MASS TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS FOR A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID AND WATER WITH AND WITHOUT ANTI-FOAM AGENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leishear, R.

2009-09-09

Mass transfer rates were measured in a large scale system, which consisted of an 8.4 meter tall by 0.76 meter diameter column containing one of three fluids: water with an anti-foam agent, water without an anti-foam agent, and AZ101 simulant, which simulated a non-Newtonian nuclear waste. The testing contributed to the evaluation of large scale mass transfer of hydrogen in nuclear waste tanks. Due to its radioactivity, the waste was chemically simulated, and due to flammability concerns oxygen was used in lieu of hydrogen. Different liquids were used to better understand the mass transfer processes, where each of the fluids was saturated with oxygen, and the oxygen was then removed from solution as air bubbled up, or sparged, through the solution from the bottom of the column. Air sparging was supplied by a single tube which was co-axial to the column, the decrease in oxygen concentration was recorded, and oxygen measurements were then used to determine the mass transfer coefficients to describe the rate of oxygen transfer from solution. Superficial, average, sparging velocities of 2, 5, and 10 mm/second were applied to each of the liquids at three different column fill levels, and mass transfer coefficient test results are presented here for combinations of superficial velocities and fluid levels.

MASS TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS FOR A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID AND WATER WITH AND WITHOUT ANTI-FOAM AGENTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leishear, R.

2009-01-01

Mass transfer rates were measured in a large scale system, which consisted of an 8.4 meter tall by 0.76 meter diameter column containing one of three fluids: water with an anti-foam agent, water without an anti-foam agent, and AZ101 simulant, which simulated a non-Newtonian nuclear waste. The testing contributed to the evaluation of large scale mass transfer of hydrogen in nuclear waste tanks. Due to its radioactivity, the waste was chemically simulated, and due to flammability concerns oxygen was used in lieu of hydrogen. Different liquids were used to better understand the mass transfer processes, where each of the fluids was saturated with oxygen, and the oxygen was then removed from solution as air bubbled up, or sparged, through the solution from the bottom of the column. Air sparging was supplied by a single tube which was co-axial to the column, the decrease in oxygen concentration was recorded, and oxygen measurements were then used to determine the mass transfer coefficients to describe the rate of oxygen transfer from solution. Superficial, average, sparging velocities of 2, 5, and 10 mm/second were applied to each of the liquids at three different column fill levels, and mass transfer coefficient test results are presented here for combinations of superficial velocities and fluid levels

The Usability of Boric Acid as an Alternative Foaming Agent on the Fabrication of Al/Al2O3 Composite Foams

Science.gov (United States)

Yaman, Bilge; Onuklu, Eren; Korpe, Nese O.

2017-09-01

Pure Al and alumina (2, 5, 10 wt.% Al2O3)-added Al composite foams were fabricated through powder metallurgy technique, where boric acid (H3BO3) is employed as a new alternative foaming agent. It is aimed to determine the effects of boric acid on the foaming behavior and cellular structure and also purposed to develop the mechanical properties of Al foams by addition of Al2O3. Al and Al composite foams with porosity fraction in the range of 46-53% were achieved by sintering at 620 °C for 2 h. Cell morphology was characterized using a combination of stereomicroscope equipped with image analyzer and scanning electron microscopy. Microhardness values were measured via using Vickers indentation technique. Quasi-static compression tests were performed at strain rate of 10-3 s-1. Compressive strength and energy absorption of the composite foams enhanced not only by the increasing weight fraction of alumina, but also by the usage of boric acid which leads to formation of boron oxide (B2O3) acting as a binder in obtaining dense cell walls. The results revealed that the boric acid has outstanding potential as foaming agent in the fabrication of Al and Al composite foams by providing improved mechanical properties.

Foam generation and sample composition optimization for the FOAM-C experiment of the ISS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carpy, R; Picker, G; Amann, B; Ranebo, H; Vincent-Bonnieu, S; Minster, O; Winter, J; Dettmann, J; Castiglione, L; Höhler, R; Langevin, D

2011-01-01

End of 2009 and early 2010 a sealed cell, for foam generation and observation, has been designed and manufactured at Astrium Friedrichshafen facilities. With the use of this cell, different sample compositions of 'wet foams' have been optimized for mixtures of chemicals such as water, dodecanol, pluronic, aethoxisclerol, glycerol, CTAB, SDS, as well as glass beads. This development is performed in the frame of the breadboarding development activities of the Experiment Container FOAM-C for operation in the ISS Fluid Science Laboratory (ISS). The sample cell supports multiple observation methods such as: Diffusing-Wave and Diffuse Transmission Spectrometry, Time Resolved Correlation Spectroscopy and microscope observation, all of these methods are applied in the cell with a relatively small experiment volume 3 . These units, will be on orbit replaceable sets, that will allow multiple sample compositions processing (in the range of >40).

Aspiration tests in aqueous foam using a breathing simulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Archuleta, M.M.

1995-12-01

Non-toxic aqueous foams are being developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for use in crowd control, cell extractions, and group disturbances in the criminal justice prison systems. The potential for aspiration of aqueous foam during its use and the resulting adverse effects associated with complete immersion in aqueous foam is of major concern to the NIJ when examining the effectiveness and safety of using this technology as a Less-Than-Lethal weapon. This preliminary study was designed to evaluate the maximum quantity of foam that might be aspirated by an individual following total immersion in an SNL-developed aqueous foam. A.T.W. Reed Breathing simulator equipped with a 622 Silverman cam was used to simulate the aspiration of an ammonium laureth sulfate aqueous foam developed by SNL and generated at expansion ratios in the range of 500:1 to 1000:1. Although the natural instinct of an individual immersed in foam is to cover their nose and mouth with a hand or cloth, thus breaking the bubbles and decreasing the potential for aspiration, this study was performed to examine a worst case scenario where mouth breathing only was examined, and no attempt was made to block foam entry into the breathing port. Two breathing rates were examined: one that simulated a sedentary individual with a mean breathing rate of 6.27 breaths/minute, and one that simulated an agitated or heavily breathing individual with a mean breathing rate of 23.7 breaths/minute. The results of this study indicate that, if breathing in aqueous foam without movement, an air pocket forms around the nose and mouth within one minute of immersion.

Properties of Syntactic Foam for Simulation of Mechanical Insults.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hubbard, Neal Benson [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Haulenbeek, Kimberly K. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Spletzer, Matthew A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Ortiz, Lyndsy [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-02-01

Syntactic foam encapsulation protects sensitive components. The energy mitigated by the foam is calculated with numerical simulations. The properties of a syntactic foam consisting of a mixture of an epoxy-rubber adduct and glass microballoons are obtained from published literature and test results. The conditions and outcomes of the tests are discussed. The method for converting published properties and test results to input for finite element models is described. Simulations of the test conditions are performed to validate the inputs.

Experimental study on foam coverage on simulated longwall roof

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, W.R.; Zheng, Y.; Klima, S.; Shahan, M.R.; Beck, T.W.

2018-01-01

Testing was conducted to determine the ability of foam to maintain roof coverage in a simulated longwall mining environment. Approximately 27 percent of respirable coal mine dust can be attributed to longwall shield movement, and developing controls for this dust source has been difficult. The application of foam is a possible dust control method for this source. Laboratory testing of two foam agents was conducted to determine the ability of the foam to adhere to a simulated longwall face roof surface. Two different foam generation methods were used: compressed air and blower air. Using a new imaging technology, image processing and analysis utilizing ImageJ software produced quantifiable results of foam roof coverage. For compressed air foam in 3.3 m/s (650 fpm) ventilation, 98 percent of agent A was intact while 95 percent of agent B was intact on the roof at three minutes after application. At 30 minutes after application, 94 percent of agent A was intact while only 20 percent of agent B remained. For blower air in 3.3 m/s (650 fpm) ventilation, the results were dependent upon nozzle type. Three different nozzles were tested. At 30 min after application, 74 to 92 percent of foam agent A remained, while 3 to 50 percent of foam agent B remained. Compressed air foam seems to remain intact for longer durations and is easier to apply than blower air foam. However, more water drained from the foam when using compressed air foam, which demonstrates that blower air foam retains more water at the roof surface. Agent A seemed to be the better performer as far as roof application is concerned. This testing demonstrates that roof application of foam is feasible and is able to withstand a typical face ventilation velocity, establishing this technique’s potential for longwall shield dust control. PMID:29563765

Failure analysis of bolted joints in foam-core sandwich composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zabihpoor, M.; Moslemian, Ramin; Afshin, M.

2008-01-01

This study represents an effort to predict the bearing strength, failure modes, and failure load of bolted joints in foam-core sandwich composites. The studied joints have been used in a light full composite airplane. By using solid laminates, a new design for the joint zone is developed. These s......This study represents an effort to predict the bearing strength, failure modes, and failure load of bolted joints in foam-core sandwich composites. The studied joints have been used in a light full composite airplane. By using solid laminates, a new design for the joint zone is developed...

Numerical Simulation of Liquids Draining From a Tank Using OpenFOAM

Science.gov (United States)

Sakri, Fadhilah Mohd; Sukri Mat Ali, Mohamed; Zaki Shaikh Salim, Sheikh Ahmad; Muhamad, Sallehuddin

2017-08-01

Accurate simulation of liquids draining is a challenging task. It involves two phases flow, i.e. liquid and air. In this study draining a liquid from a cylindrical tank is numerically simulated using OpenFOAM. OpenFOAM is an open source CFD package and it becomes increasingly popular among the academician and also industries. Comparisons with theoretical and results from previous published data confirmed that OpenFOAM is able to simulate the liquids draining very well. This is done using the gas-liquid interface solver available in the standard library of OpenFOAM. Additionally, this study was also able to explain the physics flow of the draining tank.

The effect of betaine on the foam stability: Molecular simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Fengfeng [Chemistry Engineering Department, Zibo Vocational Institute, Zibo 255314 (China); Key laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Liu, Guokui [Key laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Yuan, Shiling, E-mail: shilingyuan@sdu.edu.cn [Key laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • The reasons of betaine to enhance the stability of foam films are investigated by molecular simulation. • An electrostatic structure is formed at the air/water interface due to the electrostatic interaction. • The electrostatic structure becomes denser with the increasing concentration of betaine. - Abstract: Zwitterionic betaines are widely used as foam boosters due to these can enhance the stability of foam films. In this paper, mechanistic insights of betaine to improve the stability of alkyl-polyoxyethylene carboxylate (AEC) foam are provided by molecular simulation. In the simulation, we observe the electropositive nitrogen atoms in betaine interact with the electronegative sulfur atoms, an electrostatic structure is formed at the air/water interface. Interaction energies of the mixed surfactants are calculated by the quantum chemistry methods. The calculations show betaine-AEC and betaine–betaine possess attractive interaction, and that AEC–AEC has repulsion to each other. In the other words, the repulsion between the headgroups of anionic surfactants is relaxed by betaine. Additionally, the influence of concentration of betaine on the stability of foam films is also simulated. The RDF and coordination numbers show that the electrostatic structures become denser with the increasing concentration of betaine. Therefore, entry barrier is enhanced accordingly. The SMD simulation also demonstrates the same variation tendency of entry barrier. The simulation details provide vital supplements to experiments.

FOAM3D: A numerical simulator for mechanistic prediciton of foam displacement in multidimensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kovscek, A.R.; Patzek, T.W. [Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Radke, C.J. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1995-03-01

Field application of foam is a technically viable enhanced oil recovery process (EOR) as demonstrated by recent steam-foam field studies. Traditional gas-displacement processes, such as steam drive, are improved substantially by controlling gas mobility and thereby improving volumetric displacement efficiency. For instance, Patzek and Koinis showed major oil-recovery response after about two years of foam injection in two different pilot studies at the Kern River field. They report increased production of 5.5 to 14% of the original oil in place over a five year period. Because reservoir-scale simulation is a vital component of the engineering and economic evaluation of any EOR project, efficient application of foam as a displacement fluid requires a predictive numerical model of foam displacement. A mechanistic model would also expedite scale-up of the process from the laboratory to the field scale. No general, mechanistic, field-scale model for foam displacement is currently in use.

Numerical simulation of anisotropic polymeric foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volnei Tita

Full Text Available This paper shows in detail the modelling of anisotropic polymeric foam under compression and tension loadings, including discussions on isotropic material models and the entire procedure to calibrate the parameters involved. First, specimens of poly(vinyl chloride (PVC foam were investigated through experimental analyses in order to understand the mechanical behavior of this anisotropic material. Then, isotropic material models available in the commercial software AbaqusTM were investigated in order to verify their ability to model anisotropic foams and how the parameters involved can influence the results. Due to anisotropy, it is possible to obtain different values for the same parameter in the calibration process. The obtained set of parameters are used to calibrate the model according to the application of the structure. The models investigated showed minor and major limitations to simulate the mechanical behavior of anisotropic PVC foams under compression, tension and multi-axial loadings. Results show that the calibration process and the choice of the material model applied to the polymeric foam can provide good quantitative results and save project time. Results also indicate what kind and order of error one will get if certain choices are made throughout the modelling process. Finally, even though the developed calibration procedure is applied to specific PVC foam, it still outlines a very broad drill to analyze other anisotropic cellular materials.

Results of Large-Scale Testing on Effects of Anti-Foam Agent on Gas Retention and Release

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, Charles W.; Guzman-Leong, Consuelo E.; Arm, Stuart T.; Butcher, Mark G.; Golovich, Elizabeth C.; Jagoda, Lynette K.; Park, Walter R.; Slaugh, Ryan W.; Su, Yin-Fong; Wend, Christopher F.; Mahoney, Lenna A.; Alzheimer, James M.; Bailey, Jeffrey A.; Cooley, Scott K.; Hurley, David E.; Johnson, Christian D.; Reid, Larry D.; Smith, Harry D.; Wells, Beric E.; Yokuda, Satoru T.

2008-01-03

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of River Protection’s Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) will process and treat radioactive waste that is stored in tanks at the Hanford Site. The waste treatment process in the pretreatment facility will mix both Newtonian and non-Newtonian slurries in large process tanks. Process vessels mixing non-Newtonian slurries will use pulse jet mixers (PJMs), air sparging, and recirculation pumps. An anti-foam agent (AFA) will be added to the process streams to prevent surface foaming, but may also increase gas holdup and retention within the slurry. The work described in this report addresses gas retention and release in simulants with AFA through testing and analytical studies. Gas holdup and release tests were conducted in a 1/4-scale replica of the lag storage vessel operated in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Applied Process Engineering Laboratory using a kaolin/bentonite clay and AZ-101 HLW chemical simulant with non-Newtonian rheological properties representative of actual waste slurries. Additional tests were performed in a small-scale mixing vessel in the PNNL Physical Sciences Building using liquids and slurries representing major components of typical WTP waste streams. Analytical studies were directed at discovering how the effect of AFA might depend on gas composition and predicting the effect of AFA on gas retention and release in the full-scale plant, including the effects of mass transfer to the sparge air. The work at PNNL was part of a larger program that included tests conducted at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) that is being reported separately. SRNL conducted gas holdup tests in a small-scale mixing vessel using the AZ-101 high-level waste (HLW) chemical simulant to investigate the effects of different AFAs, their components, and of adding noble metals. Full-scale, single-sparger mass transfer tests were also conducted at SRNL in water and AZ-101 HLW simulant to provide data for PNNL�

Low-density carbonized composite foams for direct-drive laser ICF targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong, Fung-Ming.

1989-03-01

The design for a direct-drive, high-gain laser inertial confinement fusion target calls for the use of a low-density, low-atomic-number foam to confine and stabilize liquid deuterium-tritium (DT) in a spherical-shell configuration. Over the past two years, we have successfully developed polystyrene foams (PS) and carbonized resorcinol-formaldehyde foams (CRF) for that purpose. Both candidates are promising materials with unique characteristics. PS has superior mechanical strength and machinability, but its relatively large thermal contraction is a significant disadvantage. CRF has outstanding wettability and dimensional stability in liquid DT; yet it is much more fragile than PS. To combine the strengths of both materials, we have recently developed a polymer composite foam which exceeds PS in mechanical strength, but retains the wettability and dimension stability of CRF. This paper will discuss the preparation, structure, and properties of the polymer composite foams. 5 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

Lost foam casting of aluminum alloy-SiCp composite material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baalasuburamaniam, R.; Cvetnic, C.; Ravindran, C.

2002-01-01

Metal matrix composites are a viable alternative to cast irons in automotive components with possible increase in strength-to-weight ratio. Lost foam casting of aluminum alloy matrix composite containing 20 volume percent SiC was carried out at 690, 730, and 770 o C with a view to determining the effects of cooling rate on microstructure, particle distribution, microporosity and mechanical properties. These results were compared with those for the matrix material cast under similar conditions. The results and the correlations are of particular interest as there is no published literature on lost foam casting of composite materials. (author)

Effect of porosity on physical properties of lightweight cement composite with foamed glass aggregate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurpińska Marzena

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on a study of physical properties of lightweight cement composite. We investigate the possibility of replacing traditional aggregate with Granulated Ash Aggregate (GAA and above all with Granulated Expanded Glass Aggregate (GEGA. For this purpose, 15 specimens of different percentage share of each aggregate in total aggregate volume were tested: 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of foam glass aggregate (GEGA partially replaced by ash aggregate (GAA content in the cement composite. The water-cement ratio was constant and equal to w/c=0.5. Three grain sizes were analyzed: 2mm, 4mm (both GEGA and 8mm (GAA. Numerical simulations of concrete specimen behavior under static loading were conducted with the implementation of elastic plastic model of each component. The study shows a significant impact of grain type and size on physical properties of lightweight concrete. Due to lower density of foamed glass aggregate, specimens shows various apparent density and porosity, which affect concrete properties. Compressive strength of concrete decreases with the increase in foam glass aggregate content; however specimens show different workability and in consequence porosity of lightweight concrete.

Foam generation and sample composition optimization for the FOAM-C experiment of the ISS

Science.gov (United States)

Carpy, R.; Picker, G.; Amann, B.; Ranebo, H.; Vincent-Bonnieu, S.; Minster, O.; Winter, J.; Dettmann, J.; Castiglione, L.; Höhler, R.; Langevin, D.

2011-12-01

End of 2009 and early 2010 a sealed cell, for foam generation and observation, has been designed and manufactured at Astrium Friedrichshafen facilities. With the use of this cell, different sample compositions of "wet foams" have been optimized for mixtures of chemicals such as water, dodecanol, pluronic, aethoxisclerol, glycerol, CTAB, SDS, as well as glass beads. This development is performed in the frame of the breadboarding development activities of the Experiment Container FOAM-C for operation in the ISS Fluid Science Laboratory (ISS). The sample cell supports multiple observation methods such as: Diffusing-Wave and Diffuse Transmission Spectrometry, Time Resolved Correlation Spectroscopy [1] and microscope observation, all of these methods are applied in the cell with a relatively small experiment volume 40).

Construction of horizontal stratum landform-like composite foams and their methyl orange adsorption capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jiajia; Shi, Xiaowen; Zhan, Yingfei; Qiu, Xiaodan; Du, Yumin; Deng, Hongbing

2017-01-01

Highlights: • CS/REC/CNTs composite foams were prepared by unidirectional freeze-casting. • Horizontal stratum landform-like structure was successful built up in foam. • The addition of REC and CNTs promoted the mechanical properties of foam. • The introduction of REC and CNTs enhanced the adsorption capacity of foam on dye. - Abstract: Chitosan (CS)/rectorite (REC)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite foams with good mechanical properties were successfully fabricated by unidirectional freeze-casting technique. The morphology of the foam showed the well-ordered porous three-dimensional layers and horizontal stratum landform-like structure. The holes on the layers looked like the wings of butterfly. Additionally, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results indicated the successful addition of CNTs and REC. The intercalated REC with CS chains was confirmed by small-angle X-ray diffraction. The surface structure of the foams was also analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The adsorption experiments showed that when the mass ratio of CS to REC was 10:1 and CNTs content was 20%, the composite foam performed best in adsorbing low concentration methyl orange, and the largest adsorption capacity was 41.65 mg/g.

Construction of horizontal stratum landform-like composite foams and their methyl orange adsorption capacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jiajia; Shi, Xiaowen; Zhan, Yingfei; Qiu, Xiaodan; Du, Yumin; Deng, Hongbing, E-mail: hbdeng@whu.edu.cn

2017-03-01

Highlights: • CS/REC/CNTs composite foams were prepared by unidirectional freeze-casting. • Horizontal stratum landform-like structure was successful built up in foam. • The addition of REC and CNTs promoted the mechanical properties of foam. • The introduction of REC and CNTs enhanced the adsorption capacity of foam on dye. - Abstract: Chitosan (CS)/rectorite (REC)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite foams with good mechanical properties were successfully fabricated by unidirectional freeze-casting technique. The morphology of the foam showed the well-ordered porous three-dimensional layers and horizontal stratum landform-like structure. The holes on the layers looked like the wings of butterfly. Additionally, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results indicated the successful addition of CNTs and REC. The intercalated REC with CS chains was confirmed by small-angle X-ray diffraction. The surface structure of the foams was also analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The adsorption experiments showed that when the mass ratio of CS to REC was 10:1 and CNTs content was 20%, the composite foam performed best in adsorbing low concentration methyl orange, and the largest adsorption capacity was 41.65 mg/g.

Hysteresis and avalanches in two-dimensional foam rheology simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Y.; Swart, P.J.; Saxena, A.; Asipauskas, M.; Glazier, J.A.

1999-01-01

Foams have unique rheological properties that range from solidlike to fluidlike. We study two-dimensional noncoarsening foams of different disorder under shear in a Monte Carlo simulation, using a driven large-Q Potts model. Simulations of periodic shear on an ordered foam show several different response regimes. At small strain amplitudes, bubbles deform and recover their shapes elastically, and the macroscopic response is that of a linear elastic cellular material. For increasing strain amplitude, the energy-strain curve starts to exhibit hysteresis before any topological rearrangements occur, indicating a macroscopic viscoelastic response. When the applied strain amplitude exceeds a critical value, the yield strain, topological rearrangements occur, the foam starts to flow, and we observe macroscopic irreversibility. We find that the dynamics of topological rearrangements depend sensitively on the structural disorder. Structural disorder decreases the yield strain; sufficiently high disorder changes the macroscopic response of a foam from a viscoelastic solid to a viscoelastic fluid. This wide-ranging dynamical response and the associated history effects of foams result from avalanchelike rearrangement events. The spatiotemporal statistics of rearrangement events do not display long-range correlations for ordered foams or at low shear rates, consistent with experimental observations. As the shear rate or structural disorder increases, the topological events become more correlated and their power spectra change from that of white noise toward 1/f noise. Intriguingly, the power spectra of the total stored energy also exhibit this 1/f trend. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Facile synthesis of MnO2/rGO/Ni composite foam with excellent pseudocapacitive behavior for supercapacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Youyi; Zhang, Wenhui; Li, Diansen; Gao, Li; Hou, Chunlin; Zhang, Yinghe; Liu, Yaqing

2015-01-01

In this study, the MnO 2 /reduced graphene oxide/Ni (MnO 2 /rGO/Ni) composite foam as a binder-free supercapacitor electrode was prepared by a facile method. The rGO film has been firstly coated on the skeletons of Ni foam current collectors by chemical deposition method and that have been used as substrates for preparation of a novel three dimensional rGO/Ni composite foam-supported porous MnO 2 film by the hydrothermal method. The structure of MnO 2 /rGO/Ni composite foam was characterized by Raman spectra, IR spectra and Scanning electron microscopy. It indicated that the high-quality rGO film have been coated on skeletons of Ni foam current collectors and the MnO 2 film had a 3D network microstructure, consisting of interlaced nanosheets. Furthermore, the binder-free MnO 2 /rGO/Ni composite foam electrode has been characterized by the cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectra. It exhibited excellent pseudocapacitive behavior with specific capacitance of 479.0 F/g. The capacitance could retain about 83.5% after 1000 charge–discharge cycles. This simple synthetic approach provides a convenient route for the large scale preparation of 3D porous MnO 2 /rGO/Ni composite foam for lots of applications in future. - Graphical abstract: The MnO 2 /rGO/Ni composite foam was prepared by a facile method as shown in Fig. 1 and the unique structure of composite foam was suited to be a binder-free supercapacitor electrode due to low resistance, 3D network and porous structure. - Highlights: • The MnO 2 /rGO directly grown on Ni foam was firstly reported. • The MnO 2 /rGO/Ni composite foam was prepared by a facile method. • The MnO 2 /graphene/Ni composite foam as a binder-free supercapacitor electrode exhibited excellent pseudocapacitive behavior

Properties of polyurethane foam/coconut coir fiber as a core material and as a sandwich composites component

Science.gov (United States)

Azmi, M. A.; Abdullah, H. Z.; Idris, M. I.

2013-12-01

This research focuses on the fabrication and characterization of sandwich composite panels using glass fiber composite skin and polyurethane foam reinforced coconut coir fiber core. The main objectives are to characterize the physical and mechanical properties and to elucidate the effect of coconut coir fibers in polyurethane foam cores and sandwich composite panels. Coconut coir fibers were used as reinforcement in polyurethane foams in which later were applied as the core in sandwich composites ranged from 5 wt% to 20 wt%. The physical and mechanical properties found to be significant at 5 wt% coconut coir fiber in polyurethane foam cores as well as in sandwich composites. It was found that composites properties serve better in sandwich composites construction.

Properties of polyurethane foam/coconut coir fiber as a core material and as a sandwich composites component

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azmi, M A; Abdullah, H Z; Idris, M I

2013-01-01

This research focuses on the fabrication and characterization of sandwich composite panels using glass fiber composite skin and polyurethane foam reinforced coconut coir fiber core. The main objectives are to characterize the physical and mechanical properties and to elucidate the effect of coconut coir fibers in polyurethane foam cores and sandwich composite panels. Coconut coir fibers were used as reinforcement in polyurethane foams in which later were applied as the core in sandwich composites ranged from 5 wt% to 20 wt%. The physical and mechanical properties found to be significant at 5 wt% coconut coir fiber in polyurethane foam cores as well as in sandwich composites. It was found that composites properties serve better in sandwich composites construction

On the crush behavior of an ultra light multi-cell foam-filled composite structures for energy absorption: Part 2-Numerical simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taher, Siavash T.; Rizal Zahari; Faizal Mustapha; Ataollahi, Simin

2010-01-01

The present paper is dealing with the implementation of the finite element explicit dynamic analysis code module incorporated ANSYS/ LS-DYNA computer software to the simulation of the crash behavior and energy adsorption characteristics of a novel multi-cell cost-effective crash worthy composite sandwich structure. In a previous paper, the authors developed the concept of the triple-layered foam-filled block and submitted experimental results of the crash behaviour and crash worthiness characteristics of such structure. The obtained numerical results of axial compression model of composite blocks are compared with actual experimental data of crash energy adsorption, load-displacement history and crush zone characteristics, showing very good agreement. Theoretical and experimental results showed good similarities in peak load, average load and energy absorption with and without use of two types of collapse trigger mechanism. (author)

Rigid polyurethane and kenaf core composite foams

Science.gov (United States)

Rigid polyurethane foams are valuable in many construction applications. Kenaf is a bast fiber plant where the surface stem skin provides bast fibers whose strength-to-weight ratio competes with glass fiber. The higher volume product of the kenaf core is an under-investigated area in composite appli...

Facile synthesis of MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni composite foam with excellent pseudocapacitive behavior for supercapacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Youyi; Zhang, Wenhui [Research Center for Engineering Technology of Polymeric Composites of Shanxi Province, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051 (China); Li, Diansen [Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Energy Materials and Devices, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing 100191 (China); Gao, Li; Hou, Chunlin [Research Center for Engineering Technology of Polymeric Composites of Shanxi Province, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051 (China); Zhang, Yinghe [International Center for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Liu, Yaqing, E-mail: lyqzgz2010@163.com [Research Center for Engineering Technology of Polymeric Composites of Shanxi Province, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051 (China)

2015-11-15

In this study, the MnO{sub 2}/reduced graphene oxide/Ni (MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni) composite foam as a binder-free supercapacitor electrode was prepared by a facile method. The rGO film has been firstly coated on the skeletons of Ni foam current collectors by chemical deposition method and that have been used as substrates for preparation of a novel three dimensional rGO/Ni composite foam-supported porous MnO{sub 2} film by the hydrothermal method. The structure of MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni composite foam was characterized by Raman spectra, IR spectra and Scanning electron microscopy. It indicated that the high-quality rGO film have been coated on skeletons of Ni foam current collectors and the MnO{sub 2} film had a 3D network microstructure, consisting of interlaced nanosheets. Furthermore, the binder-free MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni composite foam electrode has been characterized by the cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectra. It exhibited excellent pseudocapacitive behavior with specific capacitance of 479.0 F/g. The capacitance could retain about 83.5% after 1000 charge–discharge cycles. This simple synthetic approach provides a convenient route for the large scale preparation of 3D porous MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni composite foam for lots of applications in future. - Graphical abstract: The MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni composite foam was prepared by a facile method as shown in Fig. 1 and the unique structure of composite foam was suited to be a binder-free supercapacitor electrode due to low resistance, 3D network and porous structure. - Highlights: • The MnO{sub 2}/rGO directly grown on Ni foam was firstly reported. • The MnO{sub 2}/rGO/Ni composite foam was prepared by a facile method. • The MnO{sub 2}/graphene/Ni composite foam as a binder-free supercapacitor electrode exhibited excellent pseudocapacitive behavior.

Forming foam structures with carbon foam substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Landingham, Richard L.; Satcher, Jr., Joe H.; Coronado, Paul R.; Baumann, Theodore F.

2012-11-06

The invention provides foams of desired cell sizes formed from metal or ceramic materials that coat the surfaces of carbon foams which are subsequently removed. For example, metal is located over a sol-gel foam monolith. The metal is melted to produce a metal/sol-gel composition. The sol-gel foam monolith is removed, leaving a metal foam.

Foam/Aerogel Composite Materials for Thermal and Acoustic Insulation and Cryogen Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Martha K. (Inventor); Smith, Trent M. (Inventor); Fesmire, James E. (Inventor); Weiser, Erik S. (Inventor); Sass, Jared P. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

The invention involves composite materials containing a polymer foam and an aerogel. The composite materials have improved thermal insulation ability, good acoustic insulation, and excellent physical mechanical properties. The composite materials can be used, for instance, for heat and acoustic insulation on aircraft, spacecraft, and maritime ships in place of currently used foam panels and other foam products. The materials of the invention can also be used in building construction with their combination of light weight, strength, elasticity, ability to be formed into desired shapes, and superior thermal and acoustic insulation power. The materials have also been found to have utility for storage of cryogens. A cryogenic liquid or gas, such as N.sub.2 or H.sub.2, adsorbs to the surfaces in aerogel particles. Thus, another embodiment of the invention provides a storage vessel for a cryogen.

[Experimental Study of PMI Foam Composite Properties in Terahertz].

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Li-yun; Cui, Hong-liang; Shi, Chang-cheng; Han, Xiao-hui; Zhang, Zi-yin; Li, Wei; Ma, Yu-ting; Zheng, Yan; Zhang, Song-nian

2015-12-01

Polymethacrylimide (PMI) foam composite has many excellent properties. Currently, PMI is heat-resistant foam, with the highest strength and stiffness. It is suitable as a high-performance sandwich structure core material. It can replace the honeycomb structure. It is widely used in aerospace, aviation, military, marine, automotive and high-speed trains, etc. But as new sandwich materials, PMI performance testing in the THz band is not yet visible. Based on the Terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy technique, we conducted the transmission and reflection experiments, got the time domain waveforms and power density spectrum. And then we analyzed and compared the signals. The MATALB and Origin 8. 0 was used to calculate and obtain the transmittance (transfer function), absorptivity Coefficient, reflectance and the refractive index of the different thickness Degussa PMI (Model: Rohacell WF71), which were based on the application of the time-domain and frequency-domain analysis methods. We used the data to compared with the THz refractive index and absorption spectra of a domestic PMI, Baoding Meiwo Technology Development Co. , Ltd. (Model: SP1D80-P-30). The result shows that the impact of humidity on the measurement results is obvious. The refractive index of PMI is about 1. 05. The attenuation of power spectrum is due to the signal of the test platform is weak, the sample is thick and the internal scattering of PMI foam microstructure. This conclusion provides a theoretical basis for the THz band applications in the composite PMI. It also made a good groundwork for THz NDT (Non-Destructive Testing, NDT) technology in terms of PMI foam composites.

Electrical and dielectric properties of foam injection-molded polypropylene/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ameli, A.; Nofar, M.; Saniei, M.; Hossieny, N.; Park, C. B. [Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G8 (Canada); Pötschke, P. [Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (IPF), Hohe Strasse 6, D-01069 Dresden (Germany)

2015-05-22

A combination of high dielectric permittivity (ε′) and low dielectric loss (tan δ) is required for charge storage applications. In percolative systems such as conductive polymer composites, however, obtaining high ε′ and low tan δ is very challenging due to the sharp insulation-conduction transition near the threshold region. Due to the particular arrangement of conductive fillers induced by both foaming and injection molding processes, they may address this issue. Therefore, this work evaluates the application of foam injection molding process in fabricating polymer nanocomposites for energy storage. Polypropylene-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PP-MWCNT) composites were prepared by melt mixing and foamed in an injection molding process. Electrical conductivity (σ), ε′ and tan δ were then characterized. Also, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) was used to investigate the carbon nanotube’s arrangement as well as cellular morphology. The results showed that foam injection-molded composites exhibited highly superior dielectric properties to those of solid counterparts. For instance, foamed samples had ε′=68.3 and tan δ =0.05 (at 1.25 vol.% MWCNT), as opposed to ε′=17.8 and tan δ=0.04 in solid samples (at 2.56 vol.% MWCNT). The results of this work reveal that high performance dielectric nanocomposites can be developed using foam injection molding technologies for charge storage applications.

Composite carbon foam electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Steven T.; Pekala, Richard W.; Kaschmitter, James L.

1997-01-01

Carbon aerogels used as a binder for granularized materials, including other forms of carbon and metal additives, are cast onto carbon or metal fiber substrates to form composite carbon thin film sheets. The thin film sheets are utilized in electrochemical energy storage applications, such as electrochemical double layer capacitors (aerocapacitors), lithium based battery insertion electrodes, fuel cell electrodes, and electrocapacitive deionization electrodes. The composite carbon foam may be formed by prior known processes, but with the solid particles being added during the liquid phase of the process, i.e. prior to gelation. The other forms of carbon may include carbon microspheres, carbon powder, carbon aerogel powder or particles, graphite carbons. Metal and/or carbon fibers may be added for increased conductivity. The choice of materials and fibers will depend on the electrolyte used and the relative trade off of system resistivty and power to system energy.

