High Strength Silicon Carbide Foams and Their Deformation Behavior

Silicon carbide （SIC） foams with a continuously connected open-cell structure were prepared and characterized for their mechanical performance. The apparent densities of SiC foams were controlled between about 0.4 and 2.3 g/cm^3, with corresponding compressive strengths ranging from about 23 to 60 MPa and flexural strengths from about 8 to 30 MPa. Compressive testing of the SiC foams yielded stress-strain curves with only one linear-elastic region, which is different from those reported on ceramic foams in literature. This can possibly be attributed to the existence of filaments with fine, dense and high strength microstructures. The SiC and the filaments respond homogeneously to applied loading.

Effects of microstructure on uniaxial strength asymmetry of open-cell foams

Based on the elongated Kelvin model, the effect of microstructure on the uniaxial strength asymmetry of open-cell foams is investigated. The results indicate that this asymmetry depends on the relative density, the solid material, the cell morphology, and the strut geometry of open-cell foams. Even though the solid material has the same tensile and compressive strength, the tensile and compressive strength of open-cell foams with asymmetrical sectional struts are still different. In addition, with the increasing degree of anisotropy, the uniaxial strength as well as the strength asymmetry increases in the rise direction but reduces in the transverse direction. Moreover, the plastic collapse ratio between two directions is verified to depend mainly on the cell morphology. The predicted results are compared with Gibson and Ashby＇s theoretical results as well as the experimental data reported in the literature, which validates that the elongated Kelvin model is accurate in explaining the strength asymmetry presented in realistic open-cell foams.

Quantitative Analysis of Relationship Between Pore Structure and Compressive Strength of Foamed Concrete

The effect of dry density,water-cement ratio,the addition of fly ash,and sand content on the porosity and pore distribution of foamed concrete is investigated.Digital microscopy and Image J software are employed to examine the landscape of pores with different sizes.Based on the Balshin empirical formula,a mathematical model is established to quantitatively predict the relationship between the pore structures and the compressive strength of foamed concrete.The results well demonstrate that there is a significant correlation between the modified formula and empirical parameters.

聚乙烯醇对泡沫混凝土性能及孔结构的影响

以聚乙烯醇和普通硅酸盐水泥为主要原料,制备泡沫混凝土。研究了聚乙烯醇对泡沫混凝土力学性能、吸水率、干密度和孔结构的影响。结果表明,掺入适量聚乙烯醇可显著减小气孔的尺寸,优化孔径分布;掺入适量聚乙烯醇可以提高泡沫混凝土的抗压和抗折强度;聚乙烯醇可以降低泡沫混凝土的吸水率,并在一定程度上减小了泡沫混凝土的干密度。

Preparation of High Performance Foamed Concrete from Cement,Sand and Mineral Admixtures

The titled high performance foamed concrete was developed from Portland cement, ultra fine granulated blast-furnace slag, pulverized fly ash and condensed silica fume by means of pre-foaming process. The resultant foamed concrete presents its thermal conductivity of about 0.16-0.75 W/（m·℃） and 28 d compressive strength of about 1.1-23.7 MPa when its mix proportion varies in the range of cement content 280 kg-650 kg/m^3, fly ash 42-97 kg/m^3, slag 64-146 kg/m^3, silica fume 34-78 kg/m^3, and sand 0-920 kg/m^3. The compressive strength of the foamed concrete with oven dried bulk density of 1500 kg/m^3 in appropriate mix proportion and with small amount of superplasticizer reached as high as 44.1 MPa. Meanwhile, the flesh foamed concrete behaves like an excellent flow-ability, therefore, is especially suitable for the application in case of massive foamed concrete casting in situ and in the case of filling casting into large volume underground irregular voids, except for pre-casting of building components like blocks, bricks, and wall panels.

Effect of SiO_2/Na_2O mole ratio on the properties of foam geopolymers fabricated from circulating fluidized bed fly ash

Geopolymers are three-dimensional aluminosilicates formed in a short time at low temperature by geopolymerization. In this pa-per, alkali-activated foam geopolymers were fabricated from circulating fluidized bed fly ash （CFA）, and the effect of SiO2/Na2O mole ratio （0.91-1.68） on their properties was studied. Geopolymerization products were characterized by mechanical testing, scanning electron mi-croscopy （SEM）, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX）, and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The results show that SiO2/Na2O mole ratio plays an important role in the mechanical and morphological characteristics of geopolymers. Foam samples prepared in 28 d with a SiO2/Na2O mole ratio of 1.42 exhibit the greatest compressive strength of 2.52 MPa. Morphological analysis reveals that these foam geo-polymers appear the relatively optimized pore structure and distribution, which are beneficial to the structure stability. Moreover, a combina-tion of the Si/Al atomic ratio ranging between 1.47 and 1.94 with the Na/Al atomic ratio of about 1 produces the samples with high strength.

