Composite carbon foams were prepared by mixing tannin-based resin with various graphite powders in an effort to improve the thermal conductivity relative to pristine carbon foams in order to use them as hosts for phase-change materials. It was found that using graphite powder with smaller particle sizes resulted in foams with a higher bulk density than those prepared with an equal amount of larger graphite particles, this increased density resulted ...
Autoclaved aerated concrete was studied because it has potential to be used in the design of energy-efficient buildings. Three different samples were tested, each with a unique density. Of particular interest to this work was the thermal conductivity of the samples, as this material would be used as a thermally insulating concrete. The thermal conductivities were measured at various percentages of moisture content, and it was found that increasing moisture ...
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 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 ...
