The effects of incorporating phase change materials (PCMs) into concrete on the potential service lives of bridges were investigated. It was determined that PCMs could potentially be used in the future to reduce the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on bridges, but more work needed to be done to improve the strength of concretes containing PCMs before this could be applied. It was determined that increasing the latent heat of fusion ...
The authors present a method of increasing the structural stability of silica aerogels by producing flexible aerogel composites by electrospinning and sol-gel processing. Three composites, each reinforced with one of three different polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microstructures, were prepared in order to determine the effects of these microstructures on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. It was found that the compressive strength and flexibility of the composites were significantly ...
The authors present a method of fiber-reinforced aerogel composites by impregnation of four layers of aligned glass fibers into silica sol layer-by-layer. The effect of different fiber alignments, as well as the effect of fiber lamination on the mechanical strength of the silica aerogel composites was investigated. In addition to this, the thermal conductivity of each composite was determined. The objective of this work was to investigate whether it is ...