Properties of Water Blown Rigid Polyurethane Foams with Different Funetionality

Water blown rigid polyurethane foams with different functionality were prepared. The physical properties of rigid foams were measured with rotational viscometer （NDJ-1 ）, universal testing machine （Instron3365）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and differential scanning calorimeter （DSC）. The results show that the viscosity of polyether polyol increases exponentially from 62 mPa s to 6 000 mPa s with the increase of functionality from 2 to 5.6, respectively. The overall density of foam increases slightly from 31.7 kg/m^3 to 37.4 kg/m^3 with increasing functionality while core density exhibited little difference. Compressive strength of foam shows the similar behavior with density except for 2-functional sample. At the same time, dimensional stability becomes better with increasing functionality except for 5.6-functional foam that has worse stability than 4.8-functional foam. From the SEM results, the functionality is not an important factor in determining distribution of cell size of foam. According to the results of thermal analysis, the glass transition temperature （T） shifts to a higher temperature from 128.9 ℃ to 166.3 ℃ for the 2 to 5.6 functional foam, respectively.

EFFECT OF SPECIMEN ASPECT RATIO ON FATIGUE LIFE OF CLOSED CELL Al-Si-Ca ALLOY FOAM

Quasi-static and compressive fatigue tests on the closed cell Al-Si-Ca alloy foam specimens with three different aspect ratios were performed. It turned out that the onset of cyclic shortening of foam with a lower aspect ratio took place earlier and the fatigue strength was lower compared with the specimen with a higher aspect ratio, although all the dimensions of specimen satisfied the seven times the cell size criterion, while the quasi-static stress-strain curves were almost same having same Young＇s modulus, yield stress and plateau stress. Therefore, the seven times the cell size criterion for the quasi-static compression behavior was not applicable to the fatigue analysis of Al-Si-Ca alloy foam.

Preparation and Properties of Alkali Activated Foam Cement Reinforced with Polypropylene Fibers

A new form of foam cement was produced by mixing alkali-activated slag,clay,a small amount of polypropylene fibers with prepared foam during stirring.The preparation of the material is quite different from the normal one,which is produced just at room temperature and without baking.The fabrication of this energy-saving and low-price material can be favorable for lowering carbon emission by using recycled industrial wastes.Thermal conductivity of 0.116 W/（m·k）,compressive strength of 3.30 MPa,flexural strength of 0.8 MPa and density of 453 kg/m3 can be achieved after 28 days aging.The hydration product is C-S-H with less Ca（OH）2,calcium aluminum and zeolite,which was characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD） measurement.This prospective foam cement may be expected to be an excellent economical energy-saving building material.

The Influence of Polyurethane Foam on the Insulation Characteristics of Mortar Pastes

Rigid polyurethane foam is found virtually everywhere in our modern world and is used in sound and thermal insulation applications such as refrigerators, insulated buildings, thermosets. Organometallic compounds are used as polyurethane catalysts since they are very highly selective towards the isocyanate-polyol reaction. Also, amine catalysts are used to balance both the gelling reaction and the gas-forming or foaming reaction responsible for foam formation. In this work, the effect of a tin octoate catalyst on the mechanical properties and morphology of polyurethane foam were investigated. Also, the thermal conductivity and sound absorption coefficient for polyurethane foam mortar formulations were measured. The morphological properties of polyurethane foam were investigated using scanning electron microscope to determine the influence of varying the concentration of tin octoate. It was clear from the results that polyurethane foam has good thermal and sound insulation capabilities.

Synthesis and characterization of copper foams through a powder metallurgy route using a compressible and lubricant space-holder material

In the present work,a compressible and lubricating space-holder material commonly known as "acrawax" was used to process Cu foams with various pore sizes and various porosities.The foams were processed without using binders to avoid contamination of their metal matrices.The lubricant space-holder material was found to facilitate more uniform flow and distribution of metal powder around the surface of the space holder.In addition,the use of acrawax as a space-holder material yielded considerably dense cell walls,which are an essential prerequisite for better material properties.The foams processed with a smaller-sized space holder were found to exhibit better electrical and mechanical properties than those processed with a coarser-sized space holder.The isotropic pore shape,uniform pore distribution throughout the metal matrix,and uniform cell wall thickness were found to enhance the properties pertaining to fine-pore foam samples.The processed foams exhibit properties similar to those of the foams processed through the lost-carbonate sintering process.