Influence of microbial composition on foam formation in a manure-based digester

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kougias, Panagiotis; Boe, Kanokwan; O-Thong, Sompong

2012-01-01

Foaming is one of the major problems that occasionally occur in the biogas plants, affecting negatively the overall digestion process and results in adverse operational, economical and environmental impacts. The most dominant factors contributing to foaming are organic overloading, feedstock...... manure-based digester of Lemvig biogas plant that was facing foaming problem, comparing with three non-foaming digesters. The research was focused on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of Bacteria and Archaea population and on the identification of Gordonia sp. The reactor samples were analysed...... for foaming properties and microbial analysis. The dynamic population of Bacteria and Archaea were studied by PCR-DGGE method. The results obtained from this study showed that the composition of Bacteria in all reactors was not significantly different indicating that foaming was not caused by Bacteria...

CFD RANS Simulations on a Generic Conventional Scale Model Submarine: Comparison between Fluent and OpenFOAM

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED CFD RANS Simulations on a Generic Conventional Scale Model Submarine: Comparison between Fluent and OpenFOAM ... OpenFOAM to replace some of the Fluent simulations. The fidelity of the Fluent code has been carefully validated, but the accuracy of parts of the... OpenFOAM code have not been so extensively tested. To test the accuracy of the OpenFOAM software, CFD simulations have been performed on the DSTO

Simulated Tip Rub Testing of Low-Density Metal Foam

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Cheryl L.; Jones, Michael G.

2009-01-01

Preliminary acoustic studies have indicated that low-density, open-cell, metal foams may be suitable acoustic liner material for noise suppression in high by-pass engines. Metal foam response under simulated tip rub conditions was studied to assess whether its durability would be sufficient for the foam to serve both as a rub strip above the rotor as well as an acoustic treatment. Samples represented four metal alloys, nominal cell dimensions ranging from 60 to 120 cells per inch (cpi), and relative densities ranging from 3.4 to 10 percent. The resulting rubbed surfaces were relatively smooth and the open cell structure of the foam was not adversely affected. Sample relative density appeared to have significant influence on the forces induced by the rub event. Acoustic responses of various surface preparations were measured using a normal incidence tube. The results of this study indicate that the foam s open-cell structure was retained after rubbing and that the acoustic absorption spectra variation was minimal.

Collapse mechanisms of metal foam matrix composites under static and dynamic loading conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linul, Emanoil, E-mail: emanoil.linul@upt.ro [Department of Mechanics and Strength of Materials, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 1 Mihai Viteazu Avenue, 300 222 Timisoara (Romania); Marsavina, Liviu [Department of Mechanics and Strength of Materials, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 1 Mihai Viteazu Avenue, 300 222 Timisoara (Romania); Kováčik, Jaroslav [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 13 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2017-04-06

The collapse mechanisms of metal foam matrix composites under static and dynamic loading conditions were experimentally and analytically investigated. Closed-cell aluminium foam AlSi10 with 325±10 kg/m{sup 3} density was used as core material, while stainless-steel-mesh is the faces materials. Prior to characterizing the composite sandwich structure, the stainless steel mesh face material and closed-cell aluminium foam were characterized by tensile testing and compression testing, respectively. Experimental tests were performed on sandwich beams using both High Speed Camera and Digital Image Correlation system for strain distribution. All experimental tests were performed at room temperature with constant crosshead speed of 1.67×10{sup −4} m/s for static tests and 2 m/s impact loading speed for dynamic tests. Two main deformation behaviours of investigated metal foam matrix composites were observed following post-failure collapse: face failure and core shear. It was showed that the initiation, propagation and interaction of failure modes depend on the type of loading, constituent material properties and geometrical parameters.

Solar-thermal conversion and thermal energy storage of graphene foam-based composite

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Lianbin

2016-07-11

Among various utilizations of solar energy, solar-thermal conversion has recently gained renewed research interest due to its extremely high energy efficiency. However, one limiting factor common to all solar-based energy conversion technologies is the intermittent nature of solar irradiation, which makes them unable to stand-alone to satisfy continuous energy need. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam and phase change material (PCM) composite for the seamlessly combined solar-thermal conversion and thermal storage for sustained energy release. The composite is obtained by infiltrating the 3D graphene foam with a commonly used PCM, paraffin wax. The high macroporosity and low density of the graphene foam allow for high weight fraction of the PCM to be incorporated, which enhances heat storage capacity of the composite. The interconnected graphene sheets in the composite provide (1) the solar-thermal conversion capability, (2) high thermal conductivity and (3) form stability of the composite. Under light irradiation, the composite effectively collects and converts the light energy into thermal energy, and the converted thermal energy is stored in the PCM and released in an elongated period of time for sustained utilization. This study provides a promising route for sustainable utilization of solar energy.

Solar-thermal conversion and thermal energy storage of graphene foam-based composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lianbin; Li, Renyuan; Tang, Bo; Wang, Peng

2016-08-14

Among various utilizations of solar energy, solar-thermal conversion has recently gained renewed research interest due to its extremely high energy efficiency. However, one limiting factor common to all solar-based energy conversion technologies is the intermittent nature of solar irradiation, which makes them unable to stand-alone to satisfy the continuous energy need. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam and phase change material (PCM) composite for the seamlessly combined solar-thermal conversion and thermal storage for sustained energy release. The composite is obtained by infiltrating the 3D graphene foam with a commonly used PCM, paraffin wax. The high macroporosity and low density of the graphene foam allow for high weight fraction of the PCM to be incorporated, which enhances the heat storage capacity of the composite. The interconnected graphene sheets in the composite provide (1) the solar-thermal conversion capability, (2) high thermal conductivity and (3) form stability of the composite. Under light irradiation, the composite effectively collects and converts the light energy into thermal energy, and the converted thermal energy is stored in the PCM and released in an elongated period of time for sustained utilization. This study provides a promising route for sustainable utilization of solar energy.

FoamVis, A Visualization System for Foam Research: Design and Implementation

OpenAIRE

Lipsa, Dan; Roberts, Richard; Laramee, Robert

2015-01-01

Liquid foams are used in areas such as mineral separation, oil recovery, food and beverage production, sanitation and fire fighting. To improve the quality of products and the efficiency of processes in these areas, foam scientists wish to understand and control foam behaviour. To this end, foam scientists have used foam simulations to model foam behaviour; however, analysing these simulations presents difficult challenges. We describe the main foam research challenges and present the design ...

Hybrid waste filler filled bio-polymer foam composites for sound absorbent materials

Science.gov (United States)

Rus, Anika Zafiah M.; Azahari, M. Shafiq M.; Kormin, Shaharuddin; Soon, Leong Bong; Zaliran, M. Taufiq; Ahraz Sadrina M. F., L.

2017-09-01

Sound absorption materials are one of the major requirements in many industries with regards to the sound insulation developed should be efficient to reduce sound. This is also important to contribute in economically ways of producing sound absorbing materials which is cheaper and user friendly. Thus, in this research, the sound absorbent properties of bio-polymer foam filled with hybrid fillers of wood dust and waste tire rubber has been investigated. Waste cooking oil from crisp industries was converted into bio-monomer, filled with different proportion ratio of fillers and fabricated into bio-polymer foam composite. Two fabrication methods is applied which is the Close Mold Method (CMM) and Open Mold Method (OMM). A total of four bio-polymer foam composite samples were produce for each method used. The percentage of hybrid fillers; mixture of wood dust and waste tire rubber of 2.5 %, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10% weight to weight ration with bio-monomer. The sound absorption of the bio-polymer foam composites samples were tested by using the impedance tube test according to the ASTM E-1050 and Scanning Electron Microscope to determine the morphology and porosity of the samples. The sound absorption coefficient (α) at different frequency range revealed that the polymer foam of 10.0 % hybrid fillers shows highest α of 0.963. The highest hybrid filler loading contributing to smallest pore sizes but highest interconnected pores. This also revealed that when highly porous material is exposed to incident sound waves, the air molecules at the surface of the material and within the pores of the material are forced to vibrate and loses some of their original energy. This is concluded that the suitability of bio-polymer foam filled with hybrid fillers to be used in acoustic application of automotive components such as dashboards, door panels, cushion and etc.

The axial crushes behaviour on foam-filled round Jute/Polyester composite tubes

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, A.; Ismail, A. E.

2018-04-01

The present paper investigates the effect of axial loading compression on jute fibre reinforced polyester composite round tubes. The specimen of composite tube was fabricated by hand lay-up method of 120 mm length with fix 50.8 mm inner diameter to determine the behaviour of energy absorption on number of layers of 450 angle fibre and internally reinforced with and without foam filler material. The foam filler material used in this studies were polyurethane (PU) and polystyrene (PE) with average of 40 and 45 kg/m3 densities on the axial crushing load against displacement relations and on the failure modes. The number of layers of on this study were two; three and four were selected to calculate the crush force efficiency (CFE) and the specific energy absorption (SEA) of the composite tubes. Result indicated that the four layers’ jute/polyester show significant value in term of crushing load compared to 2 and 3 layers higher 60% for 2 layer and 3% compared to 3 layers. It has been found that the specific energy absorption of the jute/polyester tubes with polystyrene foam-filled is found higher respectively 10% to 12% than empty and polyurethane (PU) foam tubes. The increase in the number of layers from two to four increases the mean axial load from 1.01 KN to 3.60 KN for empty jute/polyester and from 2.11 KN to 4.26 KN for the polyurethane (PU) foam-filled jute/polyester tubes as well as for 3.60 KN to 5.58 KN for the polystyrene (PE) foam-filled jute/polyester. The author’s found that the failure of mechanism influence the characteristic of curve load against displacement obtained and conclude that an increasing number of layers and introduce filler material enhance the capability of specific absorbed energy.

RANS Simulations using OpenFOAM Software

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

OpenFOAM offers considerable advantages for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations; it is open source, free of charge, and has the ability...physics, laser- plasma interactions, warhead design, air blast, detonation physics and computational fluid dynamics . Since moving into the Hydrodynamics...private industry as a consultant at the company Xdin. Michel has been working in research projects with computational fluid dynamics focusing on

A theory of electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, and electromagnetic interference shielding for lightweight graphene composite foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xia, Xiaodong [School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 (United States); Wang, Yang; Weng, George J., E-mail: weng@jove.rutgers.edu [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 (United States); Zhong, Zheng [School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China)

2016-08-28

This work was driven by the need to understand the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of light weight, flexible, and high performance graphene composite foams, but as EMI SE of a material depends on its electrical conductivity, dielectric permittivity, and magnetic permeability, the investigation of these three properties also became a priority. In this paper, we first present a continuum theory to determine these three electromagnetic properties, and then use the obtained properties to evaluate the EMI SE of the foam. A two-scale composite model is conceived to evaluate these three properties, with the large one being the skeleton-void composite and the small one being the graphene-polymer composite that serves as the skeleton of the foam. To evaluate the properties of the skeleton, the effective-medium approach is taken as the starting point. Subsequently, the effect of an imperfect interface and the contributions of electron tunneling to the interfacial conductivity and Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization mechanism to the dielectric constant are also implemented. The derived skeleton properties are then utilized on the large scale to determine the three properties of the composite foam at a given porosity. Then a uniform plane electromagnetic wave is considered to evaluate the EMI SE of the foam. It is demonstrated that the electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, and EMI SE of the foam calculated from the developed theory are in general agreement with the reported experimental data of graphene/PDMS composite foams. The theory is further proven to be valid for the EMI SE of solid graphene/epoxy and solid carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposites. It is also shown that, among the three electromagnetic properties, electrical conductivity has the strongest influence on the EMI shielding effectiveness.

Optimization of Design and Manufacturing Process of Metal Foam Filled Anti-Intrusion Bars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villa, Andrea; Mussi, Valerio; Strano, Matteo

2011-01-01

The role of an anti-intrusion bar for automotive use is to absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding bodies that is partially converted into internal work of the bodies involved in the crash. The aim of this paper is to investigate the performances of a new kind of anti-intrusion bars for automotive use, filled with metallic foams. The reason for using a cellular material as a filler deals with its capacity to absorb energy during plastic deformation, while being lightweight. The study is the evolution of a previous paper presented by the authors at Esaform 2010 and will present new results and findings. It is conducted by evaluating some key technical issues of the manufacturing problem and by conducting experimental and numerical analyses. The evaluation of materials and shapes of the closed sections to be filled is made in the perspective of a car manufacturer (production costs, weight reduction, space availability in a car door, etc.). Experimentally, foams are produced starting from an industrial aluminium precursor with a TiH 2 blowing agent. Bars are tested in three point bending, in order to evaluate their performances in terms of force-displacement response and other specific performance parameters. In order to understand the role of interface between the inner surface of the tube and the external surface of the foam, different kinds of interface are tested.

Performance of mechanical behavior of kenaf fibre reinforced foamed composite

Science.gov (United States)

Mahzabin, Mst. Sadia; Hock, Lim Jee; Kang, Lim Siong; Jarghouyeh, Ehsan Nikbakht

2017-10-01

This paper investigates the mechanical properties of lightweight foamed composite (LFC) with the inclusion of kenaf fibres and superplasticizer. NaOH treated kenaf fibre contents of 0.4%, 0.45% and 0.5% (by weight of cement) with 5cm length were used in composite. The density of 1000kg/m3 to 2000kg/m3 foamed concrete was used for all the tested specimens. The ratio of cement, sand and water used was 1:1.5:0.45. All the experiments were set up in accordance with International standard methods of testing. In reference to the results and discussion, the different percentages of fibre used were proven to have a lesser contribution towards compressive strength or might even have reduced the result. The results also showed that water absorption and density of the composite mortar increased as the volume of fiber increased from 0.4% to 0.5% However, a higher percentage of fiber inclusions had been recorded to have a positive contribution towards flexural and tensile splitting properties of composites.

Nanostructured Titanium-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-Ag Composite Foams for Medical Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karolina Jurczyk

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents an investigation on the effectiveness of nanostructured titanium-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag composite foams as a novel class of antibacterial materials for medical applications. The Ti-based composite foams were prepared by the combination of mechanical alloying and a “space-holder” sintering process. In the first step, the Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag powder synthesized by mechanical alloying and annealing mixed with 1.0 mm diameter of saccharose crystals was finally compacted in the form of pellets. In the next step, the saccharose crystals were dissolved in water, leaving open spaces surrounded by metallic-bioceramic scaffold. The sintering of the scaffold leads to foam formation. It was found that 1:1 Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag/sugar ratio leads to porosities of about 70% with pore diameter of about 0.3–1.1 mm. The microstructure, corrosion resistance in Ringer’s solution of the produced foams were investigated. The value of the compression strength for the Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag foam with 70% porosity was 1.5 MPa and the Young’s modulus was 34 MPa. Silver modified Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass composites possess excellent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus. Porous Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% foam could be a possible candidate for medical implants applications.

Structural integrity of power generating speed bumps made of concrete foam composite

Science.gov (United States)

Syam, B.; Muttaqin, M.; Hastrino, D.; Sebayang, A.; Basuki, W. S.; Sabri, M.; Abda, S.

2018-02-01

In this paper concrete foam composite speed bumps were designed to generate electrical power by utilizing the movements of commuting vehicles on highways, streets, parking gates, and drive-thru station of fast food restaurants. The speed bumps were subjected to loadings generated by vehicles pass over the power generating mechanical system. In this paper, we mainly focus our discussion on the structural integrity of the speed bumps and discuss the electrical power generating speed bumps in another paper. One aspect of structural integrity is its ability to support designed loads without breaking and includes the study of past structural failures in order to prevent failures in future designs. The concrete foam composites were used for the speed bumps; the reinforcement materials are selected from empty fruit bunch of oil palm. In this study, the speed bump materials and structure were subjected to various tests to obtain its physical and mechanical properties. To analyze the structure stability of the speed bumps some models were produced and tested in our speed bump test station. We also conduct a FEM-based computer simulation to analyze stress responses of the speed bump structures. It was found that speed bump type 1 significantly reduced the radial voltage. In addition, the speed bump is equipped with a steel casing is also suitable for use as a component component in generating electrical energy.

Impact of foamed matrix components on foamed concrete properties

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasenko, V. N.

2018-03-01

The improvement of the matrix foam structure by means of foam stabilizing additives is aimed at solving the technology-oriented problems as well as at the further improvement of physical and mechanical properties of cellular-concrete composites. The dry foam mineralization is the mainstream of this research. Adding the concrete densifiers, foam stabilizers and mineral powders reduces the drying shrinkage, which makes the foam concrete products technologically effective.

A Preliminary Experimental Study on Vibration Responses of Foamed Concrete Composite Slabs

Science.gov (United States)

Rum, R. H. M.; Jaini, Z. M.; Ghaffar, N. H. Abd; Rahman, N. Abd

2017-11-01

In recent years, composite slab has received utmost demand as a floor system in the construction industry. The composite slab is an economical type of structure and able to accelerate the construction process. Basically, the composite slab can be casting by using a combination of corrugated steel deck and normal concrete in which selfweight represents a very large proportion of the total action. Therefore, foamed concrete become an attractive alternative to be utilized as a replacement of normal concrete. However, foamed concrete has high flexibility due to the presence of large amount of air-void and low modulus elasticity. It may result in vibration responses being greater. Hence, this experimental study investigates the vibration responses of composite slab made of corrugated steel deck and foamed concrete. The specimens were prepared with dimension of 750mm width, 1600mm length and 125mm thickness. The hammer-impact test was conducted to obtain the acceleration-time history. The analysis revealed that the first natural frequency is around 27.97 Hz to 40.94 Hz, while the maximum acceleration reaches 1.31 m/s2 to 1.88 m/s2. The first mode shape depicts normal pattern and favourable agreement of deformation.

Treatment of low level radioactive liquid wastes using composite ion-exchange resins based on polyurethane foam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, S.V.S.; Lekshmi, R.; Mani, A.G.S.; Sinha, P.K.

2010-01-01

Composite ion-exchange resins were prepared by coating copper-ferrocyanide (CFC) and hydrous manganese oxide (HMO) powders on polyurethane (PU) foam. Polyvinyl acetate/Acetone was used as a binder. The foam was loaded with about five times its weight with CFC and HMO powders. The distribution coefficients of CFC-PU foam and HMO-PU foam for cesium and strontium respectively were estimated. Under similar conditions the HMO-PU foam showed higher capacity as well as better kinetics for removal of strontium than CFC-PU foam for Cs. The pilot plant scale studies were conducted using a mixed composite ion-exchange resin bed. About 1000 bed volumes could be passed before attaining a DF of 10 from an initial value of 60-80. The spent resin was digested in alkaline KMnO 4 and the digested liquid was fixed in cement matrix. The matrices were characterized with respect to compressive strength and leach resistance. (author)

Parametric model of ventilators simulated in OpenFOAM and Elmer

Science.gov (United States)

Čibera, Václav; Matas, Richard; Sedláček, Jan

2016-03-01

The main goal of presented work was to develop parametric model of a ventilator for CFD and structural analysis. The whole model was designed and scripted in freely available open source programmes in particular in OpenFOAM and Elmer. The main script, which runs or generates other scripts and further control the course of simulation, was written in bash scripting language in Linux environment. Further, the scripts needed for a mesh generation and running of a simulation were prepared using m4 word pre-processor. The use of m4 allowed comfortable set up of the higher amount of scripts. Consequently, the mesh was generated for fluid and solid part of the ventilator within OpenFOAM. Although OpenFOAM offers also a few tools for structural analysis, the mesh of solid parts was transferred into Elmer mesh format with the aim to perform structural analysis in this software. This submitted paper deals namely with part concerning fluid flow through parametrized geometry with different initial conditions. As an example, two simulations were conducted for the same geometric parameters and mesh but for different angular velocity of ventilator rotation.

Parametric model of ventilators simulated in OpenFOAM and Elmer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čibera Václav

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The main goal of presented work was to develop parametric model of a ventilator for CFD and structural analysis. The whole model was designed and scripted in freely available open source programmes in particular in OpenFOAM and Elmer. The main script, which runs or generates other scripts and further control the course of simulation, was written in bash scripting language in Linux environment. Further, the scripts needed for a mesh generation and running of a simulation were prepared using m4 word pre-processor. The use of m4 allowed comfortable set up of the higher amount of scripts. Consequently, the mesh was generated for fluid and solid part of the ventilator within OpenFOAM. Although OpenFOAM offers also a few tools for structural analysis, the mesh of solid parts was transferred into Elmer mesh format with the aim to perform structural analysis in this software. This submitted paper deals namely with part concerning fluid flow through parametrized geometry with different initial conditions. As an example, two simulations were conducted for the same geometric parameters and mesh but for different angular velocity of ventilator rotation.

Sonochemical fabrication of petal array-like copper/nickel oxide composite foam as a pseudocapacitive material for energy storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karthik, Namachivayam; Edison, Thomas Nesakumar Jebakumar Immanuel [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Sethuraman, Mathur Gopalakrishnan, E-mail: mgsethu@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University, Gandhigram, 624 302, Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu (India); Lee, Yong Rok, E-mail: yrlee@yu.ac.kr [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 712-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-02-28

Highlights: • A composite Ni foam textured with Cu particles was fabricated by a sonication method. • The foam can be used as a pseudocapacitive material for energy storage applications. • The foam has a high specific capacitance of 1773 F g{sup −1} at a scan rate of 5 mV s{sup −1}. - Abstract: Copper/nickel oxide composite foam (Cu/Ni) with petal array-like textures were successfully fabricated via a facile sonochemical approach, and its applications as a pseudocapacitive material for energy storage were examined. The nickel foam was immersed into a mixture of copper chloride (CuCl{sub 2}) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) and subsequently sonicated for 30 min at 60 °C. As a result of galvanic replacement, nickel was oxidized while copper was reduced, and the walls of the nickel foam were coated with copper particles. Studies using field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses confirmed the morphology and chemical structure of the as-obtained Cu/Ni oxide composite foam. The supercapacitive performance of the as-fabricated Cu/Ni oxide composite foam was evaluated in 2 M KOH by employing cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses. Cyclic voltammograms revealed that the Cu/Ni oxide composite foam exhibited pseudocapacitive behavior and delivered a high specific capacitance of 1773 F g{sup −1} at a scan rate of 5 mV s{sup −1}. This improvement may be attributed to the morphology, surface functionalization with heteroatoms, hydrogen evolution, and high conductivity, along with the low resistance due to short path lengths for electron transportation.

Correlation of microstructure and compressive properties of amorphous matrix composites reinforced with tungsten continuous fibers or porous foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Chang-Young; Lee, Sang-Bok; Lee, Sang-Kwan; Kim, Choongnyun Paul; Lee, Sunghak

2010-01-01

Zr-based amorphous alloy matrix composites reinforced with tungsten continuous fibers or porous foams were fabricated without pores or defects by liquid pressing process, and their microstructures and compressive properties were investigated. About 65-70 vol.% of tungsten reinforcements were homogeneously distributed inside the amorphous matrix. The compressive test results indicated that the tungsten-reinforced composites showed considerable plastic strain as the compressive load was sustained by fibers or foams. Particularly in the tungsten porous foam-reinforced composite, the compressive stress continued to increase according to the work hardening after the yielding, thereby leading to the maximum strength of 2764 MPa and the plastic strain of 39.4%. This dramatic increase in strength and ductility was attributed to the simultaneous and homogeneous deformation at tungsten foams and amorphous matrix since tungsten foams did not show anisotropy and tungsten/matrix interfaces were excellent.

Designing safer composite helmets to reduce rotational accelerations during oblique impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosleh, Yasmine; Cajka, Martin; Depreitere, Bart; Vander Sloten, Jos; Ivens, Jan

2018-05-01

Oblique impact is the most common accident situation that occupants in traffic accidents or athletes in professional sports experience. During oblique impact, the human head is subjected to a combination of linear and rotational accelerations. Rotational movement is known to be responsible for traumatic brain injuries. In this article, composite foam with a column/matrix composite configuration is proposed for head protection applications to replace single-layer uniform foam, to better attenuate rotational movement of the head during oblique impacts. The ability of composite foam in the mitigation of rotational head movement is studied by performing finite element (FE) simulations of oblique impact on flat and helmet shape specimens. The performance of composite foam with respect to parameters such as compliance of the matrix foam and the number, size and cross-sectional shape of the foam columns is explored in detail, and subsequently an optimized structure is proposed. The simulation results show that using composite foam instead of single-layer foam, the rotational acceleration and velocity of the headform can be significantly reduced. The parametric study indicates that using a more compliant matrix foam and by increasing the number of columns in the composite foam configuration, the rotation can be further mitigated. This was confirmed by experimental results. The simulation results were also analyzed based on global head injury criteria such as head injury criterion, rotational injury criterion, brain injury criterion and generalized acceleration model for brain injury threshold which further confirmed the superior performance of composite foam versus single-layer homogeneous expanded polystyrene foam. The findings of simulations give invaluable information for design of protective helmets or, for instance, headliners for the automotive industry.

Improved Fabrication of Ceramic Matrix Composite/Foam Core Integrated Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Hurwitz, Frances I.

2009-01-01

The use of hybridized carbon/silicon carbide (C/SiC) fabric to reinforce ceramic matrix composite face sheets and the integration of such face sheets with a foam core creates a sandwich structure capable of withstanding high-heatflux environments (150 W/cm2) in which the core provides a temperature drop of 1,000 C between the surface and the back face without cracking or delamination of the structure. The composite face sheet exhibits a bilinear response, which results from the SiC matrix not being cracked on fabrication. In addition, the structure exhibits damage tolerance under impact with projectiles, showing no penetration to the back face sheet. These attributes make the composite ideal for leading edge structures and control surfaces in aerospace vehicles, as well as for acreage thermal protection systems and in high-temperature, lightweight stiffened structures. By tailoring the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of a carbon fiber containing ceramic matrix composite (CMC) face sheet to match that of a ceramic foam core, the face sheet and the core can be integrally fabricated without any delamination. Carbon and SiC are woven together in the reinforcing fabric. Integral densification of the CMC and the foam core is accomplished with chemical vapor deposition, eliminating the need for bond-line adhesive. This means there is no need to separately fabricate the core and the face sheet, or to bond the two elements together, risking edge delamination during use. Fibers of two or more types are woven together on a loom. The carbon and ceramic fibers are pulled into the same pick location during the weaving process. Tow spacing may be varied to accommodate the increased volume of the combined fiber tows while maintaining a target fiber volume fraction in the composite. Foam pore size, strut thickness, and ratio of face sheet to core thickness can be used to tailor thermal and mechanical properties. The anticipated CTE for the hybridized composite is managed by

Carbon Fiber Foam Composites and Methods for Making the Same

Science.gov (United States)

Leseman, Zayd Chad (Inventor); Atwater, Mark Andrew (Inventor); Phillips, Jonathan (Inventor)

2014-01-01

Exemplary embodiments provide methods and apparatus of forming fibrous carbon foams (FCFs). In one embodiment, FCFs can be formed by flowing a fuel rich gas mixture over a catalytic material and components to be encapsulated in a mold to form composite carbon fibers, each composite carbon fiber having a carbon phase grown to encapsulate the component in situ. The composite carbon fibers can be intertwined with one another to form FCFs having a geometry according to the mold.

Transient Thermal Response of Lightweight Cementitious Composites Made with Polyurethane Foam Waste

Science.gov (United States)

Kismi, M.; Poullain, P.; Mounanga, P.

2012-07-01

The development of low-cost lightweight aggregate (LWA) mortars and concretes presents many advantages, especially in terms of lightness and thermal insulation performances of structures. Low-cost LWA mainly comes from the recovery of vegetal or plastic wastes. This article focuses on the characterization of the thermal conductivity of innovative lightweight cementitious composites made with fine particles of rigid polyurethane (PU) foam waste. Five mortars were prepared with various mass substitution rates of cement with PU-foam particles. Their thermal conductivity was measured with two transient methods: the heating-film method and the hot-disk method. The incorporation of PU-foam particles causes a reduction of up to 18 % of the mortar density, accompanied by a significant improvement of the thermal insulating performance. The effect of segregation on the thermal properties of LWA mortars due to the differences of density among the cementitious matrix, sand, and LWA has also been quantified. The application of the hot-disk method reveals a gradient of thermal conductivity along the thickness of the specimens, which could be explained by a non-uniform repartition of fine PU-foam particles and mineral aggregates within the mortars. The results show a spatial variation of the thermal conductivity of the LWA mortars, ranging from 9 % to 19 %. However, this variation remains close to or even lower than that observed on a normal weight aggregate mortar. Finally, a self-consistent approach is proposed to estimate the thermal conductivity of PU-foam cement-based composites.

An Improved Model for FE Modeling and Simulation of Closed Cell Al-Alloy Foams

OpenAIRE

Hasan, MD. Anwarul

2010-01-01

Cell wall material properties of Al-alloy foams have been derived by a combination of nanoindentation experiment and numerical simulation. Using the derived material properties in FE (finite element) modeling of foams, the existing constitutive models of closed-cell Al-alloy foams have been evaluated against experimental results. An improved representative model has been proposed for FE analysis of closed-cell Al-alloy foams. The improved model consists of a combination of spherical and cruci...

Effects of an anti-oxidative ACAT inhibitor on apoptosis/necrosis and cholesterol accumulation under oxidative stress in THP-1 cell-derived foam cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Miike, Tomohiro; Shirahase, Hiroaki; Jino, Hiroshi; Kunishiro, Kazuyoshi; Kanda, Mamoru; Kurahashi, Kazuyoshi

2008-01-02

THP-1 cell-derived foam cells were exposed to oxidative stress through combined treatment with acetylated LDL (acLDL) and copper ions (Cu2+). The foam cells showed caspase-dependent apoptotic changes on exposure to oxidative stress for 6 h, and necrotic changes with the leakage of LDH after 24 h. KY-455, an anti-oxidative ACAT inhibitor, and ascorbic acid (VC) but not YM-750, an ACAT inhibitor, prevented apoptotic and necrotic changes. These preventive effects of KY-455 and VC were accompanied by the inhibition of lipid peroxidation in culture medium containing acLDL and Cu2+, suggesting the involvement of oxidized acLDL in apoptosis and necrosis. Foam cells accumulated esterified cholesterol (EC) for 24 h in the presence of acLDL without Cu2+, which was suppressed by KY-455 and YM-750. Foam cells showed necrotic changes and died in the presence of acLDL and Cu2+. KY-455 but not YM-750 prevented cell death and reduced the amount of EC accumulated. The foam cells treated with VC further accumulated EC without necrotic changes for 24 h even in the presence of acLDL and Cu2+. YM-750 as well as KY-455 inhibited lipid accumulation when co-incubated with VC in foam cells exposed to oxidative stress. It is concluded that an anti-oxidative ACAT inhibitor or the combination of an antioxidant and an ACAT inhibitor protects foam cells from oxidative stress and effectively reduces cholesterol levels, which would be a promising approach in anti-atherosclerotic therapy.

FoamVis, A Visualization System for Foam Research: Design and Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan R. Lipsa

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Liquid foams are used in areas such as mineral separation, oil recovery, food and beverage production, sanitation and fire fighting. To improve the quality of products and the efficiency of processes in these areas, foam scientists wish to understand and control foam behaviour. To this end, foam scientists have used foam simulations to model foam behaviour; however, analysing these simulations presents difficult challenges. We describe the main foam research challenges and present the design of FoamVis, the only existing visualization, exploration and analysis application created to address them. We describe FoamVis’ main features, together with relevant design and implementation notes. Our goal is to provide a global overview and individual feature implementation details that would allow a visualization scientist to extend the FoamVis system with new algorithms and adapt it to new requirements. The result is a detailed presentation of the software that is not provided in previous visualization research papers.

Numerical Simulations of Particle Deposition in Metal Foam Heat Exchangers

Science.gov (United States)

Sauret, Emilie; Saha, Suvash C.; Gu, Yuantong

2013-01-01

Australia is a high-potential country for geothermal power with reserves currently estimated in the tens of millions of petajoules, enough to power the nation for at least 1000 years at current usage. However, these resources are mainly located in isolated arid regions where water is scarce. Therefore, wet cooling systems for geothermal plants in Australia are the least attractive solution and thus air-cooled heat exchangers are preferred. In order to increase the efficiency of such heat exchangers, metal foams have been used. One issue raised by this solution is the fouling caused by dust deposition. In this case, the heat transfer characteristics of the metal foam heat exchanger can dramatically deteriorate. Exploring the particle deposition property in the metal foam exchanger becomes crucial. This paper is a numerical investigation aimed to address this issue. Two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations of a standard one-row tube bundle wrapped with metal foam in cross-flow are performed and highlight preferential particle deposition areas.

Three-Dimensional Graphene Foam-Polymer Composite with Superior Deicing Efficiency and Strength.

Science.gov (United States)

Bustillos, Jenniffer; Zhang, Cheng; Boesl, Benjamin; Agarwal, Arvind

2018-02-07

The adhesion of ice severely compromises the aerodynamic performance of aircrafts operating under critically low-temperature conditions to their surfaces. In this study, highly thermally and electrically conductive graphene foam (GrF) polymer composite is fabricated. GrF-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) deicing composite exhibits superior deicing efficiency of 477% and electrical conductivities of 500 S m -1 with only 0.1 vol % graphene foam addition as compared to other nanocarbon-based deicing systems. The three-dimensional interconnected architecture of GrF allows the effective deicing of surfaces by employing low power densities (0.2 W cm -2 ). Electrothermal stability of the GrF-PDMS composite was proven after enduring 100 cycles of the dc loading-unloading current. Moreover, multifunctional GrF-PDMS deicing composite provides simultaneous mechanical reinforcement by the effective transfer and absorption of loads resulting in a 23% and 18% increase in elastic modulus and tensile strength, respectively, as compared to pure PDMS. The enhanced efficiency of the GrF-PDMS deicing composite is a novel alternative to current high-power consumption deicing systems.

