroferric oxideloaded multi-walled carbon nanotubes(Fe3O4@MWCNTs)nanoparticles,a microcellular framework,and a highly conductive silver layer have been judiciously orchestrated within this distinctive layered configuration.Microwaves are consumed throughout the process of“absorption-reflection-reabsorption”as much as possible,which greatly declines the secondary radiation pollution.The biodegradable PBAT composite foams achieved an EMI shielding effectiveness of up to 68 dB and an absorptivity of 77%,and authenticated favorable stabilization after the tape adhesion experiment.

An efficient and mild recycling of waste melamine formaldehyde foams by alkaline hydrolysis

Melamine formaldehyde foam(MFF)generates many poisonous chemicals through the traditional recycling methods for organic resin wastes.Herein,a high MFF degradation ratio of ca.97 wt.%was achieved under the mild conditions(160℃)in a NaOH–H2O system with ammelide and ammeline as the main degradation products.The alkaline solvent had an obvious corrosion effect for MFF,as indicated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The reaction process and products distribution were studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),and ^(13)C nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR).Besides,the MFF degradation products that have the similar chemical structures and bonding performances to those of melamine can be directly used as the raw material for synthesis of melamine urea-formaldehyde resins(MUFs).Moreover,the degradation system demonstrated here showed the high degradation efficiency after reusing for 7 times.The degradation process generated few harmful pollutants and no pre-or post-treatments were required,which proves its feasibility in the safe removal or recovery of waste MFF.

Highly Ordered Thermoplastic Polyurethane/Aramid Nanofiber Conductive Foams Modulated by Kevlar Polyanion for Piezoresistive Sensing and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Highly ordered and uniformly porous structure of conductive foams is a vital issue for various functional purposes such as piezoresistive sensing and electromagnetic interference(EMI) shielding. With the aids of Kevlar polyanionic chains, thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU) foams reinforced by aramid nanofibers(ANF) with adjustable pore-size distribution were successfully obtained via a nonsolvent-induced phase separation. In this regard, the most outstanding result is the in situ formation of ANF in TPU foams after protonation of Kevlar polyanion during the NIPS process. Furthermore, in situ growth of copper nanoparticles(Cu NPs) on TPU/ANF foams was performed according to the electroless deposition by using the tiny amount of pre-blended Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) MXene as reducing agents. Particularly, the existence of Cu NPs layers significantly promoted the storage modulus in 2,932% increments, and the well-designed TPU/ANF/Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) MXene(PAM-Cu) composite foams showed distinguished compressive cycle stability. Taking virtues of the highly ordered and elastic porous architectures, the PAM-Cu foams were utilized as piezoresistive sensor exhibiting board compressive interval of 0–344.5 kPa(50% strain) with good sensitivity at 0.46 kPa^(-1). Meanwhile,the PAM-Cu foams displayed remarkable EMI shielding effectiveness at 79.09 dB in X band. This work provides an ideal strategy to fabricate highly ordered TPU foams with outstanding elastic recovery and excellent EMI shielding performance, which can be used as a promising candidate in integration of satisfactory piezoresistive sensor and EMI shielding applications for human–machine interfaces.

CO_(2)-Responsive Smart Foams Stabilized by an Extremely Rigid Bio-Based Surfactant

Environment friendly and intelligent surfactants have attracted great attention in recent years.A bio-based CO_(2)responsive surfactant rosin acid dimaleimide choline(R-BMI-C)with an extremely rigid skeleton was prepared using rosin and choline as raw materials by Diels-Alder addition reaction and acid-base neutralization reactions.Its structure was confirmed by IR and^(1)H NMR spectra.The foams’properties of R-BMI-C could be adjusted by bubbling CO_(2)/N_(2)to change the structure of the surfactant.At pH 10.4,R-BMI-C forms an unstable foam with a half-life of 1.5 h.When the pH was reduced to 7.4 by bubbling CO_(2),R-BMI-C forms an extremely stable foam with a half-life of 336 h.The surfactant R-BMI-C changed from bola type to conventional type when bubbling CO_(2).And the internal aggregation structure of R-BMI-C aqueous solution changed from spherical micelles to laminar micelles according to the cryogenic-transmission electron microscope.We know that the lamellar structure tends to adsorb at the air/water interface or is trapped in the foam film,which slows down the foam coarsening and agglomeration process,resulting in a significant increase in foam stability.R-BMI-C could be used in oil extraction,fire-fighting and chemical decontamination due to its excellent foaming,stabilization and defoaming properties.

