Aerogels are ultra-light, insulative, porous materials that have a wide variety of applications. The aim of this study was to synthesize resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) cross-linked silica aerogels in one pot by acid catalysis. A thermal constant analyzer measured the thermal conductivity of the RF/SiO2 aerogels using the transient plane source (TPS) method. Results showed that although the RF/SiO2 aerogels had a lower density, their thermal conductivities resembled those ...
For the prediction of thermal conductivity using theoretical models of a composite or mixture of components, the thermal conductivities of the individual components must be known. In this study, the needle probe method was used to measure the thermal conductivity of a mixture of powder and fluid, and using the law of mixtures (Hashin-Shtrikman bounds) the thermal conductivity of the solid phase is estimated. A much simpler method exists though ...