Integrated simulation of continuous-scale and discrete-scale radiative transfer in metal foams

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Xin-Lin; Li, Yang; Sun, Chuang; Ai, Qing; Tan, He-Ping

2018-06-01

A novel integrated simulation of radiative transfer in metal foams is presented. It integrates the continuous-scale simulation with the direct discrete-scale simulation in a single computational domain. It relies on the coupling of the real discrete-scale foam geometry with the equivalent continuous-scale medium through a specially defined scale-coupled zone. This zone holds continuous but nonhomogeneous volumetric radiative properties. The scale-coupled approach is compared to the traditional continuous-scale approach using volumetric radiative properties in the equivalent participating medium and to the direct discrete-scale approach employing the real 3D foam geometry obtained by computed tomography. All the analyses are based on geometrical optics. The Monte Carlo ray-tracing procedure is used for computations of the absorbed radiative fluxes and the apparent radiative behaviors of metal foams. The results obtained by the three approaches are in tenable agreement. The scale-coupled approach is fully validated in calculating the apparent radiative behaviors of metal foams composed of very absorbing to very reflective struts and that composed of very rough to very smooth struts. This new approach leads to a reduction in computational time by approximately one order of magnitude compared to the direct discrete-scale approach. Meanwhile, it can offer information on the local geometry-dependent feature and at the same time the equivalent feature in an integrated simulation. This new approach is promising to combine the advantages of the continuous-scale approach (rapid calculations) and direct discrete-scale approach (accurate prediction of local radiative quantities).

Properties of foam and composite materials made o starch and cellulose fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Composite materials were made of starch and cellulose fibers. Pre-gelatinized starch was effective in dispersing pulp fiber in a starch matrix to form a viscous starch/fiber dough. The starch/fiber dough was a useful feedstock for various composite foam and plastic materials. Viscous blends of star...

Copper ferrocyanide - polyurethane foam as a composite ion exchanger for removal of radioactive cesium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, S.V.S.; Lal, K.B.; Ahmed, J.; Narasimhan, S.V.

1999-01-01

A method has been developed for the removal of cesium from the aqueous radioactive waste using a composite ion-exchanger consisting of Copper-Ferrocyanide Powder (CFC) and Polyurethane (PU) Foam. Polyvinyl acetate has been used as a binder in the preparation of CFC-PU foam. The physical properties of CFC such as density, surface area, IR stretching frequency and lattice parameters have been evaluated and also its potassium and copper(II) content have been estimated. Optimization of loading of CFC on PU foam has been studied. The CFC-PU was viewed under microscope to find out the homogeneity of distribution. Exchange capacities of the CFC-PU foam in different media have been determined and column studies have been carried out. Studies have been undertaken on extraction of cesium from CFC foam and also on digestion of spent CFC-PU foam and immobilization of digested solution in cement matrix. The cement matrices have been characterized with respect to density, bio-resistance and leaching resistance. (author)

Electromagnetic absorber composite made of carbon fibers loaded epoxy foam for anechoic chamber application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Méjean, Chloé; Pometcu, Laura; Benzerga, Ratiba; Sharaiha, Ala; Le Paven-Thivet, Claire; Badard, Mathieu; Pouliguen, Philippe

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Carbon fibers loaded epoxy foam composites are proposed as microwave absorbers. • Dielectric properties (ε′, tanδ) of composites increase with carbon fibers content and length. • S 11 coefficient of a pyramidal prototype was characterized in anechoic chamber. • Epoxy prototype shows better absorption performance than commercial absorber. • S 11 of the prototype is lower than −30 dB (4–18 GHz) at normal and oblique incidences. - Abstract: This paper presents a new electromagnetic absorbing material developed from carbon fibers loaded epoxy foam for an application in anechoic chamber. The composite was developed in order to replace the currently used pyramidal absorbers made of carbon particles loaded polyurethane foam. Epoxy-composites filled with different weight percentages (from 0 wt.% to 4 wt.%) and length (1 and 3 mm) of carbon fibers were achieved. After an optimization of the dispersion of carbon fibers in composite materials, the dielectric properties of the composites were measured using a coaxial-probe in the frequency range 4–18 GHz. Results have shown that the complex permittivity of the composites increases with the amount of charge and also with the length of the carbon fibers. Absorption performance of a prototype prepared with a low concentration (0.5 wt.%) of carbon fibers was measured in an anechoic chamber: it shows a mean gain of 10 dB compared to a commercial absorber.

Electromagnetic absorber composite made of carbon fibers loaded epoxy foam for anechoic chamber application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Méjean, Chloé; Pometcu, Laura [Institut d’Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes, 18 rue Henri Wallon, 22000 Saint-Brieuc (France); Benzerga, Ratiba, E-mail: ratiba.benzerga@univ-rennes1.fr [Institut d’Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes, 18 rue Henri Wallon, 22000 Saint-Brieuc (France); Sharaiha, Ala; Le Paven-Thivet, Claire; Badard, Mathieu [Institut d’Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes, 18 rue Henri Wallon, 22000 Saint-Brieuc (France); Pouliguen, Philippe [Département Recherche et Innovation Scientifique de la Direction Générale de l’Armement, 7-9 rue des Mathurins, 92221 Bagneux (France)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Carbon fibers loaded epoxy foam composites are proposed as microwave absorbers. • Dielectric properties (ε′, tanδ) of composites increase with carbon fibers content and length. • S{sub 11} coefficient of a pyramidal prototype was characterized in anechoic chamber. • Epoxy prototype shows better absorption performance than commercial absorber. • S{sub 11} of the prototype is lower than −30 dB (4–18 GHz) at normal and oblique incidences. - Abstract: This paper presents a new electromagnetic absorbing material developed from carbon fibers loaded epoxy foam for an application in anechoic chamber. The composite was developed in order to replace the currently used pyramidal absorbers made of carbon particles loaded polyurethane foam. Epoxy-composites filled with different weight percentages (from 0 wt.% to 4 wt.%) and length (1 and 3 mm) of carbon fibers were achieved. After an optimization of the dispersion of carbon fibers in composite materials, the dielectric properties of the composites were measured using a coaxial-probe in the frequency range 4–18 GHz. Results have shown that the complex permittivity of the composites increases with the amount of charge and also with the length of the carbon fibers. Absorption performance of a prototype prepared with a low concentration (0.5 wt.%) of carbon fibers was measured in an anechoic chamber: it shows a mean gain of 10 dB compared to a commercial absorber.

Blast-Resistant Improvement of Sandwich Armor Structure with Aluminum Foam Composite

OpenAIRE

Yang, Shu; Qi, Chang

2013-01-01

Sandwich armor structures with aluminum foam can be utilized to protect a military vehicle from harmful blast load such as a landmine explosion. In this paper, a system-level dynamic finite element model is developed to simulate the blast event and to evaluate the blast-resistant performance of the sandwich armor structure. It is found that a sandwich armor structure with only aluminum foam is capable of mitigating crew injuries under a moderate blast load. However, a severe blast load causes...

Computer simulations of auxetic foams in two dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pozniak, A A; Smardzewski, J; Wojciechowski, K W

2013-01-01

Two simple models of two-dimensional auxetic (i.e. negative Poisson’s ratio) foams are studied by computer simulations. In the first one, further referred to as a Y-model, the ribs forming the cells of the foam are connected at points corresponding to sites of a disordered honeycomb lattice. In the second one, coined a Δ-model, the connections of the ribs are not point-like but spatial. For simplicity, they are represented by triangles centered at the honeycomb lattice points. Three kinds of joints are considered for each model, soft, normal and hard, respectively corresponding to materials with Young’s modulus ten times smaller than, equal to and ten times larger than that of the ribs. The initial lattices are uniformly compressed, which decreases their linear dimensions by about 15%. The resulting structures are then used as reference structures with no internal stress. The Poisson’s ratios of these reference structures are determined by stretching them, in either the x or the y direction. The results obtained for finite meshes and finite samples are extrapolated to infinitely fine mesh and to the thermodynamic limit, respectively. The extrapolations indicate that meshes with as few as 13 nodes across a rib and samples as small as containing 16 × 16 cells approximate the Poisson’s ratios of systems of infinite size and infinite mesh resolution within the statistical accuracy of the experiments, i.e. a few per cent. The simulations show that by applying harder joints one can reach lower Poisson’s ratios, i.e. foams with more auxetic properties. It also follows from the simulations performed that the Δ-model gives lower Poisson’s ratios than the Y-model. Finally, the simulations using fine meshes for the samples are compared with the ones in which the ribs are approximated by Timoshenko beams. Taking into account simplifications in the latter model, the agreement is surprisingly good. (paper)

In vitro degradation of chitosan composite foams for biomedical applications and effect of bioactive glass as a crosslinker

OpenAIRE

Martins Talita; Moreira Cheisy D. F.; Costa-Júnior Ezequiel S.; Pereira Marivalda M.

2018-01-01

In tissue engineering applications, 3D scaffolds with adequate structure and composition are required to provide durability that is compatiblewith the regeneration of native tissue. In the present study, the degradation of novel flexible 3D composite foams of chitosan (CH) combined with bioactive glass (BG)was evaluated, focusing on the role of BG as a physical crosslinker in the composites, and its effect on the degradation process. Highly porous CH/BG composite foams were obtained, and an e...

Nano-Composite Foam Sensor System in Football Helmets.

Science.gov (United States)

Merrell, A Jake; Christensen, William F; Seeley, Matthew K; Bowden, Anton E; Fullwood, David T

2017-12-01

American football has both the highest rate of concussion incidences as well as the highest number of concussions of all contact sports due to both the number of athletes and nature of the sport. Recent research has linked concussions with long term health complications such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy and early onset Alzheimer's. Understanding the mechanical characteristics of concussive impacts is critical to help protect athletes from these debilitating diseases and is now possible using helmet-based sensor systems. To date, real time on-field measurement of head impacts has been almost exclusively measured by devices that rely on accelerometers or gyroscopes attached to the player's helmet, or embedded in a mouth guard. These systems monitor motion of the head or helmet, but do not directly measure impact energy. This paper evaluates the accuracy of a novel, multifunctional foam-based sensor that replaces a portion of the helmet foam to measure impact. All modified helmets were tested using a National Operating Committee Standards for Athletic Equipment-style drop tower with a total of 24 drop tests (4 locations with 6 impact energies). The impacts were evaluated using a headform, instrumented with a tri-axial accelerometer, mounted to a Hybrid III neck assembly. The resultant accelerations were evaluated for both the peak acceleration and the severity indices. These data were then compared to the voltage response from multiple Nano Composite Foam sensors located throughout the helmet. The foam sensor system proved to be accurate in measuring both the HIC and Gadd severity index, as well as peak acceleration while also providing additional details that were previously difficult to obtain, such as impact energy.

A novel and facile strategy for highly flame retardant polymer foam composite materials: Transforming silicone resin coating into silica self-extinguishing layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Qian; Zhang, Qian; Zhao, Li; Li, Shi-Neng; Wu, Lian-Bin; Jiang, Jian-Xiong; Tang, Long-Cheng

2017-08-15

In this study, a novel strategy was developed to fabricate highly flame retardant polymer foam composite materials coated by synthesized silicone resin (SiR) polymer via a facile dip-coating processing. Applying the SiR polymer coating, the mechanical property and thermal stability of SiR-coated polymer foam (PSiR) composites are greatly enhanced without significantly altering their structure and morphology. The minimum oxygen concentration to support the combustion of foam materials is greatly increased, i.e. from LOI 14.6% for pure foam to LOI 26-29% for the PSiR composites studied. Especially, adjusting pendant group to SiOSi group ratio (R/Si ratio) of SiRs produces highly flame retardant PSiR composites with low smoke toxicity. Cone calorimetry results demonstrate that 44-68% reduction in the peak heat release rate for the PSiR composites containing different R/Si ratios over pure foam is achieved by the presence of appropriate SiR coating. Digital and SEM images of post-burn chars indicate that the SiR polymer coating can be transformed into silica self-extinguishing porous layer as effective inorganic barrier effect, thus preserving the polymer foam structure from fire. Our results show that the SiR dip-coating technique is a promising strategy for producing flame retardant polymer foam composite materials with improved mechanical properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Green engineering: Green composite material, biodiesel from waste coffee grounds, and polyurethane bio-foam

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Hsiang-Fu

In this thesis we developed several ways of producing green materials and energy resources. First, we developed a method to fabricate natural fibers composites, with the purpose to develop green textile/woven composites that could potentially serve as an alternative to materials derived from non-renewable sources. Flax and hemp fabrics were chosen because of their lightweight and exceptional mechanical properties. To make these textile/woven composites withstand moist environments, a commercially available marine resin was utilized as a matrix. The tensile, three-point bending, and edgewise compression strengths of these green textile/woven composites were measured using ASTM protocols. Secondly, we developed a chemical procedure to obtain oil from waste coffee grounds; we did leaching and liquid extractions to get liquid oil from the solid coffee. This coffee oil was used to produce bio-diesel that could be used as a substitute for petroleum-based diesel. Finally, polyurethane Bio-foam formation utilized glycerol that is the by-product from the biodiesel synthesis. A chemical synthesis procedure from the literature was used as the reference system: a triol and isocynate are mixed to produce polyurethane foam. Moreover, we use a similar triol, a by-product from bio-diesel synthesis, to reproduce polyurethane foam.

PUFoam : A novel open-source CFD solver for the simulation of polyurethane foams

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, M.; Droghetti, H.; Marchisio, D. L.

2017-08-01

In this work a transient three-dimensional mathematical model is formulated and validated for the simulation of polyurethane (PU) foams. The model is based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and is coupled with a population balance equation (PBE) to describe the evolution of the gas bubbles/cells within the PU foam. The front face of the expanding foam is monitored on the basis of the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method using a compressible solver available in OpenFOAM version 3.0.1. The solver is additionally supplemented to include the PBE, solved with the quadrature method of moments (QMOM), the polymerization kinetics, an adequate rheological model and a simple model for the foam thermal conductivity. The new solver is labelled as PUFoam and is, for the first time in this work, validated for 12 different mixing-cup experiments. Comparison of the time evolution of the predicted and experimentally measured density and temperature of the PU foam shows the potentials and limitations of the approach.

Anti-atherosclerotic potential of gossypetin via inhibiting LDL oxidation and foam cell formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jing-Hsien; Tsai, Chia-Wen; Wang, Chi-Ping; Lin, Hui-Hsuan

2013-01-01

Gossypetin, a flavone originally isolated from Hibiscus species, has been shown to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antimutagenic activities. Here, we investigated the mechanism(s) underlying the anti-atherosclerotic potential of gossypetin. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity assay showed that the addition of > 50 μM of gossypetin could scavenge over 50% of DPPH radicals. The inhibitory effects of gossypetin on the lipid and protein oxidation of LDL were defined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assay, the relative electrophoretic mobility (REM) of oxidized LDL (ox-LDL), and fragmentation of apoB in the Cu 2+ -induced oxidation of LDL. Gossypetin showed potential in reducing ox-LDL-induced foam cell formation and intracellular lipid accumulation, and uptake ability of macrophages under non-cytotoxic concentrations. Molecular data showed that these influences of gossypetin might be mediated via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα)/liver-X receptor α (LXRα)/ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and PPARγ/scavenger receptor CD36 pathways, as demonstrated by the transfection of PPARα siRNA or PPARγ expression vector. Our data implied that gossypetin regulated the PPAR signals, which in turn led to stimulation of cholesterol removal from macrophages and delay atherosclerosis. These results suggested that gossypetin potentially could be developed as an anti-atherosclerotic agent. - Highlights: • The anti-atherosclerotic effect of gossypetin in vitro was examined. • Gossypetin inhibited LDL oxidation. • Gossypetin showed potential in reducing on the formation of foam cells. • Gossypetin functions against ox-LDL through PPARa activation and PPARγ depression

Anti-atherosclerotic potential of gossypetin via inhibiting LDL oxidation and foam cell formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jing-Hsien [School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Department of Medical Research, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Tsai, Chia-Wen [Department of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Wang, Chi-Ping [Department of Clinical Laboratory, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Lin, Hui-Hsuan, E-mail: linhh@csmu.edu.tw [Department of Medical Research, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (China); School of Medical Laboratory and Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (China)

2013-10-15

Gossypetin, a flavone originally isolated from Hibiscus species, has been shown to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antimutagenic activities. Here, we investigated the mechanism(s) underlying the anti-atherosclerotic potential of gossypetin. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity assay showed that the addition of > 50 μM of gossypetin could scavenge over 50% of DPPH radicals. The inhibitory effects of gossypetin on the lipid and protein oxidation of LDL were defined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assay, the relative electrophoretic mobility (REM) of oxidized LDL (ox-LDL), and fragmentation of apoB in the Cu{sup 2+}-induced oxidation of LDL. Gossypetin showed potential in reducing ox-LDL-induced foam cell formation and intracellular lipid accumulation, and uptake ability of macrophages under non-cytotoxic concentrations. Molecular data showed that these influences of gossypetin might be mediated via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα)/liver-X receptor α (LXRα)/ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and PPARγ/scavenger receptor CD36 pathways, as demonstrated by the transfection of PPARα siRNA or PPARγ expression vector. Our data implied that gossypetin regulated the PPAR signals, which in turn led to stimulation of cholesterol removal from macrophages and delay atherosclerosis. These results suggested that gossypetin potentially could be developed as an anti-atherosclerotic agent. - Highlights: • The anti-atherosclerotic effect of gossypetin in vitro was examined. • Gossypetin inhibited LDL oxidation. • Gossypetin showed potential in reducing on the formation of foam cells. • Gossypetin functions against ox-LDL through PPARa activation and PPARγ depression.

Continuous microcellular foaming of polyvinyl chloride and compatibilization of polyvinyl chloride and polylactide composites

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Bhavesh

This dissertation focuses on overcoming existing limitations of WPCs which prevent them from realizing their full market potential. These limitations include: (i) lack of a continuous extrusion process for microcellular foaming of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its composites using supercritical fluids to reduce the high density of the WPCs, (ii) need for an efficient coupling agent for WPCs to overcome the poor compatibility between wood and plastic, and (iii) unproven use of wood as a filler for the biopolymer polylactide (PLA) to make "green" composites. These limitations were addressed through experimentation to develop a continuous extrusion process for microcellular foaming, and through surface modification of wood flour using natural coupling agents. The effects of wood flour, acrylic modifier and plasticizer content on the rheological properties of PVC based WPCs were studied using an extrusion capillary rheometer and a two-level factorial design. Wood flour content and acrylic modifier content were the major factors affecting the die swell ratio. Addition of plasticizer decreased the true viscosity of unfilled and filled PVC, irrespective of the acrylic modifier content. However, the addition of acrylic modifier significantly increased the viscosity of unfilled PVC but decreased the composite viscosity. Results of the rheological study were used to set baseline conditions for the continuous extrusion foaming of PVC WPCs using supercritical CO 2. Effects of material composition and processing conditions on the morphology of foamed samples were investigated. Foamed samples were produced using various material compositions and processing conditions, but steady-state conditions could not be obtained for PVC. Thus the relationships could not be determined. Incompatibility between wood flour and PVC was the focus of another study. The natural polymers chitin and chitosan were used as novel coupling agents to improve interfacial adhesion between the polymer matrix

Long lasting decontamination foam

Science.gov (United States)

Demmer, Ricky L.; Peterman, Dean R.; Tripp, Julia L.; Cooper, David C.; Wright, Karen E.

2010-12-07

Compositions and methods for decontaminating surfaces are disclosed. More specifically, compositions and methods for decontamination using a composition capable of generating a long lasting foam are disclosed. Compositions may include a surfactant and gelatin and have a pH of less than about 6. Such compositions may further include affinity-shifting chemicals. Methods may include decontaminating a contaminated surface with a composition or a foam that may include a surfactant and gelatin and have a pH of less than about 6.

Characterization of compressive and short beam shear strength of bamboo opened cell foam core sandwich composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Setyawan, Paryanto Dwi, E-mail: paryanto-ds@yahoo.com; Sugiman,; Saputra, Yudhi [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mataram, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (Indonesia)

2016-03-29

The paper presents the compressive and the short beam shear strength of a sandwich composite with opened cell foam made of bamboo fiber as the core and plywood as the skins. The core thickness was varied from 10 mm to 40 mm keeping the volume fraction of fiber constant. Several test s were carried out including the core density, flatwise compressive and the short beam shear testing in three point bending. The results show that the density of bamboo opened cell foam is comparable with commercial plastic foam, such as polyurethane foam. The compressive strength tends to increase linearly with increasing the core thickness. The short beam shear failure load of the sandwich composite increases with the increase of core thickness, however on the contrary, the short beam shear strength which tends to sharply decrease from the thickness of 10 mm to 30 mm and then becomes flat.

Laser absorption and energy transfer in foams of various pore structures and chemical compositions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limpouch, J.; Kuba, J.; Borisenko, N.G.; Demchenko, N.N.; Gus'kov, S.Y.; Khalenkov, A.M.; Merkul'ev, Y.A.; Rozanov, V.B.; Kasperczuk, A.; Pisarczyk, T.; Kondrashov, V.N.; Limpouch, J.; Krousky, E.; Masek, K.; Pfeifer, M.; Renner, O.; Nazarov, W.; Pisarczyk, P.

2006-01-01

Interaction of sub-nanosecond intense laser pulses with foams containing fine and large pores has been studied experimentally. The foams included: fine-structured TMPTA (trimethylol propane tri-acrylate) foams, fine-structured TAC (cellulose tri-acetate) foams and rougher agar-agar foams. In all cases, an aluminum foil was placed at the rear side of the foam targets. Laser penetration and energy transport in the foam material are measured via streaked side-on X-ray slit images. Shock wave transition through the foam is detected via streaked optical self-emission from foil attached on the foam rear side. The shock transition time increases with the pore size, foam density, and also with the contents of high Z additions in plastic foams. Foil acceleration is observed via 3-frame interferometry. In the case of TAC foam with a 9.1 mg/cm 3 and small pores (D p = 1-3 μm) minor pre-heating of the foil at the target rear is observed at about 0.25 ns after emission from the front side and at the same time small signal appears on optical streak. Laser is absorbed in the surface layer and then thermal waves propagates into the foam with average speed of 3.4*10 7 cm/s. This wave reaches the foil rear side 1.1 ns after X-ray emission onset, earlier than the main optical emission which appears at 2.1 ns. Comparison of experimental results with numerical simulations and an analytical model is underway

Preparation of highly stable zeolite-alginate foam composite for strontium(90Sr) removal from seawater and evaluation of Sr adsorption performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Hye-Jin; Kim, Byoung-Gyu; Ryu, Jungho; Park, In-Su; Chung, Kang-Sup; Lee, Sang Moon; Lee, Jin-Bae; Jeong, Hyeon Su; Kim, Hyunchul; Ryu, Taegong

2018-01-01

Alginate bead is a promising strontium (Sr) adsorbent in seawater, but highly concentrated Na ions caused over-swelling and damaged the hydrogel bead. To improve the mechanical stability of alginate bead, flexible foam-type zeolite-alginate composite was synthesized and Sr adsorption performance was evaluated in seawater; 1-10% zeolite immobilized alginate foams were prepared by freeze-dry technique. Immobilization of zeolite into alginate foam converted macro-pores to meso-pores which lead to more compact structure. It resulted in less swollen composite in seawater medium and exhibited highly improved mechanical stability compared with alginate bead. Besides, Sr adsorption efficiency and selectivity were enhanced by immobilization of zeolite in alginate foam due to the increase of Sr binding sites (zeolite). In particular, Sr selectivity against Na was highly improved. The 10% zeolite-alginate foam exhibited a higher log K d of 3.3, while the pure alginate foam exhibited 2.7 in the presence of 0.1 M Na. Finally, in the real seawater, the 10% zeolite-alginate foam exhibited 1.5 times higher Sr adsorption efficiency than the pure alginate foam. This result reveals that zeolite-alginate foam composite is appropriate material for Sr removal in seawater due to its swelling resistance as well as improved Sr adsorption performance in complex media. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vitro degradation of chitosan composite foams for biomedical applications and effect of bioactive glass as a crosslinker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martins Talita

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In tissue engineering applications, 3D scaffolds with adequate structure and composition are required to provide durability that is compatiblewith the regeneration of native tissue. In the present study, the degradation of novel flexible 3D composite foams of chitosan (CH combined with bioactive glass (BGwas evaluated, focusing on the role of BG as a physical crosslinker in the composites, and its effect on the degradation process. Highly porous CH/BG composite foams were obtained, and an elevated degradation temperature and lower degradation rate compared with pure chitosan were observed, probably as a result of greater intermolecular interaction between CH and BG. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR data suggest that hydrogen bonds were responsible for the physical crosslinking between CH and BG. The results confirm that CH/BG foams can combine controllable bioactivity and degradation behavior and, therefore, could be useful for tissue regeneration matrices.

Chemical composition and surfactant characteristics of marine foams investigated by means of UV-vis, FTIR and FTNIR spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mecozzi, Mauro; Pietroletti, Marco

2016-11-01

In this study, we collected the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Fourier transform near-infrared (FTNIR) spectra of marine foams from different sites and foams produced by marine living organisms (i.e. algae and molluscs) to retrieve information about their molecular and structural composition. UV-vis spectra gave information concerning the lipid and pigment contents of foams. FTIR spectroscopy gave a more detailed qualitative information regarding carbohydrates, lipids and proteins in addition with information about the mineral contents of foams. FTNIR spectra confirmed the presence of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins in foams. Then, due to the higher content of structural information of FTIR spectroscopy with respect to FTNIR and UV-vis, we join the FTIR spectra of marine foams to those of humic substance from marine sediments and to the spectra of foams obtained by living organisms. We submitted this resulting FTIR spectral dataset to statistical multivariate methods to investigate specific aspects of foams such as structural similarity among foams and in addition, contributions from the organic matter of living organisms. Cluster analysis (CA) evidenced several cases (i.e. clusters) of marine foams having high structural similarity with foams from vegetal and animal samples and with humic substance extracted from sediments. These results suggested that all the living organisms of the marine environment can give contributions to the chemical composition of foams. Moreover, as CA also evidenced cases of structural differences within foam samples, we applied two-dimensional correlation analysis (2DCORR) to the FTIR spectra of marine foams to investigate the molecular characteristics which caused these structural differences. Asynchronous spectra of two-dimensional correlation analysis showed that the structural heterogeneity among foam samples depended reasonably on the presence and on the qualitative difference of

Solar-thermal conversion and thermal energy storage of graphene foam-based composite

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Lianbin; Li, Renyuan; Tang, Bo; Wang, Peng

2016-01-01

is the intermittent nature of solar irradiation, which makes them unable to stand-alone to satisfy continuous energy need. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam and phase change material (PCM) composite for the seamlessly combined solar

Analysis of Influence of Foaming Mixture Components on Structure and Properties of Foam Glass

Science.gov (United States)

Karandashova, N. S.; Goltsman, B. M.; Yatsenko, E. A.

2017-11-01

It is recommended to use high-quality thermal insulation materials to increase the energy efficiency of buildings. One of the best thermal insulation materials is foam glass - durable, porous material that is resistant to almost any effect of substance. Glass foaming is a complex process depending on the foaming mode and the initial mixture composition. This paper discusses the influence of all components of the mixture - glass powder, foaming agent, enveloping material and water - on the foam glass structure. It was determined that glass powder is the basis of the future material. A foaming agent forms a gas phase in the process of thermal decomposition. This aforementioned gas foams the viscous glass mass. The unreacted residue thus changes a colour of the material. The enveloping agent slows the foaming agent decomposition preventing its premature burning out and, in addition, helps to accelerate the sintering of glass particles. The introduction of water reduces the viscosity of the foaming mixture making it evenly distributed and also promotes the formation of water gas that additionally foams the glass mass. The optimal composition for producing the foam glass with the density of 150 kg/m3 is defined according to the results of the research.

Capacitor with a composite carbon foam electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Steven T.; Pekala, Richard W.; Kaschmitter, James L.

1999-01-01

Carbon aerogels used as a binder for granularized materials, including other forms of carbon and metal additives, are cast onto carbon or metal fiber substrates to form composite carbon thin film sheets. The thin film sheets are utilized in electrochemical energy storage applications, such as electrochemical double layer capacitors (aerocapacitors), lithium based battery insertion electrodes, fuel cell electrodes, and electrocapacitive deionization electrodes. The composite carbon foam may be formed by prior known processes, but with the solid partides being added during the liquid phase of the process, i.e. prior to gelation. The other forms of carbon may include carbon microspheres, carbon powder, carbon aerogel powder or particles, graphite carbons. Metal and/or carbon fibers may be added for increased conductivity. The choice of materials and fibers will depend on the electrolyte used and the relative trade off of system resistivity and power to system energy.

mdFoam+: Advanced molecular dynamics in OpenFOAM

Science.gov (United States)

Longshaw, S. M.; Borg, M. K.; Ramisetti, S. B.; Zhang, J.; Lockerby, D. A.; Emerson, D. R.; Reese, J. M.

2018-03-01

This paper introduces mdFoam+, which is an MPI parallelised molecular dynamics (MD) solver implemented entirely within the OpenFOAM software framework. It is open-source and released under the same GNU General Public License (GPL) as OpenFOAM. The source code is released as a publicly open software repository that includes detailed documentation and tutorial cases. Since mdFoam+ is designed entirely within the OpenFOAM C++ object-oriented framework, it inherits a number of key features. The code is designed for extensibility and flexibility, so it is aimed first and foremost as an MD research tool, in which new models and test cases can be developed and tested rapidly. Implementing mdFoam+ in OpenFOAM also enables easier development of hybrid methods that couple MD with continuum-based solvers. Setting up MD cases follows the standard OpenFOAM format, as mdFoam+ also relies upon the OpenFOAM dictionary-based directory structure. This ensures that useful pre- and post-processing capabilities provided by OpenFOAM remain available even though the fully Lagrangian nature of an MD simulation is not typical of most OpenFOAM applications. Results show that mdFoam+ compares well to another well-known MD code (e.g. LAMMPS) in terms of benchmark problems, although it also has additional functionality that does not exist in other open-source MD codes.

Insert Design and Manufacturing for Foam-Core Composite Sandwich Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Lares, Alan

Sandwich structures have been used in the aerospace industry for many years. The high strength to weight ratios that are possible with sandwich constructions makes them desirable for airframe applications. While sandwich structures are effective at handling distributed loads such as aerodynamic forces, they are prone to damage from concentrated loads at joints or due to impact. This is due to the relatively thin face-sheets and soft core materials typically found in sandwich structures. Carleton University's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Project Team has designed and manufactured a UAV (GeoSury II Prototype) which features an all composite sandwich structure fuselage structure. The purpose of the aircraft is to conduct geomagnetic surveys. The GeoSury II Prototype serves as the test bed for many areas of research in advancing UAV technologies. Those areas of research include: low cost composite materials manufacturing, geomagnetic data acquisition, obstacle detection, autonomous operations and magnetic signature control. In this thesis work a methodology for designing and manufacturing inserts for foam-core sandwich structures was developed. The results of this research work enables a designer wishing to design a foam-core sandwich airframe structure, a means of quickly manufacturing optimized inserts for the safe introduction of discrete loads into the airframe. The previous GeoSury II Prototype insert designs (v.1 & v.2) were performance tested to establish a benchmark with which to compare future insert designs. Several designs and materials were considered for the new v.3 inserts. A plug and sleeve design was selected, due to its ability to effectively transfer the required loads to the sandwich structure. The insert material was chosen to be epoxy, reinforced with chopped carbon fibre. This material was chosen for its combination of strength, low mass and also compatibility with the face-sheet material. The v.3 insert assembly is 60% lighter than the

Defining and comparing vibration attributes of AlSi10 foam and CFRP coated AlSi10 foam materials

Science.gov (United States)

Çolak, O.; Yünlü, L.

2017-06-01

Now, Aluminum materials have begun being manufactured as porous structures and being used with additive composite materials through emerging manufacturing technologies. These materials those porous structures have also begun being used in many areas such as automotive and aerospace due to light-weighted structures. In addition to examining mechanical behavior of porous metallic structures, examining vibration behavior is important for defining characteristic specifications. In this study, vibration attributes belong to %80 porous AlSi10 foam and CFRP coated %80 porous AlSi10 foam are determined with modal analysis. Modal parameters such as natural frequencies and damping coefficient from frequency response functions at the end of hammer impact tests. It is found that natural frequency of CFRP coated AlSi10 foam’s is 1,14 times bigger than AlSi10 foam and damping coefficient of CFRP coated AlSi10 foam is 5 times bigger than AlSi10 foam’s with tests. Dynamic response of materials in various conditions is simulated by evaluating modal parameters with FEM. According to results of the study, CFRP coating on AlSi10 foam effect vibration damping and resonance avoidance ability positively.

Flexible thermoplastic composite of Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB and waste of rigid Polyurethane foam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marilia Sônego

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This study reports the preparation and characterization of composites with recycled poly(vinyl butyral (PVB and residue of rigid polyurethane foam (PUr, with PUr contents of 20, 35 and 50 wt %, using an extruder equipped with a Maillefer single screw and injection molding. The components of the composites were thermally characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC and thermogravimetry. The composites were evaluated by melt flow index (MFI, tensile and hardness mechanical tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. Tg determined by DSC of PVB sample (53 °C indicated the presence of plasticizer (Tg of pure PVB is 70 °C. MFI of the composites indicated a viscosity increase with the PUr content and, as the shear rate was held constant during injection molding, higher viscosities promoted higher shear stresses in the composites, thereby causing breaking or tearing of the PUr particles. The SEM micrographs showed low adhesion between PVB and PUr and the presence of voids, both inherent in the rigid foam and in the interphase PVB-PUr. The SEM micrographs also showed that PVB/PUr (50/50 composite exhibited the smallest particle size and a more homogeneous and compact structure with fewer voids in the interface. The stiffness of the composites increases with addition of the PUr particles, as evidenced in the mechanical tests.

Applications of Polymer Matrix Syntactic Foams

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Nikhil; Zeltmann, Steven E.; Shunmugasamy, Vasanth Chakravarthy; Pinisetty, Dinesh

2013-11-01

A collection of applications of polymer matrix syntactic foams is presented in this article. Syntactic foams are lightweight porous composites that found their early applications in marine structures due to their naturally buoyant behavior and low moisture absorption. Their light weight has been beneficial in weight sensitive aerospace structures. Syntactic foams have pushed the performance boundaries for composites and have enabled the development of vehicles for traveling to the deepest parts of the ocean and to other planets. The high volume fraction of porosity in syntactic foams also enabled their applications in thermal insulation of pipelines in oil and gas industry. The possibility of tailoring the mechanical and thermal properties of syntactic foams through a combination of material selection, hollow particle volume fraction, and hollow particle wall thickness has helped in rapidly growing these applications. The low coefficient of thermal expansion and dimensional stability at high temperatures are now leading their use in electronic packaging, composite tooling, and thermoforming plug assists. Methods have been developed to tailor the mechanical and thermal properties of syntactic foams independent of each other over a wide range, which is a significant advantage over other traditional particulate and fibrous composites.