Flexible Biofoams Based on Furanics and Fatty Acids Esterified Tannin

Water repellant,flexible biofoams using tannin esterified with various fatty acid chains,namely lauric,palmitic and oleic acids,by reaction with lauryl chloride,palmitoyl chloride,and oleyl chloride were developed and their characteristics compared with the equivalently esterified rigid biofoams.Glycerol,while initially added to control the reaction temperature,was used as a plasticizer yielding flexible biofoams presenting the same water repellant character that the equivalent rigid foams.Acetaldehyde was used as the cross-linking agent instead of formaldehyde,as it showed a better performance with the esterified tannin.The compression results showed a significant decrease of the Modulus of Elasticity(MOE)of the flexible foams in relation to that of the rigid foams,confirming their flexible character.The lauryl-and palmitoyl-esterified biofoams presented similar mechanical properties,while the oleyl-esterified biofoam presented different mechanical and morphological result not really showing the expected flexibility.Both the esterified rigid and flexible tannin-based biofoams showed good water resistance and their sessile drop contact angle analysis as a function of time confirmed this characteristic.Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM)analysis showed the flexible foams to present a higher proportion of closed cells than the rigid foams.Conversely,the cells depth of the flexible foams was lower than that of the rigid foam.As regards their thermal resistance,the flexible foams showed a slight loss of mass compared to the rigid ones without glycerol.Both types of foams presented much lower surface friability of non-esterified rigid foams.

Flow characteristics and regime transition of aqueous foams in porous media over a wide range of quality,velocity,and surfactant concentration

Aqueous foam is broadly applicable to enhanced oil recovery(EOR).The rheology of foam as a function of foam quality,gas and liquid velocities,and surfactant concentration constitute the foundation of its application.The great variations of the above factors can affect the effectiveness of N2 foam in EOR continuously in complex formations,which is rarely involved in previous relevant studies.This paper presents an experimental study of foam flow in porous media by injecting pre-generated N2 foam into a sand pack under the conditions of considering a wide range of gas and liquid velocities and surfactant concentrations.The results show that in a wide range of gas and liquid velocities,the pressure gradient contours are L-shaped near the coordinate axes,but V-shaped in other regions.And the surfactant concentration is a strong factor influencing the trend of pressure gradient contours.Foam flow resistance is very sensitive to the surfactant concentration in both the high-and low-foam quality regime,especially when the surfactant concentration is less than CMC.The foam quality is an important variable to the flow resistance obtained.There exists a transition point from low-to high-quality regime in a particular flow system,where has the maximum flow resistance,the corresponding foam quality is called transition foam quality,which increases as the surfactant concentration increases.The results can add to our knowledge base of foam rheology in porous media,and can provide a strong basis for the field application of foams.

Dielectric Permittivity of Rigid Rapeseed Oil Polyol Polyurethane Biofoams and Petrochemical Foams at Low Frequencies