Hardening Properties of Foamed Concrete with Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler Ash, Blast Furnace Slag, and Desulfurization Gypsum as the Binder

Recently, a large amount of circulating fluidized bed boiler ash (CFBA) and desulfurization gypsum (DSG) has been produced, and it is essential to develop technology to utilize them. These materials have CaO and SO3, which are considered to be a stimulant for blast furnace slag (BFS). This study presents an experimental investigation of the compressive strength and heavy metal ions immobilization properties of cement-free materials comprising CFBA, BFS, and DSG. The feasibility of manufacturing foamed concrete using these materials was examined, and field test of foamed concrete was conducted. Experimentally, the flow, compressive strength, and heavy metal ions concentration were evaluated via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) of the paste and foamed concrete. The experimental investigation revealed the self-healing hardening ability of fluidized bed boiler ash. In addition, the compressive strength was increased with the increasing replacement rates of BFS and DSG in the CFBA paste, and the compressive strength of 14.6 - 17.2 MPa was recorded over 28 days of curing. From the result obtained, the feasibility of manufacturing foamed concrete with a foam volume of 120 L, incorporating the aforementioned materials, is confirmed. It was also found that after 28 days of age, a 7.9-MPa compressive strength of the foamed concrete was attained, and heavy metal ions elution in this foamed concrete was also significantly reduced. Therefore, CFBA, BFS, and DSG could be used as a binder for the foamed concrete.

Colloidal gas aphron(CGA) based foam cement system

To solve the problems such as high denstiy,foam instability,low compressive strength,high porosity and poor durability associated with conventional foam cements,a novel colloidal gas aphron(CGA)based foam cement system was investigated and tested for properties.CGA is used in a base slurry as the foam component and the recipe was optimized with hollow sphere and micro-silica in terms of particle size distribution(PSD).Porosity,permeability,strength,brittleness,elasticity,free water content,foam stability and density tests on the CGA based foam cement system were carried out to evaluate the performance of the system.According to the experiment results,at the foam proportion of 10%,the cement density was reduced to 1040 kg/m3,and stable microfoam net structure not significantly affected by high temperature and high pressure was formed in the cement system.The optimal CGA based foam cement has a free water content of 0%,porosity of 24%,permeability of 0.7×10-3μm2,low elasticity modulus,high Poisson’s ratio,and reasonable compressive strength,and is more elastic and flexible with capability to tolerate regional stresses.

粉煤灰-矿渣基泡沫地聚合物微观孔隙结构与宏观性能

以粉煤灰和矿渣为主要原材料,H_(2)O_(2)为发泡剂,通过碱激发方法制备粉煤灰-矿渣基泡沫地聚合物.研究碱激发剂模数和粉煤灰掺量对泡沫地聚合物微观孔隙结构、抗压强度及导热系数的影响.基于X射线衍射仪(XRD)、光学显微镜和CT扫描分析了反应产物和孔隙结构参数对泡沫地聚合物性能影响的内在机理.同时,基于灰色关联分析得到泡沫地聚合物的孔隙结构参数与其导热系数和强度的相关关系.结果表明:泡沫地聚合物的导热系数主要由孔隙率决定,两者呈指数负相关;泡沫地聚合物的抗压强度与孔隙连通度、孔隙率、平均孔径及分级孔隙占比有关,其中孔隙连通度和孔隙率影响最显著.

水灰比对泡沫混凝土性能的影响研究

泡沫混凝土作为一种多孔材料被广泛应用于建筑中,其性能直接受内部气孔结构的影响,而水泥浆的性质是影响泡沫稳定存在的重要因素。为探究水灰比对泡沫混凝土性能的影响,该文配制了三种不同水灰比的水泥浆制备泡沫混凝土,并测量其干密度、抗压强度、导热率和吸水率,探究其性能与水灰比的关系。结果表明,随着水灰比减小,水泥含量增加,水泥粘度增加,泡沫混凝土密度逐渐增加,强度逐渐增加,导热率逐渐增大,吸水率逐渐减小。在合适的水灰比下,泡沫混凝土相比纯水泥浆密度降幅最大,达到41.76%;强度降幅最小,抗压强度达到9.8 MPa;导热率降幅达到最大,为0.212 W/m·K;吸水率达到21.5%。