Foam, composition and method of production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghali, R.

1991-09-03

A ternary foam is disclosed which overcomes the disadvantages of conventional heat-insulating foams which are either dense and heavy, expensive to produce, friable, unstable, or have poor fire resistance. The foam of the invention has, by weight of the reaction product, 10-35% polyurethane, 30-55% polyisocyanurate, and 20-45% polyurea. The foam is a reaction product of 100 parts by weight of an organic polyisocyanate with: 15-25 parts by weight of a polyether polyol having a hydroxyl number of ca 28-35 and a molecular weight of not more than 6,000; 5-25 parts by weight of water; 0-25 parts by weight of a blowing agent; 0-50 parts by weight of a filler-plasticizer fire retardant; an effective amount of a low activation catalyst to initiate water-isocyanate reaction to produce polyurea and polyol-isocyanate reaction to produce polyurethane; and an effective amount of a high activation catalyst to retard the low activation catalyst and promote the formation of polyisocyanurate. The low activity catalyst is present in an amount ranging ca 1.5-9 parts per 100 parts by weight of the polyisocyanate, and the high activation catalyst is present in an amount ranging 0.0008-0.002 parts per 100 parts by weight of the polyisocyanate. Water as a reactant and blowing agent can be substituted by an effective amount of a disubstituted amine such as diethanol amine and an inert blowing agent such as fluorocarbon. The resultant foam has excellent heat insulating propeties, is semi-flexible, has a density of 0.5-0.9 lb/ft{sup 3}, and can be inexpensively produced by existing 2-component foam dispensing equipment. 1 fig., 1 tab.

Three-dimensional N-doped graphene/polyaniline composite foam for high performance supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun; Kong, Lirong; Shen, Xiaoping; Chen, Quanrun; Ji, Zhenyuan; Wang, Jiheng; Xu, Keqiang; Zhu, Guoxing

2018-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) graphene aerogel and its composite with interconnected pores have aroused continuous interests in energy storage field owning to its large surface area and hierarchical pore structure. Herein, we reported the preparation of 3D nitrogen-doped graphene/polyaniline (N-GE/PANI) composite foam for supercapacitive material with greatly improved electrochemical performance. The 3D porous structure can allow the penetration and diffusion of electrolyte, the incorporation of nitrogen doping can enhance the wettability of the active material and the number of active sites with electrolyte, and both the N-GE and PANI can ensure the high electrical conductivity of total electrode. Moreover, the synergistic effect between N-GE and PANI materials also play an important role on the electrochemical performance of electrode. Therefore, the as-prepared composite foam could deliver a high specific capacitance of 528 F g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and a high cyclic stability with 95.9% capacitance retention after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. This study provides a new idea on improving the energy storage capacity of supercapacitors by using 3D graphene-based psedocapacitive electrode materials.

Structural applications of metal foams considering material and geometrical uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Moradi, Mohammadreza

; convergence of estimates of the Sobol' decomposition with sample size using various sampling schemes; the possibility of model reduction guided by the results of the Sobol' decomposition. For the rest of the study the different structural applications of metal foam is investigated. In the first application, it is shown that metal foams have the potential to serve as hysteric dampers in the braces of braced building frames. Using metal foams in the structural braces decreases different dynamic responses such as roof drift, base shear and maximum moment in the columns. Optimum metal foam strengths are different for different earthquakes. In order to use metal foam in the structural braces, metal foams need to have stable cyclic response which might be achievable for metal foams with high relative density. The second application is to improve strength and ductility of a steel tube by filling it with steel foam. Steel tube beams and columns are able to provide significant strength for structures. They have an efficient shape with large second moment of inertia which leads to light elements with high bending strength. Steel foams with high strength to weight ratio are used to fill the steel tube to improves its mechanical behavior. The linear eigenvalue and plastic collapse finite element (FE) analysis are performed on steel foam filled tube under pure compression and three point bending simulation. It is shown that foam improves the maximum strength and the ability of energy absorption of the steel tubes significantly. Different configurations with different volume of steel foam and composite behavior are investigated. It is demonstrated that there are some optimum configurations with more efficient behavior. If composite action between steel foam and steel increases, the strength of the element will improve due to the change of the failure mode from local buckling to yielding. Moreover, the Sobol' decomposition is used to investigate uncertainty in the strength and ductility of

Rigid Polyurethane Foam Reinforced Coconut Coir Fiber Properties

OpenAIRE

Mohd Azham Azmi

2012-01-01

This research work studied the properties of composite foam panels. Coconut coir fibers were used as reinforcement in polyurethane (PU) foam in order to increase the properties of foam. This composite foam panels were fabricated by using polyurethane molded method. The polyurethane foam panels reinforced from 5 to 20wt% coconut coir were produced to investigate the physical and mechanical test via density test and three point bending test respectively. It was found that the density test resul...

Effectiveness of Flame Retardants in TufFoam.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abelow, Alexis Elizabeth [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Nissen, April [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Massey, Lee Taylor [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Whinnery, LeRoy L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-12-01

An investigation of polyurethane foam filled with known flame retardant fillers including hydroxides, melamine, phosphate-containing compounds, and melamine phosphates was carried out to produce a low-cost material with high flame retardant efficiency. The impact of flame retardant fillers on the physical properties such a s composite foam density, glass transition temperature, storage modulus, and thermal expansion of composite foams was investigated with the goal of synthesizing a robust rigid foam with excellent flame retardant properties.

Fracture property of double cantilever beam of aluminum foam bonded with spray adhesive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Moon Sik; Choi, Hae Kyu; Cho, Jae Ung; Cho, Chong Du

2015-01-01

Aluminum foam with the property of excellent impact absorption has been widely used recently. It is necessary to study fracture energy due to energy release rate by the use of adhesive joint at aluminum foam. This study aims at strength evaluation about adhesive joint on aluminum foam. Bonded DCB specimens with this material property are experimented and the fracture behavior is analyzed by simulation. These specimens are designed by differing in height on the basis of British industrial and ISO standards. As the value of height at model is higher, bonded part is separated to the end. By comparing analysis results with experimental data, these data could agree with each other. By the confirmation with experimental results, these all simulation results in this study can be applied on real composite structure with aluminum foam material effectively. The fracture behavior and its property can also be examined by this study.

A cement based syntactic foam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Guoqiang; Muthyala, Venkata D.

2008-01-01

In this study, a cement based syntactic foam core was proposed and experimentally investigated for composite sandwich structures. This was a multi-phase composite material with microballoon dispersed in a rubber latex toughened cement paste matrix. A trace amount of microfiber was also incorporated to increase the number of mechanisms for energy absorption and a small amount of nanoclay was added to improve the crystal structure of the hydrates. Three groups of cement based syntactic foams with varying cement content were investigated. A fourth group of specimens containing pure cement paste were also prepared as control. Each group contained 24 beam specimens. The total number of beam specimens was 96. The dimension of each beam was 30.5 cm x 5.1 cm x 1.5 cm. Twelve foam specimens from each group were wrapped with plain woven 7715 style glass fabric reinforced epoxy to prepare sandwich beams. Twelve cubic foam specimens, three from each group, with a side length of 5.1 cm, were also prepared. Three types of testing, low velocity impact test and four-point bending test on the beam specimens and compression test on the cubic specimens, were conducted to evaluate the impact energy dissipation, stress-strain behavior, and residual strength. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was also used to examine the energy dissipation mechanisms in the micro-length scale. It was found that the cement based syntactic foam has a higher capacity for dissipating impact energy with an insignificant reduction in strength as compared to the control cement paste core. When compared to a polymer based foam core having similar compositions, it was found that the cement based foam has a comparable energy dissipation capacity. The developed cement based syntactic foam would be a viable alternative for core materials in impact-tolerant composite sandwich structures

rhoCentralRfFoam: An OpenFOAM solver for high speed chemically active flows - Simulation of planar detonations -

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez Marcantoni, L. F.; Tamagno, J.; Elaskar, S.

2017-10-01

A new solver developed within the framework of OpenFOAM 2.3.0, called rhoCentralRfFoam which can be interpreted like an evolution of rhoCentralFoam, is presented. Its use, performing numerical simulations on initiation and propagation of planar detonation waves in combustible mixtures H2-Air and H2-O2-Ar, is described. Unsteady one dimensional (1D) Euler equations coupled with sources to take into account chemical activity, are numerically solved using the Kurganov, Noelle and Petrova second order scheme in a domain discretized with finite volumes. The computational code can work with any number of species and its corresponding reactions, but here it was tested with 13 chemically active species (one species inert), and 33 elementary reactions. A gaseous igniter which acts like a shock-tube driver, and powerful enough to generate a strong shock capable of triggering exothermic chemical reactions in fuel mixtures, is used to start planar detonations. The following main aspects of planar detonations are here, treated: induction time of combustible mixtures cited above and required mesh resolutions; convergence of overdriven detonations to Chapman-Jouguet states; detonation structure (ZND model); and the use of reflected shocks to determine induction times experimentally. The rhoCentralRfFoam code was verified comparing numerical results and it was validated, through analytical results and experimental data.

The effects of composition and sintering temperature on the silica foam fabricated by slurry method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baharom, Syazwani; Ahmad, Sufizar; Taib, Hariati; Muda, Rizamarhaiza

2016-01-01

Reticulated ceramic or open pore ceramic foam is a well-known material which exhibits extremely high porosities, with a significant degree of interconnectivity that makes them desirable in a wide range of applications. There were broad types of ceramic foam fabrication method such as polymeric sponge method, direct foaming, and starch consolidation. In this study, the slurry method has been chosen to fabricate Silica (SiO_2) foam. In this process, Polyurethane (PU) foam template was dipped into ceramic slurry and followed by drying and sintering to obtain foam which contains porosity in the range of 50% to 70%. The compositions of SiO_2 were varied starting from 55 wt.%, 60 wt.%, 65 wt.% and 70 wt.%. The samples of SiO_2 that have been dipped and dried were sintered at 900°C, 1000°C, 1100°C, and 1250°C. The sintered SiO_2 ceramic foam samples were characterized to observe their morphology, and physical properties. Thus, the microstructure of the SiO_2 ceramic foams samples was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). Meanwhile, the physical properties of the SiO_2 ceramic foam samples such as the total porosity (%) and bulk density were determined using Archimedes method. It was found that the density of ceramic foam produced was in the range of 0.25 g/cm"3 up to 0.75 g/cm"3, whereas the level of porosity percentage was in the range of 61.81% to 82.18% with the size of open pore or window cells were in between 141 µm up to 626 µm.

Pitch-based carbon foam and composites and use thereof

Science.gov (United States)

Klett, James W.; Burchell, Timothy D.; Choudhury, Ashok

2006-07-04

A thermally conductive carbon foam is provided, normally having a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/mK. The carbon foam usually has a specific thermal conductivity, defined as the thermal conductivity divided by the density, of at least about 75 Wcm.sup.3/m.degree. Kgm. The foam also has a high specific surface area, typically at least about 6,000 m.sup.2/m.sup.3. The foam is characterized by an x-ray diffraction pattern having "doublet" 100 and 101 peaks characterized by a relative peak split factor no greater than about 0.470. The foam is graphitic and exhibits substantially isotropic thermal conductivity. The foam comprises substantially ellipsoidal pores and the mean pore diameter of such pores is preferably no greater than about 340 microns. Other materials, such as phase change materials, can be impregnated in the pores in order to impart beneficial thermal properties to the foam. Heat exchange devices and evaporatively cooled heat sinks utilizing the foams are also disclosed.

Polyimide Foams Offer Superior Insulation

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

At Langley Research Center, Erik Weiser and his colleagues in the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch were working with a new substance for fabricating composites for use in supersonic aircraft. The team, however, was experiencing some frustration. Every time they tried to create a solid composite from the polyimide (an advanced polymer) material, it bubbled and foamed. It seemed like the team had reached a dead end in their research - until they had another idea. "We said, This isn t going to work for composites, but maybe we could make a foam out of it," Weiser says. "That was kind of our eureka moment, to see if we could go in a whole other direction. And it worked." Weiser and his colleagues invented a new kind of polyimide foam insulation they named TEEK. The innovation displayed a host of advantages over existing insulation options. Compared to other commercial foams, Weiser explains, polyimide foams perform well across a broad range of temperatures, noting that the NASA TEEK foams provide effective structural insulation up to 600 F and down to cryogenic temperatures. The foam does not burn or off-gas toxic fumes, and even at -423 F - the temperature of liquid hydrogen - the material stays flexible. The inventors could produce the TEEK foam at a range of densities, from 0.5 pounds per cubic foot up to 20 pounds per cubic foot, making the foam ideal for a range of applications, including as insulation for reusable launch vehicles and for cryogenic tanks and lines. They also developed a unique, friable balloon format for manufacturing the foam, producing it as hollow microspheres that allowed the foam to be molded and then cured into any desired shape - perfect for insulating pipes of different sizes and configurations. The team s originally unplanned invention won an "R&D 100" award, and a later form of the foam, called LaRC FPF-44 (Spinoff 2009), was named "NASA Invention of the Year" in 2007.

Influence of Nanoparticles and Graphite Foam on the Supercooling of Acetamide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, J.; Chen, X.; Ma, X.; Song, Q.; Zhao, Y.; Cao, J.

2014-01-01

Acetamide is a promising phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal storage,but the large supercooling during the freezing process has limited its application. In this study, we prepared acetamide-SiO 2 composites by adding nano-SiO 2 into acetamide. This modified PCM was then impregnated into the porous graphite foam forming acetamide-SiO 2 -graphite foam form-stable composites. These composites were subjected to melting-solidification cycles 50 times; the time-temperature curves were tracked and recorded during these cycles. The time-temperature curves showed that, for the acetamide containing 2 wt. % SiO 2 , the supercooling phenomenon was eliminated and the material’s performance was stable for 50 cycles. The solidification temperature of the acetamide-SiO 2 -graphite foam samples was 65°C and the melting temperature was lowered to 65°C. The samples exhibited almost no supercooling and the presence of SiO 2 had no significant effect on the melting-solidification temperature. The microscopic supercooling of the acetamide-SiO 2 composite was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicated that when the content of SiO 2 was 1 wt. to 2 wt. %, the supercooling could be reduced to less than 10°C and heat was sufficiently released during solidification. Finally, a set of algorithms was derived using MATLAB software for simulating the crystallization of samples based on the classical nucleation theory. The results of the simulation agreed with the experiment results.

Strontium doped poly-ε-caprolactone composite scaffolds made by reactive foaming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zehbe, Rolf, E-mail: zehbe@bls-germany.com [BLS Laboratories GmbH, Berlin (Germany); University of Potsdam, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam (Germany); Zehbe, Kerstin [University of Potsdam, Department of Chemistry, Potsdam (Germany)

2016-10-01

In the reconstruction and regeneration of bone tissue, a primary goal is to initiate bone growth and to stabilize the surrounding bone. In this regard, a potentially useful component in biomaterials for bone tissue engineering is strontium, which acts as cationic active agent, triggering certain intracellular pathways and acting as so called dual action bone agent which inhibits bone resorption while stimulating bone regeneration. In this study we established a novel processing for the foaming of a polymer (poly-ε-caprolactone) and simultaneous chemical reaction of a mixture of calcium and strontium hydroxides to the respective carbonates using supercritical carbon dioxide. The resultant porous composite scaffold was optimized in composition and strontium content and was characterized via different spectroscopic (infrared and Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), imaging (SEM, μCT), mechanical testing and in vitro methods (fluorescence vital staining, MTT-assay). As a result, the composite scaffold showed good in vitro biocompatibility with partly open pore structure and the expected chemistry. First mechanical testing results indicate sufficient mechanical stability to support future in vivo applications. - Highlights: • Reactive foaming has been established for the synthesis of a PCL matrix with integrated strontium and calcium species • This material can potentially be useful in bone tissue engineering applications • Comparative in vitro cell culture experiments, imaging and spectroscopy analysis have been conducted.

Gradient composite metal-ceramic foam as supportive component for planar SOFCs and MIEC membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smorygo, Oleg; Mikutski, Vitali; Marukovich, Alexander; Sadykov, Vladislav; Usoltsev, Vladimir; Mezentseva, Natalia; Borodinecs, Anatolijs; Bobrenok, Oleg

2011-01-01

A novel approach to the design of planar gradient porous supports for the thin-film SOFCs and MIEC membranes is described. The support's thermal expansion is controlled by the creation of a two-component composite metal-ceramic foam structure. Thin MIEC membranes and SOFCs were prepared on the composite supports by the layerwise deposition of composite functional layers including complex fluorites and perovskites. Lab-scale studies demonstrated promising performance of both MIEC membrane and SOFC.

Gradient composite metal-ceramic foam as supportive component for planar SOFCs and MIEC membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Smorygo, Oleg; Mikutski, Vitali; Marukovich, Alexander; Sadykov, Vladislav; Usoltsev, Vladimir; Mezentseva, Natalia; Borodinecs, Anatolijs; Bobrenok, Oleg

2011-06-01

A novel approach to the design of planar gradient porous supports for the thin-film SOFCs and MIEC membranes is described. The support's thermal expansion is controlled by the creation of a two-component composite metal-ceramic foam structure. Thin MIEC membranes and SOFCs were prepared on the composite supports by the layerwise deposition of composite functional layers including complex fluorites and perovskites. Lab-scale studies demonstrated promising performance of both MIEC membrane and SOFC.

Pitch-based carbon foam and composites and uses thereof

Science.gov (United States)

Klett, James W.; Burchell, Timothy D.; Choudhury, Ashok

2004-01-06

A thermally conductive carbon foam is provided, normally having a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/m.multidot.K. The carbon foam usually has a specific thermal conductivity, defined as the thermal conductivity divided by the density, of at least about 75 W.multidot.cm.sup.3 /m.multidot..degree.K.multidot.gm. The foam also has a high specific surface area, typically at least about 6,000 m.sup.2 /m.sup.3. The foam is characterized by an x-ray diffraction pattern having "doublet" 100 and 101 peaks characterized by a relative peak split factor no greater than about 0.470. The foam is graphitic and exhibits substantially isotropic thermal conductivity. The foam comprises substantially ellipsoidal pores and the mean pore diameter of such pores is preferably no greater than about 340 microns. Other materials, such as phase change materials, can be impregnated in the pores in order to impart beneficial thermal properties to the foam. Heat exchange devices and evaporatively cooled heat sinks utilizing the foams are also disclosed.

Foam behavior of solid glass spheres – Zn22Al2Cu composites under compression stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aragon-Lezama, J.A.; Garcia-Borquez, A.; Torres-Villaseñor, G.

2015-01-01

Solid glass spheres – Zn22Al2Cu composites, having different densities and microstructures, were elaborated and studied under compression. Their elaboration process involves alloy melting, spheres submersion into the liquid alloy and finally air cooling. The achieved composites with densities 2.6884, 2.7936 and 3.1219 g/cm 3 were studied in casting and thermally induced, fine-grain matrix microstructures. Test samples of the composites were compressed at a 10 −3 s −1 strain rate, and their microstructure characterized before and after compression by using optical and scanning electron microscopes. Although they exhibit different compression behavior depending on their density and microstructure, all of them show an elastic region at low strains, reach their maximum stress (σ max ) at hundreds of MPa before the stress fall or collapse up to a lowest yield point (LYP), followed by an important plastic deformation at nearly constant stress (σ p ): beyond this plateau, an extra deformation can be limitedly reached only by a significant stress increase. This behavior under compression stresses is similar to that reported for metal foams, being the composites with fine microstructure which nearest behave to metal foams under this pattern. Nevertheless, the relative values of the elastic modulus, and maximum and plateau stresses do not follow the Ashby equations by changing the relative density. Generally, the studied composites behave as foams under compression, except for their peculiar parameters values (σ max , LYP, and σ p )

The effects of composition and sintering temperature on the silica foam fabricated by slurry method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baharom, Syazwani, E-mail: hd140001@siswa.uthm.edu.my; Ahmad, Sufizar, E-mail: sufizar@uthm.edu.my; Taib, Hariati, E-mail: hariati@uthm.edu.my; Muda, Rizamarhaiza, E-mail: hd130013@siswa.uthm.edu.my [Department of Material and Design Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor (Malaysia)

2016-07-19

Reticulated ceramic or open pore ceramic foam is a well-known material which exhibits extremely high porosities, with a significant degree of interconnectivity that makes them desirable in a wide range of applications. There were broad types of ceramic foam fabrication method such as polymeric sponge method, direct foaming, and starch consolidation. In this study, the slurry method has been chosen to fabricate Silica (SiO{sub 2}) foam. In this process, Polyurethane (PU) foam template was dipped into ceramic slurry and followed by drying and sintering to obtain foam which contains porosity in the range of 50% to 70%. The compositions of SiO{sub 2} were varied starting from 55 wt.%, 60 wt.%, 65 wt.% and 70 wt.%. The samples of SiO{sub 2} that have been dipped and dried were sintered at 900°C, 1000°C, 1100°C, and 1250°C. The sintered SiO{sub 2} ceramic foam samples were characterized to observe their morphology, and physical properties. Thus, the microstructure of the SiO{sub 2} ceramic foams samples was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). Meanwhile, the physical properties of the SiO{sub 2} ceramic foam samples such as the total porosity (%) and bulk density were determined using Archimedes method. It was found that the density of ceramic foam produced was in the range of 0.25 g/cm{sup 3} up to 0.75 g/cm{sup 3}, whereas the level of porosity percentage was in the range of 61.81% to 82.18% with the size of open pore or window cells were in between 141 µm up to 626 µm.

Modeling and simulation of diffusion-convection-reaction in heterogeneous nanochannels using OpenFOAM

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pimpalgaonkar, H.G.; van Steijn, V.; Kreutzer, M.T.; Kleijn, C.R.; Simos, Theodore; Tsitouras, Charalambos

2016-01-01

We present a finite volume implementation of a phase field method in OpenFOAM as a tool to simulate reactive multiphase flows on heterogeneous surfaces. Using this tool, we simulate the formation and growth of a droplet due to a chemical reaction on a hydrophilic catalytic patch surrounded by a

Cellular Magnesium Matrix Foam Composites for Mechanical Damping Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Shunmugasamy, Vasanth Chakravarthy; Mansoor, Bilal; Gupta, Nikhil

2016-01-01

The damping characteristics of metal alloys and metal matrix composites are relevant to the automotive, aerospace, and marine structures. Use of lightweight materials can help in increasing payload capacity and in decreasing fuel consumption. Lightweight composite materials possessing high damping capabilities that can be designed as structural members can greatly benefit in addressing these needs. In this context, the damping properties of lightweight metals such as aluminum and magnesium and their respective composites have been studied in the existing literature. This review focuses on analyzing the damping properties of aluminum and magnesium alloys and their cellular composites. The damping properties of various lightweight alloys and composites are compared on the basis of their density to understand the potential for weight saving in structural applications. Magnesium alloys are observed to possess better damping properties in comparison to aluminum. However, aluminum matrix syntactic foams reinforced with silicon carbide hollow particles possess a damping capacity and density comparable to magnesium alloy. By using the data presented in the study, composites with specific compositions and properties can be selected for a given application. In addition, the comparison of the results helps in identifying the areas where attention needs to be focused to address the future needs.

Numerical Simulation of Plasma Actuator Using OpenFOAM

OpenAIRE

H. Yazdani; K. Ghorbanian

2016-01-01

This paper deals with modeling and simulation of the plasma actuator with OpenFOAM. Plasma actuator is one of the newest devices in flow control techniques which can delay separation by inducing external momentum to the boundary layer of the flow. The effects of the plasma actuators on the external flow are incorporated into Navier-Stokes computations as a body force vector which is obtained as a product of the net charge density and the electric field. In order to compute this body force vec...

Direct formation of reduced graphene oxide and 3D lightweight nickel network composite foam by hydrohalic acids and its application for high-performance supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Haifu; Tang, Yanmei; Xu, Lianqiang; Tang, Shaolong; Du, Youwei

2014-07-09

Here, a novel graphene composite foam with 3D lightweight continuous and interconnected nickel network was successfully synthesized by hydroiodic (HI) acid using nickel foam as substrate template. The graphene had closely coated on the backbone of the 3D nickel conductive network to form nickel network supported composite foam without any polymeric binder during the HI reduction of GO process, and the nickel conductive network can be maintained even in only a small amount of nickel with 1.1 mg/cm(2) and had replaced the traditional current collector nickel foam (35 mg/cm(2)). In the electrochemical measurement, a supercapacitor device based on the 3D nickel network and graphene composite foam exhibited high rate capability of 100 F/g at 0.5 A/g and 86.7 F/g at 62.5 A/g, good cycle stability with capacitance retention of 95% after 2000 cycles, low internal resistance (1.68 Ω), and excellent flexible properties. Furthermore, the gravimetric capacitance (calculated using the total mass of the electrode) was high up to 40.9 F/g. Our work not only demonstrates high-quality graphene/nickel composite foam, but also provides a universal route for the rational design of high performance of supercapacitors.

Viscous Control of the Foam Glass Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup

The production of foam glass as heat insulating material is an important industrial process because it enables low-cost recycling of glass waste from a variety of chemical compositions. Optimization of the foaming process of new glass waste compositions is time consuming, since many factors affect...... the foaming process such as temperature, particle size, type and concentration of foaming agent. The foaming temperature is one of the key factors, because even small temperature changes can affect the melt viscosity by several orders of magnitude. Therefore, it is important to establish the viscosity range...... in which the foaming process should take place, particularly when the type of recycled cullet is changed or several types of cullet are mixed in one batch. According to recent glass literature, the foaming process should occur at viscosity 103 to 105 Pa s. However, no systematic studies have hitherto been...

DRY MIX FOR OBTAINING FOAM CONCRETE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. N. Leonovich

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Composition of a dry mix has been developed for production of non-autoclaved foam concrete with natural curing. The mix has been created on the basis of Portland cement, UFAPORE foaming agent, mineral additives (RSAM sulfoaluminate additive, MK-85 micro-silica and basalt fiber, plasticizing and accelerating “Citrate-T” additive and   redispersible Vinnapas-8034 H powder. It has been established that foam concrete with  density of 400–800 kg/m3, durability of 1,1–3,4 MPa, low water absorption (40–50 %, without shrinkable cracks has been formed while adding water of Water/Solid = 0.4–0.6 in the dry mix,  subsequent mechanical swelling and curing of foam mass.Introduction of the accelerating and plasticizing “Citrate-T” additive into composition of the dry mix leads to an increase of rheological properties in expanded foam mass and  time reduction of its drying and curing. An investigation on microstructure of foam-concrete chipping surface carried out with the help of a scanning electron microscope has shown that the introduction of  basalt fiber and redispersible Vinnapas-8034 H powder into the composition of the dry mix promotes formation of more finely-divided crystalline hydrates. Such approach makes it possible to change purposefully morphology of crystalline hydrates and gives the possibility to operate foam concrete structurization process.

Foam behavior of solid glass spheres – Zn22Al2Cu composites under compression stresses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragon-Lezama, J.A., E-mail: alja@correo.azc.uam.mx [Departamento de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-A, Avenida San Pablo 180, Colonia Reynosa Tamaulipas, 02200 México, D.F., México (Mexico); Garcia-Borquez, A., E-mail: a.garciaborquez@yahoo.com.mx [Ciencia de Materiales, ESFM – Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Edif. 9, Unid. Prof. A. Lopez Mateos, Colonia Lindavista, 07738 México, D.F., México (Mexico); Torres-Villaseñor, G., E-mail: gtorres@unam.mx [Departamento de Metálicos y Cerámicos, Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo., P 70-360, México, D.F., México (Mexico)

2015-06-25

Solid glass spheres – Zn22Al2Cu composites, having different densities and microstructures, were elaborated and studied under compression. Their elaboration process involves alloy melting, spheres submersion into the liquid alloy and finally air cooling. The achieved composites with densities 2.6884, 2.7936 and 3.1219 g/cm{sup 3} were studied in casting and thermally induced, fine-grain matrix microstructures. Test samples of the composites were compressed at a 10{sup −3} s{sup −1} strain rate, and their microstructure characterized before and after compression by using optical and scanning electron microscopes. Although they exhibit different compression behavior depending on their density and microstructure, all of them show an elastic region at low strains, reach their maximum stress (σ{sub max}) at hundreds of MPa before the stress fall or collapse up to a lowest yield point (LYP), followed by an important plastic deformation at nearly constant stress (σ{sub p}): beyond this plateau, an extra deformation can be limitedly reached only by a significant stress increase. This behavior under compression stresses is similar to that reported for metal foams, being the composites with fine microstructure which nearest behave to metal foams under this pattern. Nevertheless, the relative values of the elastic modulus, and maximum and plateau stresses do not follow the Ashby equations by changing the relative density. Generally, the studied composites behave as foams under compression, except for their peculiar parameters values (σ{sub max}, LYP, and σ{sub p})

Bio-based polyurethane composite foams with inorganic fillers studied by thermogravimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatakeyema, Hyoe; Tanamachi, Noriko; Matsumura, Hiroshi; Hirose, Shigeo; Hatakeyama, Tatsuko

2005-01-01

Bio-based polyurethane (PU) composite foams filled with various inorganic fillers, such as barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) and talc were prepared using polyols, such as diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol and polyethylene glycol (molecular weight ca. 200) containing molasses and lignin. Reactive hydroxyl groups in plant components and above polyols were used as reaction sites. Morphological observation of fracture surface of composites was carried out by scanning electron microscopy. Thermal properties of bio-based PU composites were examined by thermogravimetry. It was found that the above composites decompose in two stages reflecting decomposition of organic components. Decomposition temperature increased with increasing filler content, when plant components were homogenously mixed with inorganic fillers. Activation energy calculated by Ozawa-Wall-Flynn method was ca. 150 kJ mol -1 . The durability of composites was predicted using kinetic data. Calculated values indicate that composites with fillers are more durable than that of those without fillers at a moderate temperature region

Functional and anti-nutritional properties, in-vitro protein digestibility and amino acid composition of dehulled afzelia africana seeds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogungbenle, H.N.; Omaejalile, M.

2010-01-01

Analysis of Afzelia africana seed flour showed that the seeds possessed high water absorption capacity (128.31%), good oil absorption capacity (588.49%) and fairly good emulsion property (35.25%). However, it had the Least gelation concentration (6 .00% w/v) and foaming properties ( 8.00%,3 .00%). Anti-nutritional factors were very low, with the highest being phytate (13.59/o) and tannin the least (0.43%). Total amino acid composition was 796.6 mg/g protein. Essentiaal amino acids (48.5%)w ere in high proportion with in-vitro digestibility of 71.5%. (author)

Influence of Nanoparticles and Graphite Foam on the Supercooling of Acetamide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Acetamide is a promising phase change materials (PCMs for thermal storage,but the large supercooling during the freezing process has limited its application. In this study, we prepared acetamide-SiO2 composites by adding nano-SiO2 into acetamide. This modified PCM was then impregnated into the porous graphite foam forming acetamide-SiO2-graphite foam form-stable composites. These composites were subjected to melting-solidification cycles 50 times; the time-temperature curves were tracked and recorded during these cycles. The time-temperature curves showed that, for the acetamide containing 2 wt. % SiO2, the supercooling phenomenon was eliminated and the material’s performance was stable for 50 cycles. The solidification temperature of the acetamide-SiO2-graphite foam samples was 65°C and the melting temperature was lowered to 65°C. The samples exhibited almost no supercooling and the presence of SiO2 had no significant effect on the melting-solidification temperature. The microscopic supercooling of the acetamide-SiO2 composite was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC. The results indicated that when the content of SiO2 was 1 wt. to 2 wt. %, the supercooling could be reduced to less than 10°C and heat was sufficiently released during solidification. Finally, a set of algorithms was derived using MATLAB software for simulating the crystallization of samples based on the classical nucleation theory. The results of the simulation agreed with the experiment results.

Preparation and Characterization of Wood Plastic Composite Made Up of Durian Husk Fiber and Recycled Polystyrene Foam.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koay Seong Chun

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Polystyrene foam is one of the major plastic waste that hardly to recycle. The present research is aims to recycle polystyrene foam as raw material to produce wood plastic composites (WPC. The WPC was produced from recycled polystyrene (rPS and durian husk fiber (DHF using melt compound and compression moulding processes. This paper is focus on effect of fiber content on tensile and thermal properties of rPS/DHF composite. The results found the tensile strength modulus of this WPC increased at higher fiber content, but elongation at break was reduced. However, this composites exhibited an early thermal degradation when subjected to high temperature and this was commonly found among WPC. The thermal degradation of rPS/DHF composites yielded high percentage of char residue due to char formation of DHF. Overall, the rPS/DHF composites with 60 phr fiber content able to achieved strength slight above 16 MPa without any chemical treatment additives. This indicates the rPS/DHF composites can be a potential WPC if further modify with to improve its strength.

Flexible Foam Model.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neilsen, Michael K.; Lu, Wei-Yang; Werner, Brian T.; Scherzinger, William M.; Lo, Chi S.

2018-03-01

Experiments were performed to characterize the mechanical response of a 15 pcf flexible polyurethane foam to large deformation at different strain rates and temperatures. Results from these experiments indicated that at room temperature, flexible polyurethane foams exhibit significant nonlinear elastic deformation and nearly return to their original undeformed shape when unloaded. However, when these foams are cooled to temperatures below their glass transition temperature of approximately -35 o C, they behave like rigid polyurethane foams and exhibit significant permanent deformation when compressed. Thus, a new model which captures this dramatic change in behavior with temperature was developed and implemented into SIERRA with the name Flex_Foam to describe the mechanical response of both flexible and rigid foams to large deformation at a variety of temperatures and strain rates. This report includes a description of recent experiments. Next, development of the Flex Foam model for flexible polyurethane and other flexible foams is described. Selection of material parameters are discussed and finite element simulations with the new Flex Foam model are compared with experimental results to show behavior that can be captured with this new model.