Early investigations of dielectric permittivity of rigid polyurethane foams at low frequencies were made on petrochemical-origin foams,mainly by means of parallel plate capacitors.In the present investigation biopolyol was synthesized from Latvia-grown rapeseeds’oil by the transesterification method with triethanolamine,in an environmentally friendly process,without emission of harmful substances,at temperatures 175℃±5℃.Rigid,closed-cell rapeseed oil polyol polyurethane biofoams and petrochemical foams were made ensuring content of the renewable rapeseed oil polyol in ready foams 27 wt.%–29 wt.%.Dielectric permittivity of the polyurethane foams and the underlying monolithic petrochemical-origin polyurethane and biopolyurethane was measured with a non-destructive dielectric spectrometer equipped with a capacitive sensor of one-side access type at 16 discrete frequencies distributed geometrically over the band 10 Hz,…,330 kHz.Permittivity value of the gaseous phase in the closed-cells was estimated to beεg≈1.001 that corresponds to the values,characteristic for the most of gases.Dielectric permittivity of petrochemical polyurethane foams and the mentioned biofoams was compared with permittivity of polyurethane foams from industrial producers Sika JSC and General Plastics Manufacturing Co.Polyurethane foams of the developed formulation exhibit competitive,low dielectric permittivity,not exceeding that of the foams from industrial producers:petrochemical foams up to 550 kg/m^(3) and the mentioned biofoams,comprising the renewable rapeseed oil polyol,up to densities 230–250 kg/m^(3).Considering petrochemical-origin polyurethane foams as a heterogeneous media“Polymer—gaseous phase”,the applicability of the rule of mixture and Maxwell–Garnett equation to model mathematically the dependence of effective dielectric permittivity on the volume fraction of phases was showed.

Low-frequency damping behavior of closed-cell Mg alloy foams reinforced with SiC particles

The damping properties of an Mg alloy foam and its composite foams were investigated using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer. The results show that the loss factors of both the Mg alloy and its composite foams are insensitive to temperature and loading frequency when the temperature is less than a critical temperature Tcrit. However, it increases when the temperature exceeds the Tcrit values, which are 200 and 250°C for the Mg alloy foam and the Mg alloy/SiCp composite foams, respectively. The Mg alloy/SiCp composite foams exhibit a higher damping capacity than the Mg alloy foam when the temperature is below 200°C. By contrast, the Mg alloy foam exhibits a better damping capacity when the temperature exceeds 250°C. The variation in the damping capacity is attributed to differences in the internal friction sources, such as the characteristics of the matrix material, abundant interfaces, and interfacial slipping caused by SiC particles, as well as to macrodefects in the Mg alloy and its composite foams.

Phase evolution and properties of glass ceramic foams prepared by bottom ash,fly ash and pickling sludge

Municipal solid waste incineration products of bottom ash(BA),fly ash(FA),and pickling sludge(PS),causing severe environ-mental pollution,were transformed into glass ceramic foams with the aid of CaCO3 as a pore-foaming agent during sintering.The effect of the BA/FA mass ratio on the phase composition,pore morphology,pore size distribution,physical properties,and glass structure was investigated,with results showing that with the increase in the BA/FA ratio,the content of the glass phase,Si-O-Si,and Q3Si units decrease gradually.The glass transmission temperature of the mixture was also reduced.When combined,the glass viscosity decreases,causing bubble coalescence and uneven pore distribution.Glass ceramic foams with uniform spherical pores are fabricated.When the content of BA,FA,and PS are 35wt%,45wt%,and 20wt%,respectively,contributing to high performance glass ceramic foams with a bulk density of 1.76 g/cm3,porosity of 56.01%,and compressive strength exceeding 16.23 MPa.This versatile and low-cost approach provides new insight into synergistically recycling solid wastes.

Effect of Graphene Surface Functional Groups on the Mechanical Property of PMMA Microcellular Composite Foams

The functional groups on graphene sheets surface affect their dispersion and interfacial adhesion in polymer matrix. We compared the mechanical property of polymethymethacrylate (PMMA) microcellular foams reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) to investigate this influence of functional groups. RGO sheets were fabricated by solvent thermal reduction in DMF medium. UV-Vis, FT-IR and XPS analyses indicate the difference of oxygen-containing groups on GO and RGO sheets surface. The observation of SEM illustrates that the addition of a smaller number of GO or RGO sheets causes a fine cellular structure of PMMA foams with a higher cell density(about 1011 cells/cm3) and smaller cell sizes (about 1 -2 jim) owing to their remarkable heterogeneous nucleation effect. Compared to GO reinforced foams, the RGO/PMMA foams own lower cell density and bigger cell size in their microstructure, and their compressive strength is lower even when the reinforcement contents are the same and the foam bulk density is higher, These results indicate that the oxygen-containing groups on GO sheets' surface are beneficial to adhere CO2 to realize a larger nucleation rate, and their strong interaction with PMMA matrix improves the mechanical property of PMMA foams.

