This article discusses the creation and characterization of albumin based rigid and elastic foams. These foams were created using formaldehyde as the hardener for the protein, while camphor was used as the plasticizer. Crosslinking was carried out using a traditional or microwave oven. Samples differed in the amount of water, formaldehyde, and camphor added, and in the amount of time that they spent in the oven. The thermal conductivity was ...
Composites made from a combination of cis-polyisoprene (CPI) and nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) were investigated to determine the effect of varying proportions of each additive on the mechanical and thermal properties of the final product. The use of a scanning electron microscope to quantify the structure of the material revealed that all samples were homogenous. Young's modulus and tensile strength were two of the mechanical properties studied. The blend composition ...
Expanded graphite (EG) was added to lauric acid (LA)-stearic acid (SA) phase change materials to enhance their thermal conductivities. The PCMs were prepared in varying mass fractions of LA and SA, and 10 wt. % of EG was added. The phase change temperature and phase change enthalpy were determined by DSC, while the thermal conductivities, and thermal stabilities of the PCMs were determined by the transient plane source and thermogravimetric analysis, ...
Polymeric tannin/furanic foams fortified with polyurethane (PUR) and 4,4’ diphenylmethane diisocyanate (pMDI) were prepared. The thermo-physical and mechanical properties of the produced foams were investigated experimentally. It was found that since there were a number of active isocyanate groups on the PUR that was used, there was no difference in adding PUR or pMDI to the foams, and so only the results for pMDI were presented. It was found that ...
Polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) was used to functionalize multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) by grafting to produce MWNT-g-PTMEG. These functionalized nanotubes were then dispersed in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to form a TPU/MWNT nanocomposite. It was found that the functionalization resulted in improved dispersion of the nanotubes in the TPU material. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the nanocomposite were also enhanced by the addition of the nanotubes in ...