Preparation and Sound Absorption Properties of a Barium Titanate/Nitrile Butadiene Rubber–Polyurethane Foam Composite with Multilayered Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xueliang; Yang, Zhen; Wang, Zhijie; Zhang, Fuqing; You, Feng

2018-01-01

Barium titanate/nitrile butadiene rubber (BT/NBR) and polyurethane (PU) foam were combined to prepare a sound-absorbing material with an alternating multilayered structure. The effects of the cell size of PU foam and the alternating unit number on the sound absorption property of the material were investigated. The results show that the sound absorption efficiency at a low frequency increased when decreasing the cell size of PU foam layer. With the increasing of the alternating unit number, the material shows the sound absorption effect in a wider bandwidth of frequency. The BT/NBR-PU foam composites with alternating multilayered structure have an excellent sound absorption property at low frequency due to the organic combination of airflow resistivity, resonance absorption, and interface dissipation. PMID:29565321

Preparation and Sound Absorption Properties of a Barium Titanate/Nitrile Butadiene Rubber–Polyurethane Foam Composite with Multilayered Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xueliang Jiang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Barium titanate/nitrile butadiene rubber (BT/NBR and polyurethane (PU foam were combined to prepare a sound-absorbing material with an alternating multilayered structure. The effects of the cell size of PU foam and the alternating unit number on the sound absorption property of the material were investigated. The results show that the sound absorption efficiency at a low frequency increased when decreasing the cell size of PU foam layer. With the increasing of the alternating unit number, the material shows the sound absorption effect in a wider bandwidth of frequency. The BT/NBR-PU foam composites with alternating multilayered structure have an excellent sound absorption property at low frequency due to the organic combination of airflow resistivity, resonance absorption, and interface dissipation.

Preparation and Sound Absorption Properties of a Barium Titanate/Nitrile Butadiene Rubber-Polyurethane Foam Composite with Multilayered Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xueliang; Yang, Zhen; Wang, Zhijie; Zhang, Fuqing; You, Feng; Yao, Chu

2018-03-22

Barium titanate/nitrile butadiene rubber (BT/NBR) and polyurethane (PU) foam were combined to prepare a sound-absorbing material with an alternating multilayered structure. The effects of the cell size of PU foam and the alternating unit number on the sound absorption property of the material were investigated. The results show that the sound absorption efficiency at a low frequency increased when decreasing the cell size of PU foam layer. With the increasing of the alternating unit number, the material shows the sound absorption effect in a wider bandwidth of frequency. The BT/NBR-PU foam composites with alternating multilayered structure have an excellent sound absorption property at low frequency due to the organic combination of airflow resistivity, resonance absorption, and interface dissipation.

Fire-Retardant, Self-Extinguishing Inorganic/Polymer Composite Memory Foams.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatterjee, Soumyajyoti; Shanmuganathan, Kadhiravan; Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy

2017-12-27

Polymeric foams used in furniture and automotive and aircraft seating applications rely on the incorporation of environmentally hazardous fire-retardant additives to meet fire safety norms. This has occasioned significant interest in novel approaches to the elimination of fire-retardant additives. Foams based on polymer nanocomposites or based on fire-retardant coatings show compromised mechanical performance and require additional processing steps. Here, we demonstrate a one-step preparation of a fire-retardant ice-templated inorganic/polymer hybrid that does not incorporate fire-retardant additives. The hybrid foams exhibit excellent mechanical properties. They are elastic to large compressional strain, despite the high inorganic content. They also exhibit tunable mechanical recovery, including viscoelastic "memory". These hybrid foams are prepared using ice-templating that relies on a green solvent, water, as a porogen. Because these foams are predominantly comprised of inorganic components, they exhibit exceptional fire retardance in torch burn tests and are self-extinguishing. After being subjected to a flame, the foam retains its porous structure and does not drip or collapse. In micro-combustion calorimetry, the hybrid foams show a peak heat release rate that is only 25% that of a commercial fire-retardant polyurethanes. Finally, we demonstrate that we can use ice-templating to prepare hybrid foams with different inorganic colloids, including cheap commercial materials. We also demonstrate that ice-templating is amenable to scale up, without loss of mechanical performance or fire-retardant properties.

Numerical simulation of thermal stratification in cold legs by using openFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Jiejin; Watanabe, Tadashi

2010-01-01

During a small-break loss-of-coolant accident in pressurized water reactors (PWRs), emergency core cooling system (ECCS) is actuated and cold water is injected into cold legs. Insufficient mixing of injected cold water and hot primary coolant results in thermal stratification, which is a matter of concern for evaluation of pressurized thermal shock (PTS) in view of aging and life extension of nuclear power plants. In this study, an open source CFD software, OpenFOAM, is used to simulate mixing and thermal stratification in the cold leg of ROSA/LSTF, which is the largest thermal-hydraulic integral test facility simulating PWR. One of the cold-leg is numerically simulated from the outlet of primary coolant pump to the inlet of downcomer. ECCS water is injected from injection nozzle connected at the top of the cold leg into the steady-state natural circulation flow under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. The temperature distribution in the cold leg is compared with experimental and FLUENT's results. Effects of turbulent flow models and secondary flow due to the elbow section of the cold leg are discussed for the case with the single-phase natural circulation. Injection into a two-phase stratified flow is also simulated and predictive and numerical capabilities of OpenFOAM are discussed. (author)

Polyethylene ionomer-based nano-composite foams prepared by a batch process and MuCell injection molding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Hidetomo; Mori, Tomoki; Okamoto, Masami; Yamasaki, Satoshi; Hayami, Hiroshi

2010-01-01

To understand the correlation between foamability and melt rheology of polyethylene-based ionomers having different degrees of the neutralization and corresponding nano-composites, we have conducted the foam processing via a batch process in an autoclave and microcellular foam injection molding (FIM) process using the MuCell technology. We have discussed the obtainable morphological properties in both foaming processes. All cellular structures were investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy. The competitive phenomenon between the cell nucleation and the cell growth including the coalescence of cell was discussed in light of the interfacial energy and the relaxation rate as revealed by the modified classical nucleation theory and rheological measurement, respectively. The FIM process led to the opposite behavior in the cell growth and coalescence of cell as compared with that of the batch process, where the ionic cross-linked structure has significant contribution to retard the cell growth and coalescence of cell. The mechanical properties of the structural foams obtained by FIM process were discussed.

Effects of a new foam formulation of ketoprofen lysine salt in experimental models of inflammation and hyperalgesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Daffonchio, L; Bestetti, A; Clavenna, G; Fedele, G; Ferrari, M P; Omini, C

1995-05-01

The anti-inflammatory and analgesic profile of a new topical foam formulation of ketoprofen lysine salt (CAS 57469-78-0, Artrosilene Schiuma, KLS-foam) was characterized in comparison with marketed gel formulations containing KLS (KLS-gel) or diclofenac diethylammonium salt (DCF-gel). KLS-foam dose-dependently inhibited oedema formation and hyperalgesia induced by subplantar injection of carrageenan or substance P, being more potent than KLS-gel. At equieffective anti-inflammatory doses, KLS-foam provided a more pronounced analgesic effect than DCF-gel. KLS-foam also markedly inhibited exudate formation and prostaglandin production induced by subcutaneous implantation of carrageenan soaked sponges. In carrageenan induced paw inflammation, KLS-foam provided the same anti-inflammatory effect as orally administered KLS, but induced significantly less gastric damages. Oral administration of KLS resulted in sustained systemic absorption of ketoprofen, whereas after topical application of KLS-foam no appreciable ketoprofen plasma levels were detected. These data support the anti-inflammatory and particularly the analgesic effectiveness of the new foam formulation of KLS, a finding that, together with the high gastric tolerability, further emphasizes the usefulness of KLS-foam in the treatment of localized flogistic diseases and associated pain.

High performance supercapacitors based on three-dimensional ultralight flexible manganese oxide nanosheets/carbon foam composites

Science.gov (United States)

He, Shuijian; Chen, Wei

2014-09-01

The syntheses and capacitance performances of ultralight and flexible MnO2/carbon foam (MnO2/CF) hybrids are systematically studied. Flexible carbon foam with a low mass density of 6.2 mg cm-3 and high porosity of 99.66% is simply obtained by carbonization of commercially available and low-cost melamine resin foam. With the high porous carbon foam as framework, ultrathin MnO2 nanosheets are grown through in situ redox reaction between KMnO4 and carbon foam. The three-dimensional (3D) MnO2/CF networks exhibit highly ordered hierarchical pore structure. Attributed to the good flexibility and ultralight weight, the MnO2/CF nanomaterials can be directly fabricated into supercapacitor electrodes without any binder and conductive agents. Moreover, the pseudocapacitance of the MnO2 nanosheets is enhanced by the fast ion diffusion in the three-dimensional porous architecture and by the conductive carbon foam skeleton as well as good contact of carbon/oxide interfaces. Supercapacitor based on the MnO2/CF composite with 3.4% weight percent of MnO2 shows a high specific capacitance of 1270.5 F g-1 (92.7% of the theoretical specific capacitance of MnO2) and high energy density of 86.2 Wh kg-1. The excellent capacitance performance of the present 3D ultralight and flexible nanomaterials make them promising candidates as electrode materials for supercapacitors.

Impact Testing and Simulation of a Sinusoid Foam Sandwich Energy Absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Karen E.; Fasanella, Edwin L; Littell, Justin D.

2015-01-01

A sinusoidal-shaped foam sandwich energy absorber was developed and evaluated at NASA Langley Research Center through multi-level testing and simulation performed under the Transport Rotorcraft Airframe Crash Testbed (TRACT) research project. The energy absorber, designated the "sinusoid," consisted of hybrid carbon- Kevlar® plain weave fabric face sheets, two layers for each face sheet oriented at +/-45deg with respect to the vertical or crush direction, and a closed-cell ELFOAM(TradeMark) P200 polyisocyanurate (2.0-lb/ft3) foam core. The design goal for the energy absorber was to achieve an average floor-level acceleration of between 25- and 40-g during the full-scale crash test of a retrofitted CH-46E helicopter airframe, designated TRACT 2. Variations in the design were assessed through quasi-static and dynamic crush testing of component specimens. Once the design was finalized, a 5-ft-long subfloor beam was fabricated and retrofitted into a barrel section of a CH-46E helicopter. A vertical drop test of the barrel section was conducted onto concrete to evaluate the performance of the energy absorber prior to retrofit into TRACT 2. Finite element models were developed of all test articles and simulations were performed using LSDYNA ®, a commercial nonlinear explicit transient dynamic finite element code. Test analysis results are presented for the sinusoid foam sandwich energy absorber as comparisons of load-displacement and acceleration-time-history responses, as well as predicted and experimental structural deformations and progressive damage for each evaluation level (component testing through barrel section drop testing).

Bioglass {sup trademark} coated poly(DL-lactide) foams for tissue engineering scaffolds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gough, J.E. [Materials Science Centre, UMIST, Manchester M1 7HS (United Kingdom); Arumugam, M. [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Blaker, J. [Department of Materials and Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BP (United Kingdom); Boccaccini, A.R. [Dept. of Materials and Center for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 28P (United Kingdom)

2003-07-01

The purpose of this study was to prepare poly(DL-lactic acid) (PDLLA)/Bioglass trademark composites of foam-like structure, to measure the degree of bioactivity of the composites by studying the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) and to test the initial attachment of human osteoblasts within the porous network. It was found that crystalline HA formed on the Bioglass trademark coated PDLLA foams after 7 days of immersion in SBF. HA formed also on the surfaces of non-coated PDLLA foams, however the rate and amount of HA formation were much lower than in the composites. The rapid formation of HA on the Bioglass trademark /PDLLA foam surfaces confirmed the high bioactivity of these materials. Osteoblasts attached within the porous network throughout the depth of the foams. Cell density was found to be higher in the PDLLA/Bioglass trademark composites compared to the pure PDLLA foams. The composite foams developed here exhibit the required bioactivity to be used as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. (Abstract Copyright [2003], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.) [German] Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Herstellung von poroesen Verbundwerkstoffen bestehend aus Poly(DL-Laktidsaeure) (PDLLA) und Bioglass trademark und der anschliessenden Untersuchung der Bioaktivitaet. Die Bioaktivitaet wurde anhand von In-vitro-Methoden untersucht: Durch Ermittlung der Bildungsrate von Hydroxylapatit (HA) auf der Oberflaeche nach Eintauchen in simulierter Koerperfluessigkeit (SBF) und mittels Zellkulturstudien mit menschlichen Osteoblasten. Nach 7 Tagen in SBF hatte die Bildung von kristallinem HA auf der Oberflaeche von mit Bioglass trademark -beschichteten PDLLA Schaeumen stattgefunden. Auf der Oberflaeche von unbeschichtetem PDLLA konnte ebenfalls die Bildung von HA gezeigt werden, jedoch war die Bildungsrate hier bedeutend langsamer verglichen mit den Verbundwerkstoffen. Die rasche Formung von HA auf der Bioglass trademark /PDLLA

Mechanical Characterization of Rigid Polyurethane Foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Wei-Yang [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Mechanics of Materials

2014-12-01

Foam materials are used to protect sensitive components from impact loading. In order to predict and simulate the foam performance under various loading conditions, a validated foam model is needed and the mechanical properties of foams need to be characterized. Uniaxial compression and tension tests were conducted for different densities of foams under various temperatures and loading rates. Crush stress, tensile strength, and elastic modulus were obtained. A newly developed confined compression experiment provided data for investigating the foam flow direction. A biaxial tension experiment was also developed to explore the damage surface of a rigid polyurethane foam.

Aerosol-foam interaction experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ball, M.H.E.; Luscombe, C.DeM.; Mitchell, J.P.

1990-03-01

Foam treatment offers the potential to clean gas streams containing radioactive particles. A large decontamination factor has been claimed for the removal of airborne plutonium dust when spraying a commercially available foam on the walls and horizontal surfaces of an alpha-active room. Experiments have been designed and undertaken to reproduce these conditions with a non-radioactive simulant aerosol. Careful measurements of aerosol concentrations with and without foam treatment failed to provide convincing evidence to support the earlier observation. The foam may not have been as well mixed with the aerosol in the present studies. Further work is required to explore more efficient mixing methods, including systems in which the aerosol steam is passed through the foam, rather than merely spraying foam into the path of the aerosol. (author)

Behaviour of aluminum foam under fire conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Grabian

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Taking into account fire-protection requirements it is advantageous for aluminum foam, after melting at a temperature considerably exceeding the melting point, to have a structure of discontinuous suspension of solid inclusions to liquid metal instead of liquid consistency. Continuity of the suspension depends on the solid phase content. The boundary value of the phase determined by J. Śleziona, above which the suspension becomes discontinuous, is provided by the formula (1. Figure 1 presents the relationship graphically. Boundary values of the vs content resulting from the above relationship is too low, taking into account the data obtained from the technology of suspension composites [4]. Therefore, based on the structure assumed for the suspension shown in Figure 2 these authors proposed another way of determining the contents, the value of which is determined by the relationship (3 [5].For purposes of the experimental study presented in the paper two foams have been molten: a commercially available one, made by aluminum foaming with titanium hydride, and a foam manufactured in the Marine Materials Plant of the Maritime University of Szczecin by blowing the AlSi7 +20% SiC composite with argon. Macrophotographs of foam cross-sections are shown in Figure 3. The foams have been molten in the atmosphere of air at a temperature of 750ºC. The products of melting are presented in Figure 4. It appears that molten aluminum foam may have no liquid consistency, being unable to flow, which is a desired property from the point of view of fire-protection. The above feature of the molten foam results from the fact that it may be a discontinuous suspension of solid particles in a liquid metal. The suspended particles may be solid particles of the composite that served for making the foam or oxide membranes formed on extended metal surface of the bubbles included in the foam. The desired foam ability to form a discontinuous suspension after melting may be

Numerical simulation of thermal stratification in cold legs by using OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Jiejin; Watanabe, Tadashi

2011-01-01

During a small-break loss-of-coolant accident in pressurized water reactors (PWRs), emergency core cooling system (ECCS) is actuated and cold water is injected into cold legs. Insufficient mixing of injected cold water and hot primary coolant results in thermal stratification, which is a matter of concern for evaluation of pressurized thermal shock (PTS) in view of aging and life extension of nuclear power plants. In this study, an open source CFD software, OpenFOAM, is used to simulate mixing and thermal stratification in the cold leg of ROSA/LSTF, which is the largest thermal-hydraulic integral test facility simulating PWR. One of the cold-leg is numerically simulated from the outlet of primary coolant pump to the inlet of downcomer. ECCS water is injected from injection nozzle connected at the top of the cold leg into the steady-state natural circulation flow under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. The temperature distribution in the cold leg is compared with experimental and FLUENT's results. Effects of turbulent flow models and secondary flow due to the elbow section of the cold leg are discussed for the case with the single-phase natural circulation. Injection into a two-phase stratified flow is also simulated and predictive and numerical capabilities of OpenFOAM are discussed. (author)

Plastic Foam Withstands Greater Temperatures And Pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Cranston, John A.; Macarthur, Doug

1993-01-01

Improved plastic foam suitable for use in foam-core laminated composite parts and in tooling for making fiber/matrix-composite parts. Stronger at high temperatures, more thermally and dimensionally stable, machinable, resistant to chemical degradation, and less expensive. Compatible with variety of matrix resins. Made of polyisocyanurate blown with carbon dioxide and has density of 12 to 15 pounds per cubic feet. Does not contibute to depletion of ozone from atmosphere. Improved foam used in cores of composite panels in such diverse products as aircraft, automobiles, railroad cars, boats, and sporting equipment like surfboards, skis, and skateboards. Also used in thermally stable flotation devices in submersible vehicles. Machined into mandrels upon which filaments wound to make shells.

Modeled and Measured Dynamics of a Composite Beam with Periodically Varying Foam Core

Science.gov (United States)

Cabell, Randolph H.; Cano, Roberto J.; Schiller, Noah H.; Roberts Gary D.

2012-01-01

The dynamics of a sandwich beam with carbon fiber composite facesheets and foam core with periodic variations in material properties are studied. The purpose of the study is to compare finite element predictions with experimental measurements on fabricated beam specimens. For the study, three beams were fabricated: one with a compliant foam core, a second with a stiffer core, and a third with the two cores alternating down the length of the beam to create a periodic variation in properties. This periodic variation produces a bandgap in the frequency domain where vibrational energy does not readily propagate down the length of the beam. Mode shapes and natural frequencies are compared, as well as frequency responses from point force input to velocity response at the opposite end of the beam.

Foam for combating mine fires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1989-09-01

The application of foam in dealing with underground fire is well known due to its smothering action by cutting off air feed to burning fuel as well as acting as coolant. Besides plugging air feed to fire, water could be virtually reached to the fire affected areas much beyond the jet range as underground galleries with low roof restrict jet range of water. This method also enables a closer approach of a fire fighting team by isolating the toxic gases and smoke with a foam plug. The paper describes the development of high expansion foam composition and its application technology in order that foam plug method can be suitably utilized for combating mine fires in India. Three compositions were recommended for generation of high expansion foam: (a) 0.5% sodium/ammonium lauryl sulphate, 0.15 to 0.2% sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, 0.1% booster; (b) 0.5% sodium/ammonium lauryl sulfate, 0.12 to 0.15% alkaline solution of gum arabic, 0.1 to 0.2% ferrous gluconate; and (c) 0.35% sodium/ammonium lauryl sulfate, 0.20% booster, 0.2% xylene sulfonate.

Hydroxyapatite fiber reinforced poly(alpha-hydroxy ester) foams for bone regeneration

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, R. C.; Yaszemski, M. J.; Powers, J. M.; Mikos, A. G.; McIntire, L. V. (Principal Investigator)

1998-01-01

A process has been developed to manufacture biodegradable composite foams of poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and hydroxyapatite short fibers for use in bone regeneration. The processing technique allows the manufacture of three-dimensional foam scaffolds and involves the formation of a composite material consisting of a porogen material (either gelatin microspheres or salt particles) and hydroxyapatite short fibers embedded in a PLGA matrix. After the porogen is leached out, an open-cell composite foam remains which has a pore size and morphology defined by the porogen. By changing the weight fraction of the leachable component it was possible to produce composite foams with controlled porosities ranging from 0.47 +/- 0.02 to 0.85 +/- 0.01 (n = 3). Up to a polymer:fiber ratio of 7:6, short hydroxyapatite fibers served to reinforce low-porosity PLGA foams manufactured using gelatin microspheres as a porogen. Foams with a compressive yield strength up to 2.82 +/- 0.63 MPa (n = 3) and a porosity of 0.47 +/- 0.02 (n = 3) were manufactured using a polymer:fiber weight ratio of 7:6. In contrast, high-porosity composite foams (up to 0.81 +/- 0.02, n = 3) suitable for cell seeding were not reinforced by the introduction of increasing quantities of hydroxyapatite short fibers. We were therefore able to manufacture high-porosity foams which may be seeded with cells but which have minimal compressive yield strength, or low porosity foams with enhanced osteoconductivity and compressive yield strength.

Simulation of the dust suppression process with foam in the areas of belt conveyors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bespalov Vadim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article provides the analysis of the physical essence and simulation of the process of dust retention with foam in the air of working zones of belt conveyors transporting sand, crushed stone, gravel, coal, grain. In accordance with the proposed physical-energy concept of simulation of the process of dust control its physical essence is in a deliberate sequential action on the dust particles with previously prepared by the parameters external (additional dispersed systems. Use of dust retention technology foam method provides high efficiency of reducing the concentration of dust in the air of working areas of belt conveyors, which varies in the range of 85.0–99.0 %, which provides the standard level of dust contamination (MPC in air of working areas of listed industrial sources of formation and emission of dust.

Low-density carbonized resorcinol-formaldehyde foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong, F.M.; Buckley, S.R.; Giles, C.L. Jr.; Haendler, B.L.; Hair, L.M.; Letts, S.A.; Overturf, G.E. III; Price, C.W.; Cook, R.C.

1991-01-01

This report documents research and development on resorcinol- formaldehyde-based foam materials conducted between 1986 and June 1990, when the effort was discontinued. The foams discussed are resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) foam, carbonized RF (CRF) foam, and two composite foams, a polystyrene/RF (PS/RF) foam and its carbonized derivative (CPR). The RF foams are synthesized by the polycondensation of resorcinol with formaldehyde in a slightly basic solution. Their structure and density depend strongly on the concentration of the sodium carbonate catalyst. The have an interconnected bead structure similar to that of silica aerogels; bead sizes range from 30 to 130 Angstrom, and cell sizes are less than 0.1 μm. We have achieved densities of 16 to 200 mg/cm 3 . The RF foams can be pyrolyzed in an inert atmosphere to form a vitreous carbon foam (CRF), which has a similar microstructure but much higher mechanical strength. The PS/RF foams are obtained by filling the 2- to 3-μm cells of PS foam (a low-density hydrocarbon foam we have developed) with RF. The resultant foams have the outstanding handling and machinability of the PS foam matrix and the small cell size of RF. Pyrolyzing PS/RF foams causes depolymerization and loss of the PS; the resulting CPR foams have a structure similar to the PS foams in which CRF both replicates and fills the PS cells

Rational construction of a 3D hierarchical NiCo2O4/PANI/MF composite foam as a high-performance electrode for asymmetric supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Fen; Huang, Yunpeng; Xu, Le; Zhao, Yan; Lian, Jiabiao; Bao, Jian; Li, Huaming

2018-04-19

A 3D hierarchical NiCo2O4/PANI/MF composite foam with a macroporous 3D skeleton, a conductive PANI coating and highly electrochemically active NiCo2O4 nanosheets is synthesized as a lightweight and low-cost electrode material. Due to the collaborative contribution of all the components, the prepared composite foam exhibits excellent capacitive performances when incorporated into an asymmetric supercapacitor.

Polyurethane Foams with Pyrimidine Rings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kania Ewelina

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Oligoetherols based on pyrimidine ring were obtained upon reaction of barbituric acid with glycidol and alkylene carbonates. These oligoetherols were then used to obtain polyurethane foams in the reaction of oligoetherols with isocyanates and water. The protocol of foam synthesis was optimized by the choice of proper kind of oligoetherol and synthetic composition. The thermal resistance was studied by dynamic and static methods with concomitant monitoring of compressive strength. The polyurethane foams have similar physical properties as the classic ones except their enhanced thermal resistance. They stand long-time heating even at 200°C. Moreover thermal exposition of foams results generally in increase of their compressive strength.

METHODS OF REDUCTION OF FREE PHENOL CONTENT IN PHENOLIC FOAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruyako Mikhail Gerasimovich

2012-12-01

method aimed at reduction of toxicity of phenolic foams consists in the introduction of a composite mixture of chelate compounds. Raw materials applied in the production of phenolic foams include polymers FRB-1A and VAG-3. The aforementioned materials are used to produce foams FRP-1. Introduction of 1% aluminum fluoride leads to the 40% reduction of the free phenol content in the foam. Introduction of crystalline zinc chloride accelerates the foaming and curing of phenolic foams. The technology that contemplates the introduction of zeolites into the mixture includes pre-mixing with FRB -1A and subsequent mixing with VAG-3; thereafter, the composition is poured into the form, in which the process of foaming is initiated. The content of free phenol was identified using the method of UV spectroscopy. The objective of the research was to develop methods of reduction of the free phenol content in the phenolic foam.

Modyfication of the Rigid Polyurethane-Polyisocyanurate Foams

OpenAIRE

Bogusław Czupryński; Joanna Liszkowska; Joanna Paciorek-Sadowska

2014-01-01

The effect of polyethylene glycol 1500 on physicomechanical properties of rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate (PUR-PIR) foams has been studied. It was found that application of polyethylene glycol 1500 for synthesis of foams in amount from 0% to 20% w/w had an effect on reduction of brittleness and softening point, while the greater the increase in compressive strength the higher its content in foam composition was. Wastes from production of these foams were ground and subjected to glycolysis...

High-order simulation of foam enhanced oil recovery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Meer, J.M.; Van Odyck, D.E.A.; Wirnsberger, P.; Jansen, J.D.

2014-01-01

If secondary hydrocarbon recovery methods fail because of the occurrence of gravity override or viscous fingering one can turn to an enhanced oil recovery method like the injection of foam. The generation of foam can be described by a set of partial differential equations with strongly nonlinear

Bio-based Polymer Foam from Soyoil

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnaillie, Laetitia M.; Wool, Richard P.

2006-03-01

The growing bio-based polymeric foam industry is presently lead by plant oil-based polyols for polyurethanes and starch foams. We developed a new resilient, thermosetting foam system with a bio-based content higher than 80%. The acrylated epoxidized soybean oil and its fatty acid monomers is foamed with pressurized carbon dioxide and cured with free-radical initiators. The foam structure and pore dynamics are highly dependent on the temperature, viscosity and extent of reaction. Low-temperature cure hinds the destructive pore coalescence and the application of a controlled vacuum results in foams with lower densities ˜ 0.1 g/cc, but larger cells. We analyze the physics of foam formation and stability, as well as the structure and mechanical properties of the cured foam using rigidity percolation theory. The parameters studied include temperature, vacuum applied, and cross-link density. Additives bring additional improvements: nucleating agents and surfactants help produce foams with a high concentration of small cells and low bulk density. Hard and soft thermosetting foams with a bio content superior to 80% are successfully produced and tested. Potential applications include foam-core composites for hurricane-resistant housing, structural reinforcement for windmill blades, and tissue scaffolds.

A method for data handling numerical results in parallel OpenFOAM simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

nd Vasile Pârvan Ave., 300223, TM Timişoara, Romania, alin.anton@cs.upt.ro (Romania))" data-affiliation=" (Faculty of Automatic Control and Computing, Politehnica University of Timişoara, 2nd Vasile Pârvan Ave., 300223, TM Timişoara, Romania, alin.anton@cs.upt.ro (Romania))" >Anton, Alin; th Mihai Viteazu Ave., 300221, TM Timişoara (Romania))" data-affiliation=" (Center for Advanced Research in Engineering Science, Romanian Academy – Timişoara Branch, 24th Mihai Viteazu Ave., 300221, TM Timişoara (Romania))" >Muntean, Sebastian

2015-01-01

Parallel computational fluid dynamics simulations produce vast amount of numerical result data. This paper introduces a method for reducing the size of the data by replaying the interprocessor traffic. The results are recovered only in certain regions of interest configured by the user. A known test case is used for several mesh partitioning scenarios using the OpenFOAM toolkit ® [1]. The space savings obtained with classic algorithms remain constant for more than 60 Gb of floating point data. Our method is most efficient on large simulation meshes and is much better suited for compressing large scale simulation results than the regular algorithms

A method for data handling numerical results in parallel OpenFOAM simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anton, Alin [Faculty of Automatic Control and Computing, Politehnica University of Timişoara, 2" n" d Vasile Pârvan Ave., 300223, TM Timişoara, Romania, alin.anton@cs.upt.ro (Romania); Muntean, Sebastian [Center for Advanced Research in Engineering Science, Romanian Academy – Timişoara Branch, 24" t" h Mihai Viteazu Ave., 300221, TM Timişoara (Romania)

2015-12-31

Parallel computational fluid dynamics simulations produce vast amount of numerical result data. This paper introduces a method for reducing the size of the data by replaying the interprocessor traffic. The results are recovered only in certain regions of interest configured by the user. A known test case is used for several mesh partitioning scenarios using the OpenFOAM toolkit{sup ®}[1]. The space savings obtained with classic algorithms remain constant for more than 60 Gb of floating point data. Our method is most efficient on large simulation meshes and is much better suited for compressing large scale simulation results than the regular algorithms.

Fabrication of graphene/polydopamine/copper foam composite material and its application as supercapacitor electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Y.; Lu, S. X.; Xu, W. G.; He, G.; Cheng, Y. Y.; Xiao, F. Y.; Zhang, Y.

2018-01-01

In this work, a composite electrode was fabricated by chemical deposition of polydopamine (PDA) and graphene oxide (GO) on the copper foam (CF) surface, followed by annealing treatment. Owing to the cohesive effect of the PDA middle film, GO was coated on CF surface successfully, and then reduced simultaneously while annealing. The resulted rGO/PDA/CF composite electrode was directly used as a supercapacitor electrode and exhibited excellent electrochemical performance, with a high specific capacitance of 1250 F g-1 at 2 A g-1 and favorable cycle stability.

Nanostructured metal foams: synthesis and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luther, Erik P [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Tappan, Bryce [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Mueller, Alex [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Mihaila, Bogdan [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Volz, Heather [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Cardenas, Andreas [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Papin, Pallas [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Veauthier, Jackie [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Stan, Marius [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

Fabrication of monolithic metallic nanoporous materials is difficult using conventional methodology. Here they report a relatively simple method of synthesizing monolithic, ultralow density, nanostructured metal foams utilizing self-propagating combustion synthesis of novel metal complexes containing high nitrogen energetic ligands. Nanostructured metal foams are formed in a post flame-front dynamic assembly with densities as low as 0.011 g/cc and surface areas as high as 270 m{sup 2}/g. They have produced metal foams via this method of titanium, iron, cobalt, nickel, zirconium, copper, palladium, silver, hafnium, platinum and gold. Microstructural features vary as a function of composition and process parameters. Applications for the metal foams are discussed including hydrogen absorption in palladium foams. A model for the sorption kinetics of hydrogen in the foams is presented.

INFLUENCE OF THE CEMENT TYPE ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MINERAL FOAM APPLICABLE IN FOAMED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korolev Evgeniy Valer'evich

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The subject of the research is the influence of the type of Portland cement, as well as the nature and concentration of additives that represent electrolytes and polymers, onto the foam stability. The project is implemented within the framework of the research of foamed ceramic. Detailed explanation of the influence pattern is provided. The research performed by the authors has generated the following findings. Besides the rheological properties of the solution, chemical interaction between the mix components must be taken into account in the course of development of the best foamed ceramic mix composition, as chemical processes produce a substantial influence onto the foam stability. Polymer additives based on liquid carbamyde-formaldehyde and polyacrylamide substantially improve the quality of the foam mineralized by the particles of the cement binder. They also assure the foam stability rate sufficient for the formation of a high-quality foamed material.

Foam Transport in Porous Media - A Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Z. F.; Freedman, Vicky L.; Zhong, Lirong

2009-11-11

Amendment solutions with or without surfactants have been used to remove contaminants from soil. However, it has drawbacks such that the amendment solution often mobilizes the plume, and its movement is controlled by gravity and preferential flow paths. Foam is an emulsion-like, two-phase system in which gas cells are dispersed in a liquid and separated by thin liquid films called lamellae. Potential advantages of using foams in sub-surface remediation include providing better control on the volume of fluids injected, uniformity of contact, and the ability to contain the migration of contaminant laden liquids. It is expected that foam can serve as a carrier of amendments for vadose zone remediation, e.g., at the Hanford Site. As part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s EM-20 program, a numerical simulation capability will be added to the Subsurface Transport Over Multiple Phases (STOMP) flow simulator. The primary purpose of this document is to review the modeling approaches of foam transport in porous media. However, as an aid to understanding the simulation approaches, some experiments under unsaturated conditions and the processes of foam transport are also reviewed. Foam may be formed when the surfactant concentration is above the critical micelle concentration. There are two main types of foams – the ball foam (microfoam) and the polyhedral foam. The characteristics of bulk foam are described by the properties such as foam quality, texture, stability, density, surface tension, disjoining pressure, etc. Foam has been used to flush contaminants such as metals, organics, and nonaqueous phase liquids from unsaturated soil. Ball foam, or colloidal gas aphrons, reportedly have been used for soil flushing in contaminated site remediation and was found to be more efficient than surfactant solutions on the basis of weight of contaminant removed per gram of surfactant. Experiments also indicate that the polyhedral foam can be used to enhance soil remediation. The

Auxetic foam for snowsport safety devices

OpenAIRE

Allen, Tom; Duncan, Olly; Foster, Leon; Senior, Terry; Zampieri, Davide; Edeh, Victor; Alderson, Andrew

2017-01-01

Skiing and snowboarding are popular snow-sports with inherent risk of injury. There is potential to reduce the prevalence of injuries by improving and implementing snow-sport safety devices with the application of advanced materials. This paper investigates the application of auxetic foam to snow-sport safety devices. Composite pads - consisting of foam covered with a semi-rigid shell - were investigated as a simple model of body armour and a large 70 x 355 x 355 mm auxetic foam sample was fa...

Numerical simulation of sloshing in rectangular tanks with OpenFOAM CFD Package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreski, Filip; Markov, Zoran; Diebold, Louis; Gazzola, Thomas

2009-01-01

The aim of this paper is to simulate the sloshing phenomenon using OpenFOAM CFD software package. The present paper treats a 2D numerical simulation of a partially filled tank that is located on a LNG carrier. Experiments were done on a rectangular tank excited with different excitation periods and amplitudes and the pressure was measured at certain locations on the tank walls. The goal of this research is to compare the experimental data for the pressure with the pressure results obtained with the CFD software. It is shown that the obtained results match well with the experimental data.