PREPARATION OF THE OPEN PORE ALUMINUM FOAMS USING INVESTMENT CASTING PROCESS

This paper briefly presents characteristics, application and development of the metallic foams. Sound specimen has been achieved with prepared foam aluminum by using investment casting process. The preparation of plaster prefabricated mould is one key in investment casting. Main composition, ingredient and affecting factors of plaster mould are also discussed and the vacuum-infiltrated shaping technique is found to be another important link. The penetration model and the affecting mechanism of the main parameters are also analyzed. As a result, the optimum values are determined.

High-temperature Compressive Performance of Mg Alloy Foams Coated with Ni-P Layer

Mg/Ni hybrid foams were fabricated by the electroless method.The Ni-P(Nickel-Phosphorous)coatings were deposited on the surface of closed-cell Mg alloy foams.The composition,microstructure and phases of the Ni-P coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS)and X-ray diffraction(XRD),respectively.The compressive tests were performed on the Mg/Ni hybrid foams at 400℃using the Mg alloy foams as a reference.The experimental results show that the yield strength,plateau stress and energy absorption capacity of the closed-cell Mg alloy foams at high temperature were improved by the Ni-P coating.And there are four main modes for the Mg/Ni hybrid foam failure at 400℃,i e,shearing in cell wall,bending in cell edge,shedding and cracking in Ni-P coating.

THE STRUCTURE CONTROL OF ALUMINUM FOAMS PRODUCED BY POWDER COMPACTED FOAMING PROCESS

A new technique, powder compact foaming process for the production of aluminumfoams has been studied in this article. According to this method, the aluminum pow-der is mixed with a powder foaming agent (TiH_2). Subsequent to mixing, the powderblend is hot compacted to obtain a dense semi--finished product. Upon heating to tem-peratures within the range of the melting point, the foaming agent decomposes to evolvegas and the semi--finished product expands into a porous cellular aluminum. Foamingprocess is the key in this method. Based on experiments, the foaming characteris-tics were mainly analyzed and discussed. Experiments show that the aluminum--foamwith closed pores and a uniform cell structure of high porosity can be obtained usingthis method by adjusting the foaming parameters: the content of foaming agent andfoaming temperature.

Compressive and energy absorption properties of closed-cell magnesium foams

The quasi-static compressive mechanical behavior and deformation mechanism of closed-cell magnesium foams were studied, and the ef- fects of the density of magnesium foams on the compressive and energy absorption properties were also discussed. The results show that the compressive process of closed-cell magnesium foams is characterized by three deformation stages： linear elastic stage, collapsing stage and densification stage. At the linear elastic stage, the peak compressive strength （t70） and Young＇s modulus （E0） increase as the density increases Magnesium foams can absorb energy at the collapsing stage. In a certain strain range, the energy absorption capacity also increases as the density of magnesium foams increases.

Preparation of Ceramic Foams Suitable for Aircraft Arresting by the Airport Runway Based on a Protein Foaming Agent

Crushable ceramic foams are more suitable to be used as an arrestor material applied in engineered materials arresting system （EMAS） for airport runway for their properties of widely controllable strength, negligible crushing-rebounding behavior, durability, and chemically-inert composition, comparing with traditional concrete foams. The synthesis of ceramic foams adopted direct-foaming method and used an animal protein as foaming agent. Kaolin, talc powder and alumina were the main raw materials. Effects of the ratios of raw materials, calcination temperatures, heating rates, holding time, viscosities of potyvinyl alcohol （PVA） solution as well as the amounts of protein foaming agent and water on microscopic structure, densities, compressive strength and open porosities of ceramic foams were investigated systematically. The results indicate that ceramic foams with typical pore sizes 100-300 μm, open porosities from 73.1% to 91.5%, densities from 0.25 to 0.62 g.cm-3, compressive strength from 0.19 to 4.89 MPa, are obtained by properly adjusting the parameters mentioned above. And the mechanical strength meets the requirement for the EMAS for airport runway. In addition, good correlations are observed among compressive strength, open porosity, microscopic structure, and crystal phase. Furthermore, the possibility of producing the general dimensions of such aircraft arresting components with the proposed method was also discussed.