椰棕基硬质聚氨酯泡沫的制备及其性能

利用微波辅助液化技术将椰棕粉末进行液化制得液化物,以液化物为原料、三乙烯二胺(TEDA)和异辛酸锡(TECH)为复合催化剂、水为发泡剂,与多苯基甲烷多异氰酸酯反应通过一步法制备了硬质聚氨酯泡沫(PURF)。对水发泡制备PURF的条件进行优化,较优的制备条件为催化剂中TEDA和TECH的质量比为4:5、催化剂质量分数为5%、泡沫稳定剂M-8818质量分数为2.5%、发泡剂质量分数为2%,该条件下制备的PURF的压缩强度为223 kPa,超过了大部分生物基PURF。采用傅里叶变换红外光谱对液化物、液化剂和PURF进行表征,通过扫描电镜对泡沫泡孔进行观察。结果显示,所合成的PURF大部分为闭孔,体系中基本没有异氰酸根剩余。使用锥形量热仪对最优PURF进行燃烧行为分析,最大热释放速率(HRR)为250.6 kW/m^(2)。

核电新燃料运输容器聚氨酯泡沫填充材料寿命预测

核电新燃料运输容器长期服役寿命主要受限于填充在壳体中起防震和隔热作用且不可更换的硬质聚氨酯泡沫材料。为评估填充在新燃料运输容器中的硬质聚氨酯泡沫材料的老化寿命,分别在不同温度条件下对硬质聚氨酯泡沫材料进行加速热氧老化试验,定期监测其压缩性能、颜色及微观形貌变化规律,分析其热氧老化行为。根据聚氨酯泡沫材料在不同温度下的压缩强度变化规律,获得聚氨酯泡沫材料在不同温度条件下的老化失效时间,采用阿伦尼乌斯方程外推法预测其在实际服役温度条件下的老化寿命。结果表明,聚氨酯泡沫材料适宜的热氧老化试验温度区间为100~120℃。经微观形貌观察,新燃料运输容器聚氨酯泡沫填充材料在热氧老化试验期间发生泡孔塌陷和泡孔壁破裂的现象,导致压缩强度下降。通过计算分析,在新燃料运输容器设计最高使用温度38℃条件下,预测聚氨酯泡沫材料服役寿命为54 a,能够满足30 a的设计要求。

轻质漂珠对HPMC/水泥基复合多孔保温材料性能的影响

为获得性能良好的羟丙基甲基纤维素(HPMC)/水泥基复合多孔保温材料,研究了不同掺量漂珠(FACs)对HPMC/水泥基复合多孔保温材料力学性能、导热系数、干密度、吸水性的影响,同时运用SEM、XRD等方法以及图像分析软件对复合材料气孔孔结构特征进行表征。研究表明,随着FACs掺量增加,导热系数呈先降低后增加的趋势,抗压强度先增大后降低。当FACs掺量为9.0%(质量分数)时,复合材料的导热系数最小,为0.094 W/(m·K),28 d抗压强度为1.58 MPa,干密度为418.9 kg/m^(3);当FACs掺量为18.0%时,复合材料的抗压强度最优,28 d抗压强度为2.15 MPa,导热系数为0.101 W/(m·K),干密度为431.0 kg/m^(3);随着FACs掺量增大,复合材料小于300μm的气孔比例逐渐增大,平均孔径呈降低趋势。

高熔体强度聚丙烯制备及其发泡材料功能化

普通聚丙烯(PP)过低的熔体强度(MS)会制约PP发泡技术发展,高熔体强度聚丙烯(HMSPP)是在聚合过程中引入支链而制备的长支链聚丙烯,长支链结构能改变普通PP的应变软化效应,使HMSPP具有热稳定性好、加工温度范围宽、抗熔垂性好等特征,拓宽PP发泡温度范围的同时改善PP泡沫性能。本文介绍了HMSPP的概念、特征及表征方法,列举了HMSPP国内外主要研究机构及产品,对比了HMSPP的制备方法(包括反应挤出法、聚合法、辐照制备法、交联制备法、共混改性法等)的优缺点,综述了HMSPP的发泡方法(包括挤出发泡、模压发泡、釜压发泡、注射发泡、吹塑发泡等),介绍了HMSPP的应用及功能化(如隔声、隔热、阻燃、吸附等),最后对HMSPP未来的研究方向和应用进行了展望,鉴于我国高端HMSPP研究起步较晚,相关科研机构需加大研发力度,开发高性能附加值的HMSPP产品,拓宽HMSPP的应用领域,提高市场竞争力。