The study of hydrogen electrosorption in layered nickel foam/palladium/carbon nanofibers composite electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skowronski, J.M.; Czerwinski, A.; Rozmanowski, T.; Rogulski, Z.; Krawczyk, P.

2007-01-01

In the present work, the process of hydrogen electrosorption occurring in alkaline KOH solution on the nickel foam/palladium/carbon nanofibers (Ni/Pd/CNF) composite electrodes is examined. The layered Ni/Pd/CNF electrodes were prepared by a two-step method consisting of chemical deposition of a thin layer of palladium on the nickel foam support to form Ni/Pd electrode followed by coating the palladium layer with carbon nanofibers layer by means of the CVD method. The scanning electron microscope was used for studying the morphology of both the palladium and carbon layer. The process of hydrogen sorption/desorption into/from Ni/Pd as well as Ni/Pd/CNF electrode was examined using the cyclic voltammetry method. The amount of hydrogen stored in both types of composite electrodes was shown to increase on lowering the potential of hydrogen sorption. The mechanism of the anodic desorption of hydrogen changes depending on whether or not CNF layer is present on the Pd surface. The anodic peak corresponding to the removal of hydrogen from palladium is lower for Ni/Pd/CNF electrode as compared to that measured for Ni/Pd one due to a partial screening of the Pd surface area by CNF layer. The important feature of Ni/Pd/CNF electrode is anodic peak appearing on voltammetric curves at potential ca. 0.4 V more positive than the peak corresponding to hydrogen desorption from palladium. The obtained results showed that upon storing the hydrogen saturated Ni/Pd/CNF electrode at open circuit potential, diffusion of hydrogen from carbon to palladium phase occurs due to interaction between carbon fibers and Pd sites on the nickel foam support

Development and prototype testing of MgCl 2 /graphite foam latent heat thermal energy storage system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Dileep; Yu, Wenhua; Zhao, Weihuan; Kim, Taeil; France, David M.; Smith, Roger K.

2018-01-01

Composites of graphite foam infiltrated with a magnesium chloride phase-change material have been developed as high-temperature thermal energy storage media for concentrated solar power applications. This storage medium provides a high thermal energy storage density, a narrow operating temperature range, and excellent heat transfer characteristics. In this study, experimental investigations were conducted on laboratory-scale prototypes with magnesium chloride/graphite foam composite as the latent heat thermal energy storage system. Prototypes were designed and built to monitor the melt front movement during the charging/discharging tests. A test loop was built to ensure the charging/discharging of the prototypes at temperatures > 700 degrees C. Repeated thermal cycling experiments were carried out on the fabricated prototypes, and the experimental temperature profiles were compared to the predicted results from numerical simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Experimental results were found to be in good agreement with the simulations to validate the thermal models.

The Efficacy and Safety of Azelaic Acid 15% Foam in the Treatment of Facial Acne Vulgaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Peter W; Chen, Tinley; Harper, Julie C; Kircik, Leon H

2018-06-01

Azelaic acid demonstrates anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-comedogenic, and anti-microbial effects. Azelaic acid 20% cream is currently approved for the treatment of acne vulgaris, and azelaic acid 15% foam has recently been approved for rosacea. Given the favorable tolerability profile of foam preparations, it is reasonable to assume that azelaic acid 15% foam could serve as a viable treatment option for facial acne. To examine the efficacy and safety of azelaic acid 15% foam in the treatment of moderate-to-severe facial acne Methods: Twenty subjects with moderate-to-severe facial acne vulgaris were enrolled in this two-center, open-label pilot study. All study subjects were treated with azelaic acid 15% foam for 16 weeks. Efficacy analyses were based on the change in facial investigator global assessment (FIGA) and changes in total, inflammatory, non-inflammatory lesion counts between baseline and week 16. There was a significant reduction in FIGA scores from baseline to week 16 (p = .0004), with 84% of subjects experiencing at least a 1 grade improvement, and 63% of subjects achieving a final grade of Clear or Almost Clear. All subjects experienced reductions in inflammatory and total lesion counts by week 16, and 89% of subjects experienced reductions in non-inflammatory lesions. Azelaic acid 15% foam was well tolerated, with almost all instances of erythema, dryness, peeling, oiliness, pruritus, and burning being of mild or trace degree, and most adverse effects resolving by the end of the study. Azelaic acid 15% foam is effective and safe in the treatment of facial acne vulgaris. Given the convenience of foam vehicles, azelaic acid 15% foam should be considered as a viable treatment option for this condition. J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(6):641-645.

Industrial waste utilization for foam concrete

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Gokul; Anand, K. B.

2018-02-01

Foam concrete is an emerging and useful construction material - basically a cement based slurry with at least 10% of mix volume as foam. The mix usually containing cement, filler (usually sand) and foam, have fresh densities ranging from 400kg/m3 to 1600kg/m3. One of the main drawbacks of foam concrete is the large consumption of fine sand as filler material. Usage of different solid industrial wastes as fillers in foam concrete can reduce the usage of fine river sand significantly and make the work economic and eco-friendly. This paper aims to investigate to what extent industrial wastes such as bottom ash and quarry dust can be utilized for making foam concrete. Foam generated using protein based agent was used for preparing and optimizing (fresh state properties). Investigation to find the influence of design density and air-void characteristics on the foam concrete strength shows higher strength for bottom ash mixes due to finer air void distribution. Setting characteristics of various mix compositions are also studied and adoption of Class C flyash as filler demonstrated capability of faster setting.

Effect of Nano-clay on Rheological and Extrusion Foaming Process of a Block-Copolymerized Polypropylene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Mingyi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of nano-clay and the corresponding coupling agent maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH on thermal properties, rheological properties and extrusion foaming process of a block-copolymerized polypropylene (B-PP were studied. Supercritical CO2 (SC CO2 was used as the foaming agent with a concentration of 5wt%. Each step of foamed B-PP/ PP-g-MAH/ nano-clay composites processing is addressed, including mixing of the composites, manufacture of the composites, foaming process of the composites and characterization of the cell structure. The results showed that incorporation of nano-clay and PP-g-MAH caused reduced melt strength and complex viscosity of B-PP. However, the heterogeneous nucleation induced by nano-clay and PP-g-MAH improved the maximum foaming expansion ratio and cell-population density of B-PP foam.

Nutritional and Anti – Nutritional Composition of the African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To determine the nutritional and anti – nutritional composition of the African palmyrah palm (Borassus aethiopum). Subjects/ Materials and Methods: Studies were conducted on the proximate composition, vitamin C, total carotenoids and some anti-nutritional factors / toxins of the fresh seedling of the African ...

Experimental investigation of a passive thermal management system for high-powered lithium ion batteries using nickel foam-paraffin composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, Abid; Tso, C.Y.; Chao, Christopher Y.H.

2016-01-01

It is necessary for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to have a highly efficient thermal management system to maintain high powered lithium ion batteries within permissible temperature limits. In this study, an efficient thermal management system for high powered lithium ion batteries using a novel composite (nickel foam-paraffin wax) is designed and investigated experimentally. The results have been compared with two other cases: a natural air cooling mode and a cooling mode with pure phase change materials (PCM). The results indicate that the safety demands of lithium ion batteries cannot be fulfilled using natural air convection as the thermal management mode. The use of PCM can dramatically reduce the surface temperature within the permissible range due to heat absorption by the PCM undergoing phase change. This effect can be further enlarged by using the nickel foam-paraffin composite, showing a temperature reduction of 31% and 24% compared to natural air convection and pure PCM, respectively under 2 C discharge rate. The effect of the geometric parameters of the foam on the battery surface temperature has also been studied. The battery surface temperature decreases with the decrease of porosity and the pore density of the metal foam. On the other hand, the discharge capacity increases with the increase in porosity, but decreases with pore density. - Highlights: • Thermal management for Li-ion batteries using nickel-paraffin is studied. • The temperature is reduced by 31% as compared to natural air cooling mode. • The temperature increases with increase of porosity and pore density of metal foam. • Battery discharge capacity increases with the increase in porosity. • Battery discharge capacity increases with the decreases in pore density.

Modyfication of the Rigid Polyurethane-Polyisocyanurate Foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogusław Czupryński

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of polyethylene glycol 1500 on physicomechanical properties of rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate (PUR-PIR foams has been studied. It was found that application of polyethylene glycol 1500 for synthesis of foams in amount from 0% to 20% w/w had an effect on reduction of brittleness and softening point, while the greater the increase in compressive strength the higher its content in foam composition was. Wastes from production of these foams were ground and subjected to glycolysis in diethylene glycol with the addition of ethanolamine and zinc stearate. Liquid brown products were obtained. Properties of the resulting products were defined in order to determine their suitability for synthesis of new foams. It was found that glycolysate 6 was the most suitable for reuse and its application in different amounts allowed us to prepare 4 new foams (nos. 25, 26, 27, and 28. Properties of foams prepared in this manner were determined and, on their basis, the suitability of glycolysates for production of rigid PUR-PIR foams was evaluated.

AC and DC electrical properties of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced epoxy syntactic foam

Science.gov (United States)

Zegeye, Ephraim; Wicker, Scott; Woldesenbet, Eyassu

2018-04-01

Benefits of employing graphene nanopletlates (GNPLs) in composite structures include mechanical as well as multifunctional properties. Understanding the impedance behavior of GNPLs reinforced syntactic foams may open new applications for syntactic foam composites. In this work, GNPLs reinforced syntactic foams were fabricated and tested for DC and AC electrical properties. Four sets of syntactic foam samples containing 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 vol% of GNPLs were fabricated and tested. Significant increase in conductivity of syntactic foams due to the addition of GNPLs was noted. AC impedance measurements indicated that the GNPLs syntactic foams become frequency dependent as the volume fraction of GNPLs increases. With addition of GNPLs, the characteristic of the syntactic foams are also observed to transition from dominant capacitive to dominant resistive behavior. This work was carried out at Southern University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, United States of America.

Foam for Enhanced Oil Recovery : Modeling and Analytical Solutions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashoori, E.

2012-01-01

Foam increases sweep in miscible- and immiscible-gas enhanced oil recovery by decreasing the mobility of gas enormously. This thesis is concerned with the simulations and analytical solutions for foam flow for the purpose of modeling foam EOR in a reservoir. For the ultimate goal of upscaling our

Integration of Computer Tomography and Simulation Analysis in Evaluation of Quality of Ceramic-Carbon Bonded Foam Filter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karwiński A.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Filtration of liquid casting alloys is used in casting technologies for long time. The large quantity of available casting filters allows using them depending on casting technology, dimensions of casting and used alloys. Technological progress of material science allows of using new materials in production of ceramic filters. In this article the Computed Tomography (CT technique was use in order to evaluate the thickness of branch in cross section of 20ppi ceramic-carbon bonded foam filter. Than the 3D image of foam filter was used in computer simulation of flow of liquid metal thru the running system.

Three-Dimensional Graphene Foam Induces Multifunctionality in Epoxy Nanocomposites by Simultaneous Improvement in Mechanical, Thermal, and Electrical Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Embrey, Leslie; Nautiyal, Pranjal; Loganathan, Archana; Idowu, Adeyinka; Boesl, Benjamin; Agarwal, Arvind

2017-11-15

Three-dimensional (3D) macroporous graphene foam based multifunctional epoxy composites are developed in this study. Facile dip-coating and mold-casting techniques are employed to engineer microstructures with tailorable thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. These processing techniques allow capillarity-induced equilibrium filling of graphene foam branches, creating epoxy/graphene interfaces with minimal separation. Addition of 2 wt % graphene foam enhances the glass transition temperature of epoxy from 106 to 162 °C, improving the thermal stability of the polymer composite. Graphene foam aids in load-bearing, increasing the ultimate tensile strength by 12% by merely 0.13 wt % graphene foam in an epoxy matrix. Digital image correlation (DIC) analysis revealed that the graphene foam cells restrict and confine the deformation of the polymer matrix, thereby enhancing the load-bearing capability of the composite. Addition of 0.6 wt % graphene foam also enhances the flexural strength of the pure epoxy by 10%. A 3D network of graphene branches is found to suppress and deflect the cracks, arresting mechanical failure. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of the composites demonstrated their vibration damping capability, as the loss tangent (tan δ) jumps from 0.1 for the pure epoxy to 0.24 for ∼2 wt % graphene foam-epoxy composite. Graphene foam branches also provide seamless pathways for electron transfer, which induces electrical conductivity exceeding 450 S/m in an otherwise insulator epoxy matrix. The epoxy-graphene foam composite exhibits a gauge factor as high as 4.1, which is twice the typical gauge factor for the most common metals. Simultaneous improvement in thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of epoxy due to 3D graphene foam makes epoxy-graphene foam composite a promising lightweight and multifunctional material for aiding load-bearing, electrical transport, and motion sensing in aerospace, automotive, robotics, and smart device structures.

Data characterizing tensile behavior of cenosphere/HDPE syntactic foam.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, B R Bharath; Doddamani, Mrityunjay; Zeltmann, Steven E; Gupta, Nikhil; Ramakrishna, Seeram

2016-03-01

The data set presented is related to the tensile behavior of cenosphere reinforced high density polyethylene syntactic foam composites "Processing of cenosphere/HDPE syntactic foams using an industrial scale polymer injection molding machine" (Bharath et al., 2016) [1]. The focus of the work is on determining the feasibility of using an industrial scale polymer injection molding (PIM) machine for fabricating syntactic foams. The fabricated syntactic foams are investigated for microstructure and tensile properties. The data presented in this article is related to optimization of the PIM process for syntactic foam manufacture, equations and procedures to develop theoretical estimates for properties of cenospheres, and microstructure of syntactic foams before and after failure. Included dataset contains values obtained from the theoretical model.

Enhancement in insulation and mechanical properties of PMMA nanocomposite foams infused with multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Jui-Ming; Chang, Kung-Chin; Peng, Chih-Wei; Lai, Mei-Chun; Hwang, Shyh-Shin; Lin, Hong-Ru; Liou, Shir-Joe

2011-08-01

In this study, PMMA/CNTs composite materials with carboxyl-multi walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) or untreated MWNTs were prepared via in-situ bulk polymerization. The as-prepared PMMA/CNTs composite materials were then characterized by Fourier-Transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The molecular weights of PMMA extracted from PMMA/CNTs composite materials and bulk PMMA were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with THF used as the eluant. The PMMA/CNTs composite materials were used to produce foams by a batch process in an autoclave using nitrogen as foaming agent. The cellular microstructure, insulation and compressive mechanical properties of PMMA/CNTs composite foams were also investigated in detail. Compared to neat PMMA foam, the presence of CNTs increases in cell density and reduces cell size. The insulation and compressive mechanical properties of PMMA/CNTs composite foams were found to improve substantially those of neat PMMA foam. In particular, 22.6% decrease in thermal conductivity, 19.7% decrease in dielectric constant and 160% increase in compressive modulus were observed with the addition of 0.3 wt% carboxyl-multi walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs).

Mass transfer measurements in foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leblond, J.G.; Fournel, B.

2004-01-01

Full text of publication follows:This study participates to the elaboration of a method for decontamination of the inside surfaces of steel structures (pipes, tanks,...). The solution which has been chosen is to attack the surface of the structure by a dipping solution. In order to reduce the quantity of product to be recovered and treated at the end of the cleaning process, the active solution will be introduced as a foam. During its free or forced drainage the foam supplies an active liquid film along the structure surfaces. It was important to know if the transfers of the dipping liquid inside the foam and between foam and wall film are sufficient to allow a correct supplying of the active liquid at the wall and a correct dragging of the dipped products. The objective of this work is to develop a numerical model which simulates the various transfers. However such a modeling cannot be performed without a thorough knowledge of the different transfer parameters in the foam and in the film. The following study has been performed on a model foam (foaming water + air) held in a smooth vertical glass pipe and submitted to a forced drainage by the foaming water (water + surfactants). The liquid transfer involves the dispersion of the drainage liquid inside the foam and the transfer between the foam and the liquid film flowing down at the wall. The different transfers has been analyzed by NMR using a PFGSE-NMR sequence, which allows to determine the propagator, i.e., the probability density of the liquid particle displacements during a given time interval Δt, along a selected direction. This study allowed to measure, firstly, the mean liquid and the liquid dispersion in the foam along the vertical and horizontal direction, and secondly, the vertical mean velocity in the parietal liquid film. (authors)

Innovative test method for the estimation of the foaming tendency of substrates for biogas plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeller, Lucie, E-mail: lucie.moeller@ufz.de [UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Centre for Environmental Biotechnology, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany); Eismann, Frank, E-mail: info@antoc.de [Eismann & Stöbe GbR, GeoPark, Geb. A12, Bautzner Strasse 67, 04347 Leipzig (Germany); Wißmann, Daniel, E-mail: d.s.wissmann@gmx.de [University of Hohenheim, State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy (LA740), Garbenstrasse 9, 70599 Stuttgart (Germany); Nägele, Hans-Joachim, E-mail: hajo.naegele@uni-hohenheim.de [University of Hohenheim, State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy (LA740), Garbenstrasse 9, 70599 Stuttgart (Germany); Zielonka, Simon, E-mail: simon.zielonka@uni-hohenheim.de [University of Hohenheim, State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy (LA740), Garbenstrasse 9, 70599 Stuttgart (Germany); Müller, Roland A., E-mail: roland.mueller@ufz.de [UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Centre for Environmental Biotechnology, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany); Zehnsdorf, Andreas, E-mail: andreas.zehnsdorf@ufz.de [UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Centre for Environmental Biotechnology, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany)

2015-07-15

Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Foaming in biogas plants depends on the interactions between substrate and digestate. • Foaming tests enable the evaluation of substrate foaming tendency in biogas plants. • Leipzig foam tester enables foaming tests of substrates prior to use. - Abstract: Excessive foaming in anaerobic digestion occurs at many biogas plants and can cause problems including plugged gas pipes. Unfortunately, the majority of biogas plant operators are unable to identify the causes of foaming in their biogas reactor. The occurrence of foaming is often related to the chemical composition of substrates fed to the reactor. The consistency of the digestate itself is also a crucial part of the foam formation process. Thus, no specific recommendations concerning substrates can be given in order to prevent foam formation in biogas plants. The safest way to avoid foaming is to test the foaming tendency of substrates on-site. A possible solution is offered by an innovative foaming test. With the help of this tool, biogas plant operators can evaluate the foaming disposition of new substrates prior to use in order to adjust the composition of substrate mixes.

Innovative test method for the estimation of the foaming tendency of substrates for biogas plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Moeller, Lucie; Eismann, Frank; Wißmann, Daniel; Nägele, Hans-Joachim; Zielonka, Simon; Müller, Roland A; Zehnsdorf, Andreas

2015-07-01

Excessive foaming in anaerobic digestion occurs at many biogas plants and can cause problems including plugged gas pipes. Unfortunately, the majority of biogas plant operators are unable to identify the causes of foaming in their biogas reactor. The occurrence of foaming is often related to the chemical composition of substrates fed to the reactor. The consistency of the digestate itself is also a crucial part of the foam formation process. Thus, no specific recommendations concerning substrates can be given in order to prevent foam formation in biogas plants. The safest way to avoid foaming is to test the foaming tendency of substrates on-site. A possible solution is offered by an innovative foaming test. With the help of this tool, biogas plant operators can evaluate the foaming disposition of new substrates prior to use in order to adjust the composition of substrate mixes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous Carbon Nanotube-Ultrathin Graphite Hybrid Foams for Increased Thermal Conductivity and Suppressed Subcooling in Composite Phase Change Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kholmanov, Iskandar; Kim, Jaehyun; Ou, Eric; Ruoff, Rodney S; Shi, Li

2015-12-22

Continuous ultrathin graphite foams (UGFs) have been actively researched recently to obtain composite materials with increased thermal conductivities. However, the large pore size of these graphitic foams has resulted in large thermal resistance values for heat conduction from inside the pore to the high thermal conductivity graphitic struts. Here, we demonstrate that the effective thermal conductivity of these UGF composites can be increased further by growing long CNT networks directly from the graphite struts of UGFs into the pore space. When erythritol, a phase change material for thermal energy storage, is used to fill the pores of UGF-CNT hybrids, the thermal conductivity of the UGF-CNT/erythritol composite was found to increase by as much as a factor of 1.8 compared to that of a UGF/erythritol composite, whereas breaking the UGF-CNT bonding in the hybrid composite resulted in a drop in the effective room-temperature thermal conductivity from about 4.1 ± 0.3 W m(-1) K(-1) to about 2.9 ± 0.2 W m(-1) K(-1) for the same UGF and CNT loadings of about 1.8 and 0.8 wt %, respectively. Moreover, we discovered that the hybrid structure strongly suppresses subcooling of erythritol due to the heterogeneous nucleation of erythritol at interfaces with the graphitic structures.

Inhibition of LDL oxidation and oxidized LDL-induced foam cell formation in RAW 264.7 cells show anti-atherogenic properties of a foliar methanol extract of Scoparia dulcis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nambiar, Sinjitha S; Shetty, Nandini Prasad; Bhatt, Praveena; Neelwarne, Bhagyalakshmi

2014-04-01

Oxidation of low density lipoproteins and their further uptake by macrophages is known to result in the formation of foam cells, which are critical in the initiation of atherosclerosis through activation of inflammatory signalling cascades. Thus, powerful dietary antioxidants are receiving attention for the reversal of such pathological states. Extracts of Scoparia dulcis have been used as tea and health drinks with various health promoting effects. In the present study, we examined the reactive oxygen scavenging potential as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic efficacies, using leaf extracts obtained after successive extraction with various solvents. A methanol extract showed potent antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 570 μg/ml, caused hydrogen peroxide scavenging (28.9 µg/ml) and anti-inflammatory effects by improving human erythrocyte membrane stabilisation (about 86%). The methanol extract also efficiently inhibited lipid peroxidation and oxidation of low density lipoproteins, thus preventing foam cell formation in cultured RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, phytochemical screening of the extracts showed high accumulation of flavonoids. The foliar methanol extract of Scoparia dulcis has a strong anti-atherogenic potential and this property could be attributed maybe due to presence of flavonoids since HPLC analysis showed high concentrations of myricetin and rutin in the methanol extract.

Two dimensional dynamic analysis of sandwich plates with gradient foam cores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mu, Lin; Xiao, Deng Bao; Zhao, Guiping [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical structure Strength and Vibration, School of AerospaceXi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an (China); Cho, Chong Du [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Inchon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-09-15

Present investigation is concerned about dynamic response of composite sandwich plates with the functionally gradient foam cores under time-dependent impulse. The analysis is based on a model of the gradient sandwich plate, in which the face sheets and the core adopt the Kirchhoff theory and a [2, 1]-order theory, respectively. The material properties of the gradient foam core vary continuously along the thickness direction. The gradient plate model is validated with the finite element code ABAQUS®. And the results show that the proposed model can predict well the free vibration of composite sandwich plates with gradient foam cores. The influences of gradient foam cores on the natural frequency, deflection and energy absorbing of the sandwich plates are also investigated.

Numerical Simulation of the Motion of Aerosol Particles in Open Cell Foam Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Solovev, S. A.; Soloveva, O. V.; Popkova, O. S.

2018-03-01

The motion of aerosol particles in open cell foam material is studied. The porous medium is investigated for a three-dimensional case with detailed simulation of cellular structures within an ordered geometry. Numerical calculations of the motion of particles and their deposition due to inertial and gravitational mechanisms are performed. Deposition efficiency curves for a broad range of particle sizes are constructed. The effect deposition mechanisms have on the efficiency of the porous material as a filter is analyzed.

3D simulation of polyurethane foam injection and reacting mold flow in a complex geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Özdemir, İ. Bedii; Akar, Fırat

2018-05-01

The aim of the present work is to develop a flow model which can be used to determine the paths of the polyurethane foam in the mold filling process of a refrigerator cabinet so that improvements in the distribution and the size of the venting holes can be achieved without the expensive prototyping and experiments. For this purpose, the multi-component, two-phase chemically reacting flow is described by Navier Stokes and 12 scalar transport equations. The air and the multi-component foam zones are separated by an interface, which moves only with advection since the mass diffusion of species are set zero in the air zone. The inverse density, viscosity and other diffusion coefficients are calculated by a mass fraction weighted average of the corresponding temperature-dependent values of all species. Simulations are performed in a real refrigerator geometry, are able to reveal the problematical zones where air bubbles and voids trapped in the solidified foam are expected to occur. Furthermore, the approach proves itself as a reliable design tool to use in deciding the locations of air vents and sizing the channel dimensions.

Influence of Production Method on the Chemical Composition, Foaming Properties, and Quality of Australian Carbonated and Sparkling White Wines.

Science.gov (United States)

Culbert, Julie A; McRae, Jacqui M; Condé, Bruna C; Schmidtke, Leigh M; Nicholson, Emily L; Smith, Paul A; Howell, Kate S; Boss, Paul K; Wilkinson, Kerry L

2017-02-22

The chemical composition (protein, polysaccharide, amino acid, and fatty acid/ethyl ester content), foaming properties, and quality of 50 Australian sparkling white wines, representing the four key production methods, that is, Méthode Traditionelle (n = 20), transfer (n = 10), Charmat (n = 10), and carbonation (n = 10), were studied. Méthode Traditionelle wines were typically rated highest in quality and were higher in alcohol and protein contents, but lower in residual sugar and total phenolics, than other sparkling wines. They also exhibited higher foam volume and stability, which might be attributable to higher protein concentrations. Bottle-fermented Méthode Traditionelle and transfer wines contained greater proportions of yeast-derived mannoproteins, whereas Charmat and carbonated wines were higher in grape-derived rhamnogalacturonans; however, total polysaccharide concentrations were not significantly different between sparkling wine styles. Free amino acids were most abundant in carbonated wines, which likely reflects production via primary fermentation only and/or the inclusion of nontraditional grape varieties. Fatty acids and their esters were not correlated with foaming properties, but octanoic and decanoic acids and their ethyl esters were present in Charmat and carbonated wines at significantly higher concentrations than in bottle-fermented wines and were negatively correlated with quality ratings. Research findings provide industry with a better understanding of the compositional factors driving the style and quality of sparkling white wine.

Water-Blown Polyurethane Foams Showing a Reversible Shape-Memory Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Zharinova

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Water-blown polyurethane (PU foams are of enormous technological interest as they are widely applied in various fields, i.e., consumer goods, medicine, automotive or aerospace industries. The discovery of the one-way shape-memory effect in PU foams provided a fresh impetus for extensive investigations on porous polymeric actuators over the past decades. High expansion ratios during the shape-recovery are of special interest when big volume changes are required, for example to fill an aneurysm during micro-invasive surgery or save space during transportation. However, the need to program the foams before each operation cycle could be a drawback impeding the entry of shape-memory polymeric (SMP foams to our daily life. Here, we showed that a reversible shape-memory effect (rSME is achievable for polyurethane water-blown semicrystalline foams. We selected commercially available crystallizable poly(ε-caprolactone-diols of different molecular weight for foams synthesis, followed by investigations of morphology, thermal, thermomechanical and shape-memory properties of obtained compositions. Densities of synthesized foams varied from 110 to 180 kg∙m−3, while peak melting temperatures were composition-dependent and changed from 36 to 47 °C, while the melting temperature interval was around 15 K. All semicrystalline foams exhibited excellent one-way SME with shape-fixity ratios slightly above 100% and shape-recovery ratios from the second cycle of 99%. The composition with broad distribution of molecular weights of poly(ε-caprolactone-diols exhibited an rSME of about 12% upon cyclic heating and cooling from Tlow = 10 °C and Thigh = 47 °C. We anticipate that our experimental study opens a field of systematic investigation of rSMEs in porous polymeric materials on macro and micro scale and extend the application of water-blown polyurethane foams to, e.g., protective covers with zero thermal expansion or even cushions adjustable to a certain body

PRESSURE-IMPULSE DIAGRAM OF MULTI-LAYERED ALUMINUM FOAM PANELS UNDER BLAST PRESSURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CHANG-SU SHIM

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Anti-terror engineering has increasing demand in construction industry, but basis of design (BOD is normally not clear for designers. Hardening of structures has limitations when design loads are not defined. Sacrificial foam claddings are one of the most efficient methods to protect blast pressure. Aluminum foam can have designed yield strength according to relative density and mitigate the blast pressure below a target transmitted pressure. In this paper, multi-layered aluminum foam panels were proposed to enhance the pressure mitigation by increasing effective range of blast pressure. Through explicit finite element analyses, the performance of blast pressure mitigation by the multi-layered foams was evaluated. Pressure-impulse diagrams for the foam panels were developed from extensive analyses. Combination of low and high strength foams showed better applicability in wider range of blast pressure.

Analytical and Numerical Study of Foam-Filled Corrugated Core Sandwich Panels under Low Velocity Impact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Nouri Damghani

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Analytical and finite element simulations are used to predict the effect of core density on the energy absorption of composite sandwich panels under low-velocity impact. The composite sandwich panel contains two facesheets and a foam-filled corrugated core. Analytical model is defined as a two degree-of-freedom system based on equivalent mass, spring, and dashpot to predict the local and global deformation response of a simply supported panel. The results signify a good agreement between analytical and numerical predictions.

Chemicals and Structural Foams to Neutralize or Defeat Anti-Personnel Mines

Science.gov (United States)

1990-10-01

first-level goals in LD. This shows the basic approach used for this analysis. I OVERALL GOALi Select Best Foam System II Best Foam Product Best Delivery...pouring back and forth three times would have three steps for that part of the process, plus any other motions, such as pulling off the lid, and...i B-II I I I I I I :’½ j> I I I I 3 Typical Tilt-Rod AP Mine I I I I I I Typical Pull Firing Pin Device H I I I I I I I iPrsu -SniiePatcCsdMn I i

Biodegradable poly (lactic acid)/Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) composite microcellular foam: Effect of nanofillers on foam cellular morphology, thermal and wettability behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Borkotoky, Shasanka Sekhar; Dhar, Prodyut; Katiyar, Vimal

2018-01-01

This article addresses the elegant and green approach for fabrication of bio-based poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/cellulose nanocrystal (CNCs) bionanocomposite foam (PLA/CNC) with cellular morphology and hydrophobic surface behavior. Highly porous (porosity >80%) structure is obtained with interconnected pores and the effect of CNCs in the cell density (N f ) and cell size of foams are thoroughly investigated by morphological analysis. The thermo-mechanical investigations are performed for the foam samples and almost ∼1.7 and ∼2.2 fold increase in storage modulus is observed for the compressive and tensile mode respectively. PLA/CNC based bionanocomposite foams displayed similar thermal stability as base PLA foam. Detailed investigations of decomposition behavior are studied by using hyphenated thermogravimetric analysis-fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR) system. Almost ∼13% increment is observed in crystallinity at highest loading of CNCs compared to neat counterpart. To investigate the splitting and spreading phenomenon of the wettability of the samples, linear model is used to find the Young's contact angle and contact angle hysteresis (CAH). Besides, ∼6.1 folds reduction in the density of PLA and the nanocomposite foams compared to PLA carries much significance in specialized application areas where weight is an important concern. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The sedimentation of fine particles in liquid foams

OpenAIRE

Rouyer , Florence; Fritz , Christelle; Pitois , Olivier

2010-01-01

International audience; We investigate the sedimentation of fine particles in liquid channels of foams. The study combines numerical simulations with experiments performed in foams and in isolated vertical foam channels. Results show that particulate motion is controlled by the confinement parameter (l) and the mobility of the channel surfaces modelled by interfacial shear viscosity. Interestingly, whereas the position of the particle within the channel cross-section is expected to be a relev...

Evaluation of the efficiency of silicone polyether additives as foam inhibitor in crude oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraga, Assis K.; Santos, Raquel F.; Mansur, Claudia R.E.

2011-01-01

This work evaluates the chemical and physico-chemical properties of commercial anti-foam products based on silicone polyethers along with their efficiency in inhibiting foaming. The commercial surfactants were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), determination of solubility in different solvents and measurement of the surface and interfacial tensions. A method to test the formation of foam in oil was used to mimic the operating conditions in gas-oil separators. The results show that the most polar additive was the most efficient in breaking up the foam. (author)

Virtual Treatment of Basilar Aneurysms Using Shape Memory Polymer Foam

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega, J.M.; Hartman, J.; Rodriguez, J.N.; Maitland, D.J.

2013-01-01

Numerical simulations are performed on patient-specific basilar aneurysms that are treated with shape memory polymer (SMP) foam. In order to assess the post-treatment hemodynamics, two modeling approaches are employed. In the first, the foam geometry is obtained from a micro-CT scan and the pulsatile blood flow within the foam is simulated for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian viscosity models. In the second, the foam is represented as a porous media continuum, which has permeability properties that are determined by computing the pressure gradient through the foam geometry over a range of flow speeds comparable to those of in vivo conditions. Virtual angiography and additional post-processing demonstrate that the SMP foam significantly reduces the blood flow speed within the treated aneurysms, while eliminating the high-frequency velocity fluctuations that are present within the pre-treatment aneurysms. An estimation of the initial locations of thrombus formation throughout the SMP foam is obtained by means of a low fidelity thrombosis model that is based upon the residence time and shear rate of blood. The Newtonian viscosity model and the porous media model capture similar qualitative trends, though both yield a smaller volume of thrombus within the SMP foam. PMID:23329002

Pitch-based carbon foam heat sink with phase change material

Science.gov (United States)

Klett, James W.; Burchell, Timothy D.

2004-08-24

A process for producing a carbon foam heat sink is disclosed which obviates the need for conventional oxidative stabilization. The process employs mesophase or isotropic pitch and a simplified process using a single mold. The foam has a relatively uniform distribution of pore sizes and a highly aligned graphic structure in the struts. The foam material can be made into a composite which is useful in high temperature sandwich panels for both thermal and structural applications. The foam is encased and filled with a phase change material to provide a very efficient heat sink device.

Foam Assisted WAG, Snorre Revisit with New Foam Screening Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spirov, Pavel; Rudyk, Svetlana Nikolayevna; Khan, Arif

2012-01-01

This study deals with simulation model of Foam Assisted Water Alternating Gas (FAWAG) method that had been implemented to two Norwegian Reservoirs. Being studied on number of pilot projects, the method proved successful, but Field Scale simulation was never understood properly. New phenomenological...... of the simulation contributes to more precise planning of the schedule of water and gas injection, prediction of the injection results and evaluation of the method efficiency. The testing of the surfactant properties allows making grounded choice of surfactant to use. The analysis of the history match gives insight...