Three-dimensional graphitic carbon sphere foams as sorbents for cleaning oil spills

Frequent offshore oil spill accidents, industrial oily sewage, and the indiscriminate disposal of urban oily sewage have caused seri- ous impacts on the human living environment and health. The traditional oil-water separation methods not only cause easily environmental secondary pollution but also a waste of limited resources. Therefore, in this work, three-dimensional (3D) graphitic carbon sphere (GCS) foams (collectively referred hereafter as 3D foams) with a 3D porous structure, pore size distribution of 25-200 μm, and high porosity of 62vol% were prepared for oil adsorption via gel casting using GCS as the starting materials. The results indicate that the water contact angle (WCA) of the as-prepared 3D foams is 130°. The contents of GCS greatly influenced the hydrophobicity, WCA, and microstructure of the as-prepared samples. The adsorption capacities of the as-prepared 3D foams for paraffin oil, vegetable oil, and vacuum pump oil were approximately 12-15 g/g, which were 10 times that of GCS powder. The as-prepared foams are desirable characteristics of a good sorbent and could be widely used in oil spill accidents.

Synthesis of CO2 Copolymer Based Polyurethane Foams

CO2-copolymer based polyurethane foams were synthesized and characterized in this paper. The foams were found to have higher strength and lower heat of combustion than the conventional polyether polyurethane foams. They may find wide applications in many fields.

Synthesis and Characterization of DOPO-g-CNSL and Its Effect on the Properties of Phenolic Foams

In order to improve the mechanical properties without reducing its flame retardancy of phenolic foams(PFs),9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide(DOPO)was introduced in the structure of cashew nut shell liquid(CNSL)to improve its flame retardant,and the product of DOPO grafting CNSL(DOPO-g-CNSL)was obtained to modify phenolic resin,and to prepare DOPO-g-CNSL modified PFs(DCMPFs).The structures of DOPO-g-CNSL were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR)and nuclear magnetic resonance(1H-NMR).Compared with CNSL,thermal stability of DOPO-g-CNSL was decreased and Ti decreased by 3.53%,but the residual carbon(800°C)was increased by 35.05%.Compared with pure PF,the mechanical properties,toughness and flame retardancy of DCMPFs were increased when the ratio of DOPO-g-CNSL to phenol(DOPO-g-CNSL/P)was no more than 10%.With the dosage of DOPO-g-CNSL/P increased,Ti of DCMPFs was slightly increased,but the carbon residues(800°C)were almost unchanged.And the cell sizes of DCMPFs were basically the same as the pure PF.By comprehensive analysis,the suitable dosage of DOPO-g-CNSL/P was no more than 10%.

Preparation and Characterization of Tung Oil Toughened Modified Phenolic Foams with Enhanced Mechanical Properties and Smoke Suppression

In this study,we prepared a series of tung oil phenolic foams(TPF)by a one-pot method.The FT-IR and 1H NMR spectra confirm the successful Friedel-Crafts grafting of phenol to the long-chain alkyl group in tung oil.Modified TPFs exhibit enhanced mechanical properties,including compressive and flexural strengths of up to 0.278±0.036 MPa and 0.450±0.017 MPa,respectively,which represent increases of 68.75%and 86.72%over those of pure phenolic foam(PF).SEM spectra reveal the TPF microstructure to have uniform hexagonal cell morphology,narrower cell size distribution,and smaller mean cell size,suggesting enhanced mechanical properties.The TPF total smoke release decreased by 74.23%,indicating that the long alkyl chain significantly improves smoke suppression of the combusting foam.However,due to the flammability of the alkyl chains,the TPF limiting oxygen index decreases with increasing tung oil content.Moreover,TPF exhibits reduced thermal stability and high-temperature charring rate,elevated peak and mean heat release rates,and higher total heat release compared with pure PF.Therefore,future research will focus on the use of tung oil modified flame retardant to provide more robust phenolic foams.