The authors have dispersed mesoporous silica (MPSiO2) nanoparticles in water and determined the thermal conductivity for each of the resulting nanofluids. It was determined that the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid was greater than that of water, so these nanofluids have potential for use in heat exchanger applications....
The authors describe a synthesis method for a series of pulverized expandable graphite (pEG)/melamine-formaldehyde (MF) resin core-shell structure particles. The particles are also added into rigid polyurethane foams (RPUF) to characterize the flame-retardant, mechanical, and thermal insulation properties of the RPUF/pEG-MF composites. It was found that the pEG/MF particles showed good flame-retardant performance in the composites by providing a physical barrier effect....
Polystyrene/multi-walled carbon nanotube (PS/MWCNT) nanocomposite foams were prepared in order to determine if these foams exhibited a reduced thermal conductivity in comparison to pristine polystyrene foam. The thermal conductivity of foams can be broken down into three modes of conduction: gas conductivity, solid conductivity, and radiative conductivity. The PS/MWCNT foams had decreased gas and radiative conductivities in comparison to the pristine PS foam; however, the solid conductivity ...