Evaluation of Foaming Behavior of Glass Melts by High-Temperature Microscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob; Yue, Yuanzheng

2016-01-01

Optical monitoring techniques can record in situ the size of glass samples during a dynamic heating process. This allowed us to study sintering and expansion rate of panel glass from cathode ray tube using MnO2 as foaming agent. We show the maximum expansion rate of glass melt foaming (in situ va...... such as type and concentration of foaming agent, glass composition and particle size to obtain foam glass with high porosity and closed pores. Using this approach we show that the foaming of bottle glass is preferentially conducted at a SiC concentration of 1‒4 wt%....

Aluminium Foam and Magnesium Compound Casting Produced by High-Pressure Die Casting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iban Vicario

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are two of the main focal points in vehicle design, promoting the reduction in the weight of vehicles by using lighter materials. The aim of the work is to evaluate the influence of different aluminium foams and injection parameters in order to obtain compound castings with a compromise between the obtained properties and weight by high-pressure die cast (HPDC using aluminium foams as cores into a magnesium cast part. To evaluate the influence of the different aluminium foams and injection parameters on the final casting products quality, the type and density of the aluminium foam, metal temperature, plunger speed, and multiplication pressure have been varied within a range of suitable values. The obtained compound HPDC castings have been studied by performing visual and RX inspections, obtaining sound composite castings with aluminium foam cores. The presence of an external continuous layer on the foam surface and the correct placement of the foam to support injection conditions permit obtaining good quality parts. A HPDC processed magnesium-aluminium foam composite has been developed for a bicycle application obtaining a suitable combination of mechanical properties and, especially, a reduced weight in the demonstration part.

A study on fracture characteristic of aluminum foam by thickness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Teng [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Kongju National University, Kongju (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Jae Ung [Div. of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, Kongju (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Because foam metal has the excellent physical characteristics and mechanical performance, they are applied extensively into a lot of advanced technology areas. The aluminum foam with closed cell is one of the foam metals. It is applied widely into automobile and airplane because of the excellent absorption performance of impact energy. In this study, the mechanical characteristics by thickness was analyzed through the impact experiment of closed-cell aluminum foam, and the simulation analysis was performed for the verification. As the simulation analysis method, a finite-element analysis was carried under the same boundary conditions as the experiment by using ANSYS. By comparing with the results of experiment and simulation, it was thought that the case of thickness of 20 mm was the most efficient of among the cases of thicknesses of 10 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm. At the case of thickness of 20 mm, the absorption energy by comparing with the specimen thickness is shown to become the most among three models. By using the result of this study, it is thought that it can apply the material necessary to develop the mechanical structure with aluminum foam.

The dynamic properties of sandwich structures based on metal-ceramic foams.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

The present research program has studied the fracture properties of closed pore metal-ceramic foams for their potential applications as core systems in sandwich structures. The composite foams were created at Fireline, Inc. (Youngstown, OH) using the...

Experimental Study on Fatigue Performance of Foamed Lightweight Soil

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Youqiang; Yang, Ping; Li, Yongliang; Zhang, Liujun

2017-12-01

In order to study fatigue performance of foamed lightweight soil and forecast its fatigue life in the supporting project, on the base of preliminary tests, beam fatigue tests on foamed lightweight soil is conducted by using UTM-100 test system. Based on Weibull distribution and lognormal distribution, using the mathematical statistics method, fatigue equations of foamed lightweight soil are obtained. At the same time, according to the traffic load on real road surface of the supporting project, fatigue life of formed lightweight soil is analyzed and compared with the cumulative equivalent axle loads during the design period of the pavement. The results show that even the fatigue life of foamed lightweight soil has discrete property, the linear relationship between logarithmic fatigue life and stress ratio still performs well. Especially, the fatigue life of Weibull distribution is more close to that derived from the lognormal distribution, in the instance of 50% guarantee ratio. In addition, the results demonstrated that foamed lightweight soil as subgrade filler has good anti-fatigue performance, which can be further adopted by other projects in the similar research domain.

Andrographolide Inhibits Oxidized LDL-Induced Cholesterol Accumulation and Foam Cell Formation in Macrophages.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Hung-Chih; Lii, Chong-Kuei; Chen, Hui-Chun; Lin, Ai-Hsuan; Yang, Ya-Chen; Chen, Haw-Wen

2018-01-01

oxLDL is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesions through cholesterol accumulation in macrophage foam cells. Andrographolide, the bioactive component of Andrographis paniculata, possesses several biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anticancer functions. Scavenger receptors (SRs), including class A SR (SR-A) and CD36, are responsible for the internalization of oxLDL. In contrast, receptors for reverse cholesterol transport, including ABCA1 and ABCG1, mediate the efflux of cholesterol from macrophage foam cells. Transcription factor liver X receptor [Formula: see text] (LXR[Formula: see text] plays a key role in lipid metabolism and inflammation as well as in the regulation of ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression. Because of the contribution of inflammation to macrophage foam cell formation and the potent anti-inflammatory activity of andrographolide, we hypothesized that andrographolide might inhibit oxLDL-induced macrophage foam cell formation. The results showed that andrographolide reduced oxLDL-induced lipid accumulation in macrophage foam cells. Andrographolide decreased the mRNA and protein expression of CD36 by inducing the degradation of CD36 mRNA; however, andrographolide had no effect on SR-A expression. In contrast, andrographolide increased the mRNA and protein expression of ABCA1 and ABCG1, which were dependent on LXR[Formula: see text]. Andrographolide enhanced LXR[Formula: see text] nuclear translocation and DNA binding activity. Treatment with the LXR[Formula: see text] antagonist GGPP and transfection with LXR[Formula: see text] siRNA reversed the ability of andrographolide to stimulate ABCA1 and ABCG1 protein expression. In conclusion, inhibition of CD36-mediated oxLDL uptake and induction of ABCA1- and ABCG1-dependent cholesterol efflux are two working mechanisms by which andrographolide inhibits macrophage foam cell formation, which suggests that andrographolide could be a potential candidate to prevent

Comparative review of foam formation in biogas plants and ruminant bloat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeller, Lucie; Goersch, Kati; Zehnsdorf, Andreas; Mueller, Roland Arno [UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig (Germany). Environmental and Biotechnology Centre; Neuhaus, Juergen [Leipzig Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Bacteriology and Mycology

2012-12-15

This review gives an overview of the current knowledge concerning the problem of foam formation in the process of anaerobic digestion in biogas plants that utilize renewable resources or biogenic waste material for biogas production. Process upsets in biogas production induced by foam formation can have a negative impact on the efficiency of biogas plants. The foam can block gas pipes and cause severe damage to the bioreactor equipment, ranging from a failure of the feeders to a damage of the roof of the biogas plant. The most common foam removal methods - stirring in the foam, adding anti-foaming agents, diminishing substrate feeding, and altering the biogas reactor management - are not always successful. However, the reasons for the excessive foam formation during the biogas production process have not yet been elucidated in detail. In contrast, foam building in the rumen of ruminants as a cause for bloat has been studied thoroughly. In general, the interaction between proteins, polysaccharides (mucilage), and small plant particles is assumed to be the crucial factor. As the fermentation process in the rumen has many similarities with the biogas production process, the current research results on bloat in ruminants are summarized and compared with the process of foaming in biogas plants. (orig.)

Experiments to Populate and Validate a Processing Model for Polyurethane Foam: Additional Data for Structural Foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rao, Rekha R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Celina, Mathias C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Giron, Nicholas Henry [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Long, Kevin Nicholas [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Russick, Edward M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-01-01

We are developing computational models to help understand manufacturing processes, final properties and aging of structural foam, polyurethane PMDI. Th e resulting model predictions of density and cure gradients from the manufacturing process will be used as input to foam heat transfer and mechanical models. BKC 44306 PMDI-10 and BKC 44307 PMDI-18 are the most prevalent foams used in structural parts. Experiments needed to parameterize models of the reaction kinetics and the equations of motion during the foam blowing stages were described for BKC 44306 PMDI-10 in the first of this report series (Mondy et al. 2014). BKC 44307 PMDI-18 is a new foam that will be used to make relatively dense structural supports via over packing. It uses a different catalyst than those in the BKC 44306 family of foams; hence, we expect that the reaction kineti cs models must be modified. Here we detail the experiments needed to characteriz e the reaction kinetics of BKC 44307 PMDI-18 and suggest parameters for the model based on these experiments. In additi on, the second part of this report describes data taken to provide input to the preliminary nonlinear visco elastic structural response model developed for BKC 44306 PMDI-10 foam. We show that the standard cu re schedule used by KCP does not fully cure the material, and, upon temperature elevation above 150°C, oxidation or decomposition reactions occur that alter the composition of the foam. These findings suggest that achieving a fully cured foam part with this formulation may be not be possible through therma l curing. As such, visco elastic characterization procedures developed for curing thermosets can provide only approximate material properties, since the state of the material continuously evolves during tests.

Numerical modelling of closed-cell aluminium foam under dynamic loading

Science.gov (United States)

Hazell, Paul; Kader, M. A.; Islam, M. A.; Escobedo, J. P.; Saadatfar, M.

2015-06-01

Closed-cell aluminium foams are extensively used in aerospace and automobile industries. The understanding of their behaviour under impact loading conditions is extremely important since impact problems are directly related to design of these engineering structures. This research investigates the response of a closed-cell aluminium foam (CYMAT) subjected to dynamic loading using the finite element software ABAQUS/explicit. The aim of this research is to numerically investigate the material and structural properties of closed-cell aluminium foam under impact loading conditions with interest in shock propagation and its effects on cell wall deformation. A μ-CT based 3D foam geometry is developed to simulate the local cell collapse behaviours. A number of numerical techniques are applied for modelling the crush behaviour of aluminium foam to obtain the more accurate results. The simulation results are compared with experimental data. Comparison of the results shows a good correlation between the experimental results and numerical predictions.

3D Simulations of NIF Wetted Foam Experiments to Understand the Transition from 2D to 3D Implosion Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Haines, Brian; Olson, Richard; Yi, Austin; Zylstra, Alex; Peterson, Robert; Bradley, Paul; Shah, Rahul; Wilson, Doug; Kline, John; Leeper, Ramon; Batha, Steve

2017-10-01

The high convergence ratio (CR) of layered Inertial Confinement Fusion capsule implosions contribute to high performance in 1D simulations yet make them more susceptible to hydrodynamic instabilities, contributing to the development of 3D flows. The wetted foam platform is an approach to hot spot ignition to achieve low-to-moderate convergence ratios in layered implosions on the NIF unobtainable using an ice layer. Detailed high-resolution modeling of these experiments in 2D and 3D, including all known asymmetries, demonstrates that 2D hydrodynamics explain capsule performance at CR 12 but become less suitable as the CR increases. Mechanisms for this behavior and detailed comparisons of simulations to experiments on NIF will be presented. To evaluate the tradeoff between increased instability and improved 1D performance, we present a full-scale wetted foam capsule design with 17 Simulations predict that, given currently achievable levels of asymmetry, their effects negate all advantages of increased CR.

Manufacturing and Characterization of Temperature-Stable, Novel, Viscoelastic Polyurea Based Foams for Impact Management

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, Brian Josue

The aim of this thesis was to develop advance, high performance polyurea foams for multi-hit capability in protective equipment that respond over a range of impact energies, temperatures, and strain rates. In addition, the microstructure of these materials should be tunable such that the peak stress (or force) transmitted across the foam section can be limited to a specific value defined by an injury threshold while maximizing impact energy absorption. Novel polyurea foams were manufactured and found to exhibit a reversible viscoelastic shear deformation at the molecular level. The intrinsic shear dissipation process is synergistically coupled to controlled collapse of a novel pore structure. The microstructure compromises of stochastic polyhedral cells ranging from 200 - 500 mum with perforated membranes with small apertures ( 20 mum). This makes them strain rate sensitive as the rate at which the air escapes the cells depend upon the loading rate. These mechanisms operate simultaneously and sequentially, thereby significantly reducing the transmitted impact forces across the foam section. Thus, they behave as an elastically modulated layered composite because the cells stiffen or soften in response to the changing loading rate. Therefore, the newly developed polyurea foams are able to manage the varying material strain rate that occurs within the same loading event without the need to modulate the stiffness or density. Additionally, polyurea foams were found to retain its excellent impact properties over a range of temperatures (0°C to 40°C) by having a glass transition temperature well below 0°C. This is in contrast to commercially available high performance foams that have the glass transition temperature near 0°C and absorb energy through phase transformation at ambient conditions, but significantly stiffen at lower temperatures, and dramatically soften at higher temperatures. This expands the application domain of polyurea foam material considerably as it

Polystyrene Foam EOS as a Function of Porosity and Fill Gas

Science.gov (United States)

Mulford, Roberta; Swift, Damian

2009-06-01

An accurate EOS for polystyrene foam is necessary for analysis of numerous experiments in shock compression, inertial confinement fusion, and astrophysics. Plastic to gas ratios vary between various samples of foam, according to the density and cell-size of the foam. A matrix of compositions has been investigated, allowing prediction of foam response as a function of the plastic-to-air ratio. The EOS code CHEETAH allows participation of the air in the decomposition reaction of the foam, Differences between air-filled, nitrogen-blown, and CO2-blown foams are investigated, to estimate the importance of allowing air to react with plastic products during decomposition. Results differ somewhat from the conventional EOS, which are generated from values for plastic extrapolated to low densities.

Effective Opacity for Gold-Doped Foam Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Cheng-Wu; Song Tian-Ming; Zhao Yang; Zhu Tuo; Shang Wan-Li; Xiong Gang; Zhang Ji-Yan; Yang Jia-Min; Jiang Shao-En

2012-01-01

Radiation flow through gold-doped hydrocarbon foam is investigated and a model is presented to calculate effective opacity for an inhomogeneous, pressure-equilibrated gold/foam mixture based on the Levermore—Pomraning method for binary stochastic media. The effective opacity dependance on the size of the gold particles and the foam temperature are studied. The results suggest that when the mixture temperature is lower than 250 eV, the opacity difference between the 5 μm particle mix case and the atomic mix case is large enough to induce a significant discrepancy in radiation transport, which is confirmed by the hydrodynamic simulation

High-Rate Compaction of Aluminium Alloy Foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrigan, J. J.; Hung, Y.-C.; Tan, P. J.; Bourne, N. K.; Withers, P. J.; Reid, S. R.; Millett, J. C. F.; Milne, A. M.

2006-01-01

The response of aluminium foams to impact can be categorised according to the impact velocity. Tests have been carried out at a range of impact velocities from quasi-static to velocities approaching the speed of sound in the foam. Various experimental arrangements have been employed including pneumatic launcher tests and plate impact experimants at velocities greater than 1000 m s-1. The quasi-static compression behaviour was approximately elastic, perfectly-plastic, locking. For static and dynamic compression at low impact velocities the deformation pattern was through the cumulative multiplication of discrete, non-contiguous crush bands. Selected impact tests are presented here for which the impact velocity is less than the velocity of sound, but above a certain critical impact velocity so that the plastic compression occurs in a shock-like manner and the specimens deform by progressive cell crushing. Laboratory X-ray microtomography has been employed to acquire tomographic datasets of aluminium foams before and after tests. The morphology of the underformed foam was used as the input dataset to an Eulerian code. Hydrocode simulations were then carried out on a real microstructure. These simulations provide insight to mechanisms associated with the localization of deformation

Investigation of foaming during nuclear defense-waste solidification by electric melting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blair, H.T.; Lukacs, J.M.

1980-12-01

To determine the cause of foaming, the physical and chemical composition of the glass formers that are added to the waste to produce a borosilicate melt were investigated. It was determined that the glass-forming frit was not the source of the foam-causing gases. Incomplete calcination of the waste, which results in residual hydrates, carbonates and nitrates, and the relatively high carbon and sulfate contents of the waste glass composition were also eliminated as possible sources of the foam. It was finally shown that the oxides of the multivalent ions of manganese and iron that are in the defense waste in high concentrations are the source of the foaming. Nickel oxide is also present in the waste and is suspected of contributing to the foaming. In investigating methods to reduce the foam, the focus was on the chemistry of the materials being processed rather than on the mechanical aspects of the processing equipment to avoid increasing the mechanical complexity of the melter operation. Reducing the waste loading in the host glass from 28 to 14 wt. % produced the most significant reduction in the foam. Of course this did not increase the rate at which waste can be processed. Adding carbonaceous additives or barium metaphosphate to the waste/frit mixture (batch) reduced the foaming somewhat. However, if too much reducing agent was added to the batch, iron-nickel alloys separated from the melt. Likewise, melting the batch in an inert or a reducing atmosphere reduced the foaming but produced a heterogeneous product. Finally, initial attempts to control foaming by adding reducing agents to the liquid waste and then spray-calcining it using an inert atomizing gas were not successful. The possibilities for liquid-waste treatment need to be investigated further

Numerical modeling of foam flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheddadi, Ibrahim

2010-01-01

Liquid foam flows are involved in numerous applications, e.g. food and cosmetics industries, oil extraction, nuclear decontamination. Moreover, their study leads to fundamental knowledge: as it is easier to manipulate and analyse, foam is used as a model material to understand the flow of emulsions, polymers, pastes, or cell aggregates, all of which display both solid and liquid behaviour. Systematic experiments performed by Francois Graner et al. provide precise data that emphasize the non Newtonian properties of the foam. Meanwhile, Pierre Saramito proposed a visco-elasto-plastic continuous tensorial model, akin to predict the behaviour of the foam. The goal of this thesis is to understand this complex behaviour, using these two elements. We have built and validated a resolution algorithm based on a bidimensional finite elements methods. The numerical solutions are in excellent agreement with the spatial distribution of all measured quantities, and confirm the predictive capabilities of the model. The dominant parameters have been identified and we evidenced the fact that the viscous, elastic, and plastic contributions to the flow have to be treated simultaneously in a tensorial formalism. We provide a substantial contribution to the understanding of foams and open the path to realistic simulations of complex VEP flows for industrial applications. (author)

Foam decontamination of large nuclear components before dismantling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costes, J.R.; Sahut, C.

1998-01-01

Following some simple theoretical considerations, the authors show that foam compositions can be advantageously circulated them for a few hours in components requiring decontamination before dismantling. The technique is illustrated on six large ferritic steel valves, then on austenitic steel heat exchangers for which the Ce(III)/Ce(IV) redox pair was used to dissolve the chromium; Ce(III) was reoxidized by ozone injection into the foam vector gas. Biodegradable surfactants are sued in the process; tests have shown that the foaming power disappears after a few days, provided the final radioactive liquid waste is adjusted to neutral pH, allowing subsequent coprecipitation of concentration treatment. (author)

plasmaFoam: An OpenFOAM framework for computational plasma physics and chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Venkattraman, Ayyaswamy; Verma, Abhishek Kumar

2016-09-01

As emphasized in the 2012 Roadmap for low temperature plasmas (LTP), scientific computing has emerged as an essential tool for the investigation and prediction of the fundamental physical and chemical processes associated with these systems. While several in-house and commercial codes exist, with each having its own advantages and disadvantages, a common framework that can be developed by researchers from all over the world will likely accelerate the impact of computational studies on advances in low-temperature plasma physics and chemistry. In this regard, we present a finite volume computational toolbox to perform high-fidelity simulations of LTP systems. This framework, primarily based on the OpenFOAM solver suite, allows us to enhance our understanding of multiscale plasma phenomenon by performing massively parallel, three-dimensional simulations on unstructured meshes using well-established high performance computing tools that are widely used in the computational fluid dynamics community. In this talk, we will present preliminary results obtained using the OpenFOAM-based solver suite with benchmark three-dimensional simulations of microplasma devices including both dielectric and plasma regions. We will also discuss the future outlook for the solver suite.

Manufacture and impact analysis of bmx helmet made from polymeric foam composite strengthened by oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Mahadi

2018-02-01

Helmets are protective head gears wear by bicycle riders for protection against injury in case of the accident. Helmet standards require helmets to be tested with a simple drop test onto an anvil. The purpose of research is to know toughness of bicycle helmet made from polymeric foam composite strengthened by oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber. This research contains report result manufacture and impacts analysis of bicycle helmet made from polymeric foam composite materials strengthened by oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB). The geometric helmet structure consists of shell and liner; both layers have sandwich structure. The shell uses matrix unsaturated Polyester BQTN-157EX material, chopped strand mat 300 glass fiber reinforce and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKPO) catalyst with the weight composition of 100 gr, 15 gr, and 5 gr. The liner uses matrix unsaturated Polyester BQTN-157 EX material, EFB fiber reinforces, Polyurethane blowing agent, and MEKPO catalyst with the composition of 275 gr (50%), 27.5 gr (5%), 247 gr (45%), and 27.5 gr (5%). Layers of the helmet made by using hand lay-up method and gravity casting method. Mechanical properties of polymeric foam were the tensile strength (ơt) 1.17 Mpa, compressive strength (ơc) 0.51 MPa, bending strength (ơb) 3.94 MPa, elasticity modulus (E) 37.97 Mpa, density (ρ) 193 (kg/m3). M4A model helmet is the most ergonomic with the thickness 10 mm and the amount of air channel 11. Free fall impact test was done in 9 samples with the thickness of 10 mm with the height of 1.5 m. The result of the impact test was impacted force (Fi) 241.55 N, Impulse (I) 6.28 Ns, impact Strength (ơi) 2.02 Mpa and impact Energy (Ei) 283.77 Joule. The properties of bicycle helmet model BMX-M4A type was 264 mm length, 184 mm width, 154 mm height, 10 mm thick, 580 mm head circle, 331 g mass and 11 wind channels.

A novel application of ADC/K-foaming agent-loaded NBR rubber composites as pressure sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahmoud, W E [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia (Egypt); El-Eraki, M H I [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia (Egypt); El-Lawindy, A M Y [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia (Egypt); Hassan, H H [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza (Egypt)

2006-02-07

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) structure foam of different apparent densities was obtained by using different concentrations of foaming agent, azodicarbonamide, ADC/K. The true stress-strain characteristics, in case of compression, of foamed samples were measured. It was found that the theoretical values predicted from the simple blending model are in more agreement with the experimental results than those from the square-relationship model. The effect of cyclic loading-unloading and dissipation energy of rubber foams was studied. The results also indicated that foams with low density exhibited a small hysteresis. The electrical properties were found dependent on the foaming agent concentration. This study was assisted by Mott and Gurney equation. The effect of compressive strain on the electrical conductivity of rubber foams was studied. The free current carrier mobility and the equilibrium concentration of charge carrier in the conduction band were produced as functions of compressive strain. The results also indicate that there is a linear variation between pressure and conductivity for all samples, which means that these samples can be used as a pressure sensor. At a certain concentration of foaming agent (5 phr) a change of electrical conductivity by more than three orders is observed at 20% compression strain.

A novel application of ADC/K-foaming agent-loaded NBR rubber composites as pressure sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahmoud, W E; El-Eraki, M H I; El-Lawindy, A M Y; Hassan, H H

2006-01-01

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) structure foam of different apparent densities was obtained by using different concentrations of foaming agent, azodicarbonamide, ADC/K. The true stress-strain characteristics, in case of compression, of foamed samples were measured. It was found that the theoretical values predicted from the simple blending model are in more agreement with the experimental results than those from the square-relationship model. The effect of cyclic loading-unloading and dissipation energy of rubber foams was studied. The results also indicated that foams with low density exhibited a small hysteresis. The electrical properties were found dependent on the foaming agent concentration. This study was assisted by Mott and Gurney equation. The effect of compressive strain on the electrical conductivity of rubber foams was studied. The free current carrier mobility and the equilibrium concentration of charge carrier in the conduction band were produced as functions of compressive strain. The results also indicate that there is a linear variation between pressure and conductivity for all samples, which means that these samples can be used as a pressure sensor. At a certain concentration of foaming agent (5 phr) a change of electrical conductivity by more than three orders is observed at 20% compression strain

A novel application of ADC/K-foaming agent-loaded NBR rubber composites as pressure sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoud, W. E.; El-Eraki, M. H. I.; El-Lawindy, A. M. Y.; Hassan, H. H.

2006-02-01

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) structure foam of different apparent densities was obtained by using different concentrations of foaming agent, azodicarbonamide, ADC/K. The true stress-strain characteristics, in case of compression, of foamed samples were measured. It was found that the theoretical values predicted from the simple blending model are in more agreement with the experimental results than those from the square-relationship model. The effect of cyclic loading-unloading and dissipation energy of rubber foams was studied. The results also indicated that foams with low density exhibited a small hysteresis. The electrical properties were found dependent on the foaming agent concentration. This study was assisted by Mott and Gurney equation. The effect of compressive strain on the electrical conductivity of rubber foams was studied. The free current carrier mobility and the equilibrium concentration of charge carrier in the conduction band were produced as functions of compressive strain. The results also indicate that there is a linear variation between pressure and conductivity for all samples, which means that these samples can be used as a pressure sensor. At a certain concentration of foaming agent (5 phr) a change of electrical conductivity by more than three orders is observed at 20% compression strain.

Electromagnetic Shielding Characteristics of Eco-Friendly Foamed Concrete Wall

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung-Sil Cho

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The electromagnetic shielding characteristics according to the material composition of foamed concrete, which was manufactured to reduce environmental pollution and to economically apply it in actual building walls, were researched herein. Industrial by-products such as ladle furnace slag (LFS, gypsum, and blast furnace slag (BFS were added to manufacture foamed concrete with enhanced functionalities such as lightweight, heat insulation, and sound insulation. The electrical characteristics such as permittivity and loss tangent according to the foam and BFS content were calculated and measured. Free space measurement was used to measure the electromagnetic shielding characteristics of the actually manufactured foamed concrete. It was confirmed that electromagnetic signals were better blocked when the foam content was low and the BFS content was high in the measured frequency bands (1–8 GHz and that approximately 90% of the electromagnetic signals were blocked over 4 GHz.

Experimental demonstration of laser imprint reduction using underdense foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delorme, B.; Casner, A.; Olazabal-Loumé, M.; Nicolaï, Ph.; Breil, J.; Tikhonchuk, V. T.; Michel, D. T.; Seka, W.; Froula, D. H.; Goncharov, V.; Riazuelo, G.; Borisenko, N.; Orekhov, A.; Fujioka, S.; Sunahara, A.; Grech, M.

2016-01-01

Reducing the detrimental effect of the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability on the target performance is a critical challenge. In this purpose, the use of targets coated with low density foams is a promising approach to reduce the laser imprint. This article presents results of ablative RT instability growth measurements, performed on the OMEGA laser facility in direct-drive for plastic foils coated with underdense foams. The laser beam smoothing is explained by the parametric instabilities developing in the foam and reducing the laser imprint on the plastic (CH) foil. The initial perturbation pre-imposed by the means of a specific phase plate was shown to be smoothed using different foam characteristics. Numerical simulations of the laser beam smoothing in the foam and of the RT growth are performed with a suite of paraxial electromagnetic and radiation hydrodynamic codes. They confirmed the foam smoothing effect in the experimental conditions.

Experimental demonstration of laser imprint reduction using underdense foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delorme, B.; Casner, A. [CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France); CELIA, University of Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, F-33400 Talence (France); Olazabal-Loumé, M. [CEA, DAM, CESTA, 15 Avenue des Sablières, F-33114 Le Barp (France); CELIA, University of Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, F-33400 Talence (France); Nicolaï, Ph.; Breil, J.; Tikhonchuk, V. T. [CELIA, University of Bordeaux-CNRS-CEA, F-33400 Talence (France); Michel, D. T.; Seka, W.; Froula, D. H.; Goncharov, V. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States); Riazuelo, G. [CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France); Borisenko, N.; Orekhov, A. [P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, RAS, 53 Leninskii Prospect, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Fujioka, S.; Sunahara, A. [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565 (Japan); Grech, M. [LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau (France)

2016-04-15

Reducing the detrimental effect of the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability on the target performance is a critical challenge. In this purpose, the use of targets coated with low density foams is a promising approach to reduce the laser imprint. This article presents results of ablative RT instability growth measurements, performed on the OMEGA laser facility in direct-drive for plastic foils coated with underdense foams. The laser beam smoothing is explained by the parametric instabilities developing in the foam and reducing the laser imprint on the plastic (CH) foil. The initial perturbation pre-imposed by the means of a specific phase plate was shown to be smoothed using different foam characteristics. Numerical simulations of the laser beam smoothing in the foam and of the RT growth are performed with a suite of paraxial electromagnetic and radiation hydrodynamic codes. They confirmed the foam smoothing effect in the experimental conditions.

Nanoreinforced xylan–cellulose composite foams by freeze-casting

Science.gov (United States)

Tobias Köhnke; Angela Lin; Thomas Elder; Hans Theliander; Arthur J. Ragauskas

2012-01-01

Structured biofoams have been prepared from the readily available renewable biopolymer xylan by employing an ice-templating technique, where the pore morphology of the material can be controlled by the solidification conditions and the molecular structure of the polysaccharide. Furthermore, reinforcement of these biodegradable foams using cellulose nanocrystals shows...

Foaming and Antifoaming in Radioactive Waste Pretreatment and Immobilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wasan, Darsh T.

2002-01-01

Radioactive waste treatment processes usually involve concentration of radionuclides before waste can be immobilized by storing it in stable solid form. Foaming is observed at various stages of waste processing like sludge chemical processing and melter operations. Hence, the objective of this research was to study the mechanisms that produce foaming during nuclear waste treatment, to identify key parameters which aggravate foaming, and to identify effective ways to eliminate or mitigate foaming. Experimental and theoretical investigations of the surface phenomenon, suspension rheology, and bubble generation and interactions that lead to the formation of foam during waste processing were pursued under this EMSP project. Advanced experimental techniques including a novel capillary force balance in conjunction with the combined differential and common interferometry were developed to characterize particle-particle interactions at the foam lamella surfaces as well as inside the foam lamella. Laboratory tests were conducted using a non-radioactive simulant slurry containing high levels of noble metals and mercury similar to the High-Level Waste. We concluded that foaminess of the simulant sludge was due to the presence of colloidal particles such as aluminum, iron, and manganese. We have established the two major mechanisms of formation and stabilization of foams containing such colloidal particles: (1) structural and depletion forces; and (2) steric stabilization due to the adsorbed particles at the surfaces of the foam lamella. Based on this mechanistic understanding of foam generation and stability, an improved antifoam agent was developed by us, since commercial antifoam agents were found to be ineffective in the aggressive physical and chemical environment present in the sludge processing. The improved antifoamer was subsequently tested in a pilot plant at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and was found to be effective. Also, in the SRTC experiment, the irradiated

interThermalPhaseChangeFoam-A framework for two-phase flow simulations with thermally driven phase change

Science.gov (United States)

Nabil, Mahdi; Rattner, Alexander S.

The volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach is a mature technique for simulating two-phase flows. However, VOF simulation of phase-change heat transfer is still in its infancy. Multiple closure formulations have been proposed in the literature, each suited to different applications. While these have enabled significant research advances, few implementations are publicly available, actively maintained, or inter-operable. Here, a VOF solver is presented (interThermalPhaseChangeFoam), which incorporates an extensible framework for phase-change heat transfer modeling, enabling simulation of diverse phenomena in a single environment. The solver employs object oriented OpenFOAM library features, including Run-Time-Type-Identification to enable rapid implementation and run-time selection of phase change and surface tension force models. The solver is packaged with multiple phase change and surface tension closure models, adapted and refined from earlier studies. This code has previously been applied to study wavy film condensation, Taylor flow evaporation, nucleate boiling, and dropwise condensation. Tutorial cases are provided for simulation of horizontal film condensation, smooth and wavy falling film condensation, nucleate boiling, and bubble condensation. Validation and grid sensitivity studies, interfacial transport models, effects of spurious currents from surface tension models, effects of artificial heat transfer due to numerical factors, and parallel scaling performance are described in detail in the Supplemental Material (see Appendix A). By incorporating the framework and demonstration cases into a single environment, users can rapidly apply the solver to study phase-change processes of interest.

Nickel foam-supported polyaniline cathode prepared with electrophoresis for improvement of rechargeable Zn battery performance

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Yang; Zhu, Derong; Si, Shihui; Li, Degeng; Wu, Sen

2015-06-01

Porous nickel foam is used as a substrate for the development of rechargeable zinc//polyaniline battery, and the cathode electrophoresis of PANI microparticles in non-aqueous solution is applied to the fabrication of Ni foam supported PANI electrode, in which the corrosion of the nickel foam substrate is prohibited. The Ni foam supported PANI cathode with high loading is prepared by PANI electrophoretic deposition, and followed by PANI slurry casting under vacuum filtration. The electrochemical charge storage performance for PANI material is significantly improved by using nickel foam substrate via the electrophoretic interlayer. The specific capacity of the nickel foam-PANI electrode with the electrophoretic layer is higher than the composite electrode without the electrophoretic layer, and the specific capacity of PANI supported by Ni foam reaches up to 183.28 mAh g-1 at the working current of 2.5 mA cm-2. The present electrophoresis deposition method plays the facile procedure for the immobilization of PANI microparticles onto the surface of non-platinum metals, and it becomes feasible to the use of the Ni foam supported PANI composite cathode for the Zn/PANI battery in weak acidic electrolyte.

Biodegradable foams based on starch, polyvinyl alcohol, chitosan and sugarcane fibers obtained by extrusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávia Debiagi

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Biodegradable foams made from cassava starch, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, sugarcane bagasse fibers and chitosan were obtained by extrusion. The composites were prepared with formulations determined by a constrained ternary mixtures experimental design, using as variables: (X1 starch / PVA (100 - 70%, (X2 chitosan (0 - 2% and (X3 fibers from sugar cane (0 - 28%. The effects of varying proportions of these three components on foam properties were studied, as well the relationship between their properties and foam microstructure. The addition of starch/PVA in high proportions increased the expansion index and mechanical resistance of studied foams. Fibers addition improved the expansion and mechanical properties of the foams. There was a trend of red and yellow colors when the composites were produced with the highest proportions of fibers and chitosan, respectively. All the formulations were resistant to moisture content increase until 75% relative humidity of storage.

Indentation of aluminium foam at low velocity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi Xiaopeng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The indentation behaviour of aluminium foams at low velocity (10 m/s ∼ 30 m/s was investigated both in experiments and numerical simulation in this paper. A flat-ended indenter was used and the force-displacement history was recorded. The Split Hopkinson Pressure bar was used to obtain the indentation velocity and forces in the dynamic experiments. Because of the low strength of the aluminium foam, PMMA bar was used, and the experimental data were corrected using Bacon's method. The energy absorption characteristics varying with impact velocity were then obtained. It was found that the energy absorption ability of aluminium foam gradually increases in the quasi-static regime and shows a significant increase at ∼10 m/s velocity. Numerical simulation was also conducted to investigate this process. A 3D Voronoi model was used and models with different relative densities were investigated as well as those with different failure strain. The indentation energy increases with both the relative density and failure strain. The analysis of the FE model implies that the significant change in energy absorption ability of aluminium foam in indentation at ∼10 m/s velocity may be caused by plastic wave effect.

Blending Novatein{sup ®} thermoplastic protein with PLA for carbon dioxide assisted batch foaming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walallavita, Anuradha, E-mail: asw15@students.waikato.ac.nz; Verbeek, Casparus J. R., E-mail: jverbeek@waikato.ac.nz; Lay, Mark, E-mail: mclay@waikato.ac.nz [University of Waikato, Hamilton 3240 (New Zealand)

2016-03-09

The convenience of polymeric foams has led to their widespread utilisation in everyday life. However, disposal of synthetic petroleum-derived foams has had a detrimental effect on the environment which needs to be addressed. This study uses a clean and sustainable approach to investigate the foaming capability of a blend of two biodegradable polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) and Novatein® Thermoplastic Protein (NTP). PLA, derived from corn starch, can successfully be foamed using a batch technique developed by the Biopolymer Network Ltd. NTP is a patented formulation of bloodmeal and chemical additives which can be extruded and injection moulded similar to other thermoplastics. However, foaming NTP is a new area of study and its interaction with blowing agents in the batch process is entirely unknown. Subcritical and supercritical carbon dioxide have been examined individually in two uniquely designed pressure vessels to foam various compositions of NTP-PLA blends. Foamed material were characterised in terms of expansion ratio, cell size, and cellular morphology in order to study how the composition of NTP-PLA affects foaming with carbon dioxide. It was found that blends with 5 wt. % NTP foamed using subcritical CO{sub 2} expanded up to 11 times due to heterogeneous nucleation. Morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy showed that foams blown with supercritical CO{sub 2} had a finer cell structure with consistent cell size, whereas, foams blown with subcritical CO{sub 2} ranged in cell size and showed cell wall rupture. Ultimately, this research would contribute to the production of a biodegradable foam material to be used in packaging applications, thereby adding to the application potential of NTP.

High-performance binder-free supercapacitor electrode by direct growth of cobalt-manganese composite oxide nansostructures on nickel foam

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shulan; Shi, Tielin; Long, Hu; Sun, Yongming; Zhou, Wei; Tang, Zirong

2014-09-01

A facile approach composed of hydrothermal process and annealing treatment is proposed to directly grow cobalt-manganese composite oxide ((Co,Mn)3O4) nanostructures on three-dimensional (3D) conductive nickel (Ni) foam for a supercapacitor electrode. The as-fabricated porous electrode exhibits excellent rate capability and high specific capacitance of 840.2 F g-1 at the current density of 10 A g-1, and the electrode also shows excellent cycling performance, which retains 102% of its initial discharge capacitance after 7,000 cycles. The fabricated binder-free hierarchical composite electrode with superior electrochemical performance is a promising candidate for high-performance supercapacitors.

The use of castor oil polyurethane foam in impact limiters for radioactive materials packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mouro, R.P.; Neto, M.M.

2003-01-01

This paper presents ongoing research aiming to assess the use of a 'bio based' polyurethane foam as filling material in impact limiters for transport packages in the nuclear field. The foam is made from castor oil, which replaces the petroleum based polyols in the manufacture of polyurethane products, with good environmental advantages. The research comprises the selection of the cellular material, its structural characterisation by mechanical laboratory tests, the development of a case study, preliminary determination of the best foam density for the case study, performance of the case and its numerical simulation using the finite element method. Prototypes with foam density that is pre-determined as ideal, as well as prototypes using lighter and heavier foams, were tested for comparison. The results obtained validate the research methodology, as expectations about the ideal foam density were confirmed by the drop tests and the numerical simulation. (author)

Unified Creep Plasticity Damage (UCPD) Model for Rigid Polyurethane Foams.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neilsen, Michael K. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Lu, Wei-Yang [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Scherzinger, William M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hinnerichs, Terry D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Lo, Chi S. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-06-01

Numerous experiments were performed to characterize the mechanical response of several different rigid polyurethane foams (FR3712, PMDI10, PMDI20, and TufFoam35) to large deformation. In these experiments, the effects of load path, loading rate, and temperature were investigated. Results from these experiments indicated that rigid polyurethane foams exhibit significant volumetric and deviatoric plasticity when they are compressed. Rigid polyurethane foams were also found to be very strain-rate and temperature dependent. These foams are also rather brittle and crack when loaded to small strains in tension or to larger strains in compression. Thus, a new Unified Creep Plasticity Damage (UCPD) model was developed and implemented into SIERRA with the name Foam Damage to describe the mechanical response of these foams to large deformation at a variety of temperatures and strain rates. This report includes a description of recent experiments and experimental findings. Next, development of a UCPD model for rigid, polyurethane foams is described. Selection of material parameters for a variety of rigid polyurethane foams is then discussed and finite element simulations with the new UCPD model are compared with experimental results to show behavior that can be captured with this model.

The fabrication of graphene/polydopamine/nickel foam composite material with excellent electrochemical performance as supercapacitor electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yu; Lu, Shixiang; Xu, Wenguo; He, Ge; Cheng, Yuanyuan; Yu, Tianlong; Zhang, Yan

2018-02-01

A three dimensional composite electrode consisted of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), polydopamine (PDA) and nickel foam (NF) (rGO/PDA/NF) was fabricated by immersing NF into PDA aqueous solution and then graphene oxide (GO) suspension solution respectively, and followed by annealing treatment. During the procedure, GO was coated on NF with assistance of cohesive effect of the PDA middle film, and the reduction of GO and nitrogen doping occurred simultaneously while annealing. Through XRD analyzing, the composites GO/PDA and rGO/PDA treated in experiment are amorphous. The resulted rGO/PDA/NF composite electrode was directly applied as a supercapacitor electrode and showed excellent electrochemical performance, with a high specific capacitance of 566.9 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, the maximum energy density of 172.7 W h kg-1 and a power density of 27.2 kW kg-1 in 1 mol L-1 Na2SO4 electrolyte.

Si-O-C ceramic foams derived from polymethylphenylsiloxane precursor with starch as foaming agent

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Černý, Martin; Chlup, Zdeněk; Strachota, Adam; Svítilová, Jaroslava; Schweigstillová, Jana; Halasová, Martina; Rýglová, Šárka

2015-01-01

Roč. 35, č. 13 (2015), s. 3427-3436 ISSN 0955-2219 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP107/12/2445 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 ; RVO:68081723 ; RVO:61389013 Keywords : pyrolysis * ceramic foam * precursor * starch * Si-O-C Subject RIV: JI - Composite Materials; JH - Ceramics, Fire-Resistant Materials and Glass (UFM-A) Impact factor: 2.933, year: 2015

Experiments, modeling and simulation of the magnetic behavior of inhomogeneously coated nickel/aluminum hybrid foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, A., E-mail: anne.jung@mx.uni-saarland.de [Universität des Saarlandes, Institute of Applied Mechanics, Campus A4 2, 66123 Saarbrücken (Germany); Klis, D., E-mail: d.klis@lte.uni-saarland.de [Universität des Saarlandes, Laboratory for Electromagnetic Theory, Campus C6 3, 66123 Saarbrücken (Germany); Goldschmidt, F., E-mail: f.goldschmidt@mx.uni-saarland.de [Universität des Saarlandes, Institute of Applied Mechanics, Campus A4 2, 66123 Saarbrücken (Germany)

2015-03-15

Open-cell metal foams are used as lightweight construction elements, energy absorbers or as support for catalytic coatings. Coating of open-cell metal foams is not only used for catalytic applications, but it leads also to tremendous increase in stiffness and energy absorption capacity. A non-line of sight coating technique for complex 3D structures is electrodeposition. Unfortunately, due to the 3D porosity and the related problems in mass transport limitation during the deposition, it is not possible to produce homogeneously coated foams. In the present contribution, we present a semi-non-destructive technique applicable to determine the coating thickness distribution of magnetic coatings by measuring the remanent magnetic field of coated foams. In order to have a closer look at the mass transport mechanism, a numerical model was developed to predict the field scans for different coating thickness distributions in the foams. For long deposition times the deposition reaches a steady state whereas a Helmholtz equation is sufficient to predict the coating thickness distribution. The applied current density could be identified as the main influencing parameter. Based on the developed model, it is possible to improve the electrodeposition process and hence the homogeneity in the coating thickness of coated metal foams. This leads to enhanced mechanical properties of the hybrid foams and contributes to better and resource-efficient energy absorbers and lightweight materials. - Highlights: • Production of hybrid foams by electrodeposition of nickel on open-cell metal foams. • Magnetic field scans for visualization of spatial coating thickness distribution. • Modeling of magnetic fields of inhomogeneously coated hybrid foams. • Investigation of mass transport limitation during coating by a Helmholtz equation. • Increasing coating homogeneity by use of low current densities and deposition rates.

Recent developments in polyurethane foams containing low-cost and pro-ecological modifiers

OpenAIRE

Kosmela, Paulina; Zedler, Lukasz; Formela, Krzysztof; Haponiuk, Jozef; Piszczyk, Lukasz

2016-01-01

Diversity of the polyurethane (PU) foams applications cause that investigation of the relationships between their structure and properties is currently very popular topic among the many research institutions and companies. At the turn of the last years many scientific papers about PU foams and their composites were published. The one of the main research trends in this field is related to the reduction of production costs of PU foams. This aim can be successfully achieved through the incorpor...

Materials Applications for Non-Lethal: Aqueous Foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

GOOLSBY,TOMMY D.; SCOTT,STEVEN H.

1999-09-15

High expansion aqueous foam is an aggregation of bubbles that has the appearance of soap suds and is used to isolate individuals both visually and acoustically. It was developed in the 1920's in England to fight coal mine fires and has been widely used since for fire fighting and dust suppression. It was developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in the 1970's for nuclear safeguards and security applications. In the mid-1990s, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the Department of Justice, began a project with SNL to determine the applicability of high expansion aqueous foam for correctional applications. NIJ funded the project as part of its search for new and better less-than-lethal weapons for responding to violent and dangerous individuals, where other means of force could lead to serious injuries. The phase one objectives of the project were to select a low-to-no toxicity foam concentrate (foaming agent) with physical characteristics suited for use in a single cell or large prison disturbances, and to determine if the selected foam concentrate could serve as a carrier for Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) irritant. The phase two objectives were to conduct an extensive toxicology review of the selected foam concentrate and OC irritant, and to conduct respiration simulation experiments in the selected high expansion aqueous foam. The phase three objectives were to build a prototype individual cell aqueous foam system and to study the feasibility of aqueous foams for large prison facility disturbances. The phase four and five objectives were to use the prototype system to do large scale foam physical characteristics testing of the selected foam concentrate, and to have the prototype single cell system further evaluated by correctional representatives. Prison rather than street scenarios were evaluated as the first and most likely place for using the aqueous foam since prisons have recurrent incidents where officers and inmates might

Materials Applications for Non-Lethal: Aqueous Foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GOOLSBY, TOMMY D.; SCOTT, STEVEN H.

1999-01-01

High expansion aqueous foam is an aggregation of bubbles that has the appearance of soap suds and is used to isolate individuals both visually and acoustically. It was developed in the 1920's in England to fight coal mine fires and has been widely used since for fire fighting and dust suppression. It was developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in the 1970's for nuclear safeguards and security applications. In the mid-1990s, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the Department of Justice, began a project with SNL to determine the applicability of high expansion aqueous foam for correctional applications. NIJ funded the project as part of its search for new and better less-than-lethal weapons for responding to violent and dangerous individuals, where other means of force could lead to serious injuries. The phase one objectives of the project were to select a low-to-no toxicity foam concentrate (foaming agent) with physical characteristics suited for use in a single cell or large prison disturbances, and to determine if the selected foam concentrate could serve as a carrier for Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) irritant. The phase two objectives were to conduct an extensive toxicology review of the selected foam concentrate and OC irritant, and to conduct respiration simulation experiments in the selected high expansion aqueous foam. The phase three objectives were to build a prototype individual cell aqueous foam system and to study the feasibility of aqueous foams for large prison facility disturbances. The phase four and five objectives were to use the prototype system to do large scale foam physical characteristics testing of the selected foam concentrate, and to have the prototype single cell system further evaluated by correctional representatives. Prison rather than street scenarios were evaluated as the first and most likely place for using the aqueous foam since prisons have recurrent incidents where officers and inmates might be

An efficient route for catalytic activity promotion via hybrid electro-depositional modification on commercial nickel foam for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline water electrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Guanshui; He, Yongwei; Wang, Mei; Zhu, Fuchun; Tang, Bin [Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Yingze West Road 79, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Wang, Xiaoguang, E-mail: wangxiaog1982@163.com [Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Yingze West Road 79, Taiyuan 030024 (China); International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), 4715-330 Braga (Portugal)

2014-09-15

Highlights: • Mono-Cu surface modification depress the HER activity of Ni-foam. • Hybrid Ni-foam/Cu0.01/Co0.05 exhibits superior HER performance. • Layer-by-layer structure may contribute to a synergistic promoting effect. - Abstract: In this paper, the single- and hybrid-layered Cu, Ni and Co thin films were electrochemically deposited onto the three-dimensional nickel foam as composite cathode catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline water electrolysis. The morphology, structure and chemical composition of the electrodeposited composite catalysts were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Electrochemical measurement depicted that, for the case of the monometallic layered samples, the general activity for hydrogen evolution reaction followed the sequence: Ni-foam/Ni > Ni-foam/Co > bare Ni-foam > Ni-foam/Cu. It is noteworthy that, the hybrid-layered Ni-foam/Cu0.01/Co0.05 exhibited the highest catalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction with the current density as high as 2.82 times that of the bare Ni-foam. Moreover, both excellent electrochemical and physical stabilities can also be acquired on the Ni-foam/Cu0.01/Co0.05, making this hybrid-layered composite structure as a promising HER electro-catalyst.

EFFECTS OF COMPRESSED AIR FOAM APPLICATION ON HEAT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam THOMITZEK

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article evaluates the knowledge obtained in firefighting tests using compressed air foam system (CAFS within a confined space. Six experiments were conducted for verification during the cooling of rooms and the self-extinguishing effect. The simulation was for a fully developed fire within a room. The fuel was chosen to simulate ordinary combustible materials utilized in residential areas. Mantel thermocouples were placed in the rooms to record the temperature changes. Compressed air foam was first applied with a standard fire hose nozzle to the ceiling and then to the epicenter of fire. Fire extinguishing was initiated after reaching the desired temperature in the room. The temperature for the start of fire extinguishing matched the third phase of development of a fire. Fire extinguishing was terminated after no obvious signs of fire were shown in epicenter of fire. The outputs of the experiments were evaluated on the basis of the amount of time passed for the temperature to drop below the suggested limit. Individual experiments were also conducted with various different admixing foaming agents over different locations. In the experiments, it has been verified that the application of compressed air foam has a positive effect on room cooling. Use of a compressed air foaming agent does not allow for the development of steam that can scald firefighters and reduce visibility. Furthermore, the extinguishing agent used is more efficient utilizing less water flow out of the fire area.

Simulation of helium release in the Battelle Model Containment facility using OpenFOAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilkening, Heinz; Ammirabile, Luca, E-mail: luca.ammirabile@ec.europa.eu

2013-12-15

Highlights: • The HYJET Jx7 hydrogen release experiment at BMC facility is studied using OpenFOAM. • The SST model and 2nd order numerics for momentum and species concentration are used. • The behaviour is captured well but helium concentration is generally over-predicted. • OpenFOAM needs smaller time steps, higher resolution, more CPU time compared to CFX. • The study shows the potential of open source CFD codes in some nuclear application. - Abstract: The open source CFD code OpenFOAM has been validated against an experiment of jet release phenomena in the Battelle Model Containment facility (BMC), and benchmarked with the Ansys CFX5.7 results. In the selected test, HYJET Jx7, helium was released into the containment at a speed of 42 m/s over a time of 200 s. The SST turbulence model was applied to model helium release and dispersion with both codes. The overall behaviour is captured adequately. However, there are still some noticeable differences between the CFX and OpenFOAM solutions. The study confirms the potential of using open source codes like OpenFOAM in some nuclear applications. Nevertheless further investigations and improvements are needed.

Simulation of helium release in the Battelle Model Containment facility using OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkening, Heinz; Ammirabile, Luca

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The HYJET Jx7 hydrogen release experiment at BMC facility is studied using OpenFOAM. • The SST model and 2nd order numerics for momentum and species concentration are used. • The behaviour is captured well but helium concentration is generally over-predicted. • OpenFOAM needs smaller time steps, higher resolution, more CPU time compared to CFX. • The study shows the potential of open source CFD codes in some nuclear application. - Abstract: The open source CFD code OpenFOAM has been validated against an experiment of jet release phenomena in the Battelle Model Containment facility (BMC), and benchmarked with the Ansys CFX5.7 results. In the selected test, HYJET Jx7, helium was released into the containment at a speed of 42 m/s over a time of 200 s. The SST turbulence model was applied to model helium release and dispersion with both codes. The overall behaviour is captured adequately. However, there are still some noticeable differences between the CFX and OpenFOAM solutions. The study confirms the potential of using open source codes like OpenFOAM in some nuclear applications. Nevertheless further investigations and improvements are needed

Role of foam drainage in producing protein aggregates in foam fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Rui; Zhang, Yuran; Chang, Yunkang; Wu, Zhaoliang; Wang, Yanji; Chen, Xiang'e; Wang, Tao

2017-10-01

It is essential to obtain a clear understanding of the foam-induced protein aggregation to reduce the loss of protein functionality in foam fractionation. The major effort of this work is to explore the roles of foam drainage in protein aggregation in the entire process of foam fractionation with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein. The results show that enhancing foam drainage increased the desorption of BSA molecules from the gas-liquid interface and the local concentration of desorbed molecules in foam. Therefore, it intensified the aggregation of BSA in foam fractionation. Simultaneously, it also accelerated the flow of BSA aggregates from rising foam into the residual solution along with the drained liquid. Because enhancing foam drainage increased the relative content of BSA molecules adsorbed at the gas-liquid interface, it also intensified the aggregation of BSA during both the defoaming process and the storage of the foamate. Furthermore, enhancing foam drainage more readily resulted in the formation of insoluble BSA aggregates. The results are highly important for a better understanding of foam-induced protein aggregation in foam fractionation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of Abaca Fiber-reinforced Foamed Fly Ash Geopolymer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janne Pauline S. Ngo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The growing environmental and economic concerns have led to the need for more sustainable construction materials. The development of foamed geopolymer combines the benefit of reduced environmental footprint and attractive properties of geopolymer technology with foam concrete’s advantages of being lightweight, insulating and energy-saving. In this study, alkali-treated abaca fiber-reinforced geopolymer composites foamed with H2O2 were developed using fly ash as the geopolymer precursor. The effects of abaca fiber loading, foaming agent dosage, and curing temperature on mechanical strength were evaluated using Box-Behken design of experiment with three points replicated. Volumetric weight of samples ranged from 1966 kg/m3 to 2249 kg/m3. Measured compressive strength and flexural ranged from 19.56 MPa to 36.84 MPa, and 2.41 MPa to 6.25 MPa, respectively. Results suggest enhancement of compressive strength by abaca reinforcement and elevated temperature curing. Results, however, indicate a strong interaction between curing temperature and foaming agent dosage, which observably caused the composite’s compressive strength to decline when simultaneously set at high levels. Foaming agent dosage was the only factor detected to significantly affect flexural strength.

Investigation of in-situ poly(lactic acid)/soy protein concentrate composites: Composite preparation, properties and foam application development

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bo

2011-12-01

In this study, soy protein (SP), the residue of oil crushing, was used for preparation of value-added thermoplastics. Novel poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/soy protein concentrate (SPC) blends were investigated and foaming of the resulting blends was developed. PLA/SPC blends were prepared by twin-screw extrusion and test specimens by injection molding. Unlike the practice elsewhere SP was used as a filler in mixing with other polymers, SPC was processed as a plastic component in blending process in this work. Processing SPC as plastic component, water played an important role in terms of the deformability and the morphology of SP thus the properties of the blends. Plasticization of SP, compatibilization of the blends and structure-property relationship of the PLA/SPC blends were studied. In the literature water and glycerol were often used together in preparing SP plastics or plastic blends, but this study found that this traditional combination did not provide the best results in terms of morphology and mechanical properties. Water is only recommended in plasticizing SP in the blends. This study showed water as a plasticizer was a domain factor on control of morphology and properties of PLA/SPC blends. The due to the evaporation of water after extrusion, SP domain lost its deformability thus resulted in in-situ composites. Interconnected SPC phase structure was achieved by control water content in the pre-formulated SPC and SPC content in the blends. A novel dual compatibilization method was developed to improve the properties of PLA/SPC blends. Poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) was used to improve the dispersion of SPC in the blending stage, and polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate was used to improve the interfacial adhesion between SPC and PLA in the subsequent processing. The result showed excellent mechanical properties and improved thermal properties of PLA/SPC blends. Using processing aids is an effective way to decrease processing temperature and thermal degradation

Generation of sclerosant foams by mechanical methods increases the foam temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Lulu; Wong, Kaichung; Connor, David; Fakhim, Babak; Behnia, Masud; Parsi, Kurosh

2017-08-01

Objective To investigate the effect of agitation on foam temperature. Methods Sodium tetradecyl sulphate and polidocanol were used. Prior to foam generation, the sclerosant and all constituent equipment were cooled to 4-25℃ and compared with cooling the sclerosant only. Foam was generated using a modified Tessari method. During foam agitation, the temperature change was measured using a thermocouple for 120 s. Results Pre-cooling all the constituent equipment resulted in a cooler foam in comparison with only cooling the sclerosant. A starting temperature of 4℃ produced average foam temperatures of 12.5 and 13.2℃ for sodium tetradecyl sulphate and polidocanol, respectively. It was also found that only cooling the liquid sclerosant provided minimal cooling to the final foam temperature, with the temperature 20 and 20.5℃ for sodium tetradecyl sulphate and polidocanol, respectively. Conclusion The foam generation process has a noticeable impact on final foam temperature and needs to be taken into consideration when creating foam.

Biopolymer foams - Relationship between material characteristics and foaming behavior of cellulose based foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rapp, F.; Schneider, A.; Elsner, P.

2014-01-01

Biopolymers are becoming increasingly important to both industry and consumers. With regard to waste management, CO 2 balance and the conservation of petrochemical resources, increasing efforts are being made to replace standard plastics with bio-based polymers. Nowadays biopolymers can be built for example of cellulose, lactic acid, starch, lignin or bio mass. The paper will present material properties of selected cellulose based polymers (cellulose propionate [CP], cellulose acetate butyrate [CAB]) and corresponding processing conditions for particle foams as well as characterization of produced parts. Special focus is given to the raw material properties by analyzing thermal behavior (differential scanning calorimetry), melt strength (Rheotens test) and molecular weight distribution (gel-permeation chromatography). These results will be correlated with the foaming behavior in a continuous extrusion process with physical blowing agents and underwater pelletizer. Process set-up regarding particle foam technology, including extrusion foaming and pre-foaming, will be shown. The characteristics of the resulting foam beads will be analyzed regarding part density, cell morphology and geometry. The molded parts will be tested on thermal conductivity as well as compression behavior (E-modulus, compression strength)

Biopolymer foams - Relationship between material characteristics and foaming behavior of cellulose based foams

Science.gov (United States)

Rapp, F.; Schneider, A.; Elsner, P.

2014-05-01

Biopolymers are becoming increasingly important to both industry and consumers. With regard to waste management, CO2 balance and the conservation of petrochemical resources, increasing efforts are being made to replace standard plastics with bio-based polymers. Nowadays biopolymers can be built for example of cellulose, lactic acid, starch, lignin or bio mass. The paper will present material properties of selected cellulose based polymers (cellulose propionate [CP], cellulose acetate butyrate [CAB]) and corresponding processing conditions for particle foams as well as characterization of produced parts. Special focus is given to the raw material properties by analyzing thermal behavior (differential scanning calorimetry), melt strength (Rheotens test) and molecular weight distribution (gel-permeation chromatography). These results will be correlated with the foaming behavior in a continuous extrusion process with physical blowing agents and underwater pelletizer. Process set-up regarding particle foam technology, including extrusion foaming and pre-foaming, will be shown. The characteristics of the resulting foam beads will be analyzed regarding part density, cell morphology and geometry. The molded parts will be tested on thermal conductivity as well as compression behavior (E-modulus, compression strength).

Simulation in CFD of a Pebble Bed: Advanced high temperature reactor core using OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahl, Pamela M.; Su, Jian

2017-01-01

Numerical simulations of a Pebble Bed nuclear reactor core are presented using the multi-physics tool-kit OpenFOAM. The HTR-PM is modeled using the porous media approach, accounting both for viscous and inertial effects through the Darcy and Forchheimer model. Initially, cylindrical 2D and 3D simulations are compared, in order to evaluate their differences and decide if the 2D simulations carry enough of the sought information, considering the savings in computational costs. The porous medium is considered to be isotropic, with the whole length of the packed bed occupied homogeneously with the spherical fuel elements. Steady-state simulations for normal equilibrium operation are performed, using a semi sine function of the power density along the vertical axis as the source term for the energy balance equation.Total pressure drop is calculated and compared with that obtained from literature for a similar case. At a second stage, transient simulations are performed, where relevant parameters are calculated and compared to those of the literature. (author)

Simulation in CFD of a Pebble Bed: Advanced high temperature reactor core using OpenFOAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahl, Pamela M.; Su, Jian, E-mail: sujian@nuclear.ufrj.br [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-07-01

Numerical simulations of a Pebble Bed nuclear reactor core are presented using the multi-physics tool-kit OpenFOAM. The HTR-PM is modeled using the porous media approach, accounting both for viscous and inertial effects through the Darcy and Forchheimer model. Initially, cylindrical 2D and 3D simulations are compared, in order to evaluate their differences and decide if the 2D simulations carry enough of the sought information, considering the savings in computational costs. The porous medium is considered to be isotropic, with the whole length of the packed bed occupied homogeneously with the spherical fuel elements. Steady-state simulations for normal equilibrium operation are performed, using a semi sine function of the power density along the vertical axis as the source term for the energy balance equation.Total pressure drop is calculated and compared with that obtained from literature for a similar case. At a second stage, transient simulations are performed, where relevant parameters are calculated and compared to those of the literature. (author)

Liquid foam templating - A route to tailor-made polymer foams.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrieux, Sébastien; Quell, Aggeliki; Stubenrauch, Cosima; Drenckhan, Wiebke

2018-06-01

Solid foams with pore sizes between a few micrometres and a few millimetres are heavily exploited in a wide range of established and emerging applications. While the optimisation of foam applications requires a fine control over their structural properties (pore size distribution, pore opening, foam density, …), the great complexity of most foaming processes still defies a sound scientific understanding and therefore explicit control and prediction of these parameters. We therefore need to improve our understanding of existing processes and also develop new fabrication routes which we understand and which we can exploit to tailor-make new porous materials. One of these new routes is liquid templating in general and liquid foam templating in particular, to which this review article is dedicated. While all solid foams are generated from an initially liquid(-like) state, the particular notion of liquid foam templating implies the specific condition that the liquid foam has time to find its "equilibrium structure" before it is solidified. In other words, the characteristic time scales of the liquid foam's stability and its solidification are well separated, allowing to build on the vast know-how on liquid foams established over the last 20 years. The dispersed phase of the liquid foam determines the final pore size and pore size distribution, while the continuous phase contains the precursors of the desired porous scaffold. We review here the three key challenges which need to be addressed by this approach: (1) the control of the structure of the liquid template, (2) the matching of the time scales between the stability of the liquid template and solidification, and (3) the preservation of the structure of the template throughout the process. Focusing on the field of polymer foams, this review gives an overview of recent research on the properties of liquid foam templates and summarises a key set of studies in the emerging field of liquid foam templating. It

Research Plan: Foam Delivery of Remedial Amendments to Deep Vadose Zone for Metals and Radionuclides Remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong, Lirong; Hart, Andrea T.; Szecsody, James E.; Zhang, Z.F.; Freedman, Vicky L.; Ankeny, Mark; Hull, Laurence; Oostrom, Martinus; Freshley, Mark D.; Wellman, Dawn M.

2009-01-01

Research proposals were submitted to the Scientific and Technical Basis for In Situ Treatment of Metals and Radionuclides Technical Working Group under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management Office (specifically, EM-22). After a peer review and selection process, the proposal, 'Foam Delivery of Remedial Amendments to Deep Vadose Zone for Metals and Radionuclides Remediation,' submitted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was selected for support by the program. A research plan was requested for this EM funded project. The overall objective of this project is to develop foam delivery technology for the distribution of remedial amendments to deep vadose zone sediments for in situ immobilization of metal and radionuclide contaminants. The focus of this research in FY 2009 is on the physical aspects of the foam delivery approach. Specific objectives are to (1) study the foam quality (i.e. the gas volume fraction in foam) influence on injection pressure, (2) study the sediment air permeability influence on injection pressure, (3) investigate liquid uptake in sediment and determine whether a water front will be formed during foam delivery, (4) test amendment distance (and mass) delivery by foam from the injection point, (5) study the enhanced sweeping over heterogeneous systems (i.e., low K zones) by foam delivery relative to water-based delivery under vadose zone conditions, and (6) numerically simulate foam delivery processes in the vadose zone. Laboratory scale experiments will be conducted at PNNL to study a range of basic physical aspects of the foam propagation in sediments, including foam quality and sediment permeability influence on injection pressure, liquid uptake, and foam sweeping across heterogeneous systems. This study will be augmented with separate studies to be conducted at MSE Technology Applications, Inc. (MSE) to evaluate foam transport and amendment delivery at the intermediate-scale. The results of intermediate

Thermo-mechanical characterisation of low density carbon foams and composite materials for the ATLAS upgrade

CERN Document Server

Isaac, Bonad

As a result of the need to increase the luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN-Geneva by 2020, the ATLAS detector requires an upgraded inner tracker. Up- grading the ATLAS experiment is essential due to higher radiation levels and high particle occupancies. The design of this improved inner tracker detector involves development of silicon sensors and their support structures. These support structures need to have well un- derstood thermal properties and be dimensionally stable in order to allow efficient cooling of the silicon and accurate track reconstruction. The work presented in this thesis is an in- vestigation which aims to qualitatively characterise the thermal and mechanical properties of the materials involved in the design of the inner tracker of the ATLAS upgrade. These materials are silicon carbide foam (SiC foam), low density carbon foams such as PocoFoam and Allcomp foam, Thermal Pyrolytic Graphite (TPG), carbon/carbon and Carbon Fibre Re- inforced Polymer (CFRP). The work involve...

High-performance binder-free supercapacitor electrode by direct growth of cobalt-manganese composite oxide nansostructures on nickel foam

OpenAIRE

Jiang, Shulan; Shi, Tielin; Long, Hu; Sun, Yongming; Zhou, Wei; Tang, Zirong

2014-01-01

A facile approach composed of hydrothermal process and annealing treatment is proposed to directly grow cobalt-manganese composite oxide ((Co,Mn)3O4) nanostructures on three-dimensional (3D) conductive nickel (Ni) foam for a supercapacitor electrode. The as-fabricated porous electrode exhibits excellent rate capability and high specific capacitance of 840.2 F g-1 at the current density of 10 A g-1, and the electrode also shows excellent cycling performance, which retains 102% of its initial d...

Electrodeposition of palladium and reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites on foam-nickel electrode for electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorophenol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yong; Liu, Lan; Shan, Jun; Zhang, Jingdong

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Pd and reduced graphene oxide are deposited on foam-Ni via electrodeposition. • Pd particles supported on RGO possess large active surface area. • Pd/RGO/foam-Ni shows high electrocatalytic activity for dechlorination of 4-CP. • 100% 4-CP can be removed on Pd/RGO/foam-Ni under optimum ECH conditions. - Abstract: A high-performance palladium (Pd) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite electrode was prepared on foam-nickel (foam-Ni) via two-step electrodeposition processes. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation showed that the obtained Pd/RGO/foam-Ni composite electrode displayed a uniform and compact morphology. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis confirmed the successful deposition of Pd and RGO on nickel substrate. The cyclic voltammetric (CV) measurements indicated that the presence of RGO greatly enhanced the active surface area of Pd particles deposited on foam-Ni. The as-deposited Pd/RGO/foam-Ni electrode was applied to electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination (ECH) of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). Various factors influencing the dechlorination of 4-CP such as dechlorination current, initial concentration of 4-CP, Na 2 SO 4 concentration and initial pH were systematically investigated. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the dechlorination reaction of 4-CP at different temperatures followed the first-order kinetics and the activation energy for 4-CP dechlorination on Pd/RGO/foam-Ni electrode was calculated to be 51.96 kJ mol −1 . Under the optimum conditions, the dechlorination efficiency of 4-CP could reach 100% after 60-min ECH treatment. Moreover, the prepared Pd/RGO/foam-Ni composite electrode showed good stability for recycling utilization in ECH of 4-CP

Complete dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol in aqueous solution on palladium/polymeric pyrrole-cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide/foam-nickel composite electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Zhirong, E-mail: zrsun@bjut.edu.cn [College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124 (China); Wei, Xuefeng; Han, Yanbo; Tong, Shan [College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124 (China); Hu, Xiang, E-mail: huxiang99@163.com [College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029 (China)

2013-01-15

Highlights: ► Pd/PPy-CTAB/foam-Ni electrode with high surface area and low Pd content was prepared. ► The composite electrode was applied to dechlorination of 2,4-DCP in aqueous solution. ► Complete dechlorination of 2,4-DCP was achieved with higher current efficiency. ► Removal efficiency kept 100% after 10 times dechlorination on the stable electrode. ► The electrochemically reductive activation energy was 25.8 kJ mol{sup −1} in this system. -- Abstract: The electrochemically reductive dechlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in aqueous solution on palladium/polymeric pyrrole-cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide/foam-nickel electrode (Pd/PPy-CTAB/foam-Ni electrode) was investigated in this paper. Pd/PPy-CTAB/foam-Ni electrode was prepared and characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) adsorption and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The influences of some experimental factors such as the dechlorination current, dechlorination time and the initial pH on the removal efficiency and the current efficiency of 2,4-DCP dechlorination on Pd/PPy-CTAB/foam-Ni electrode were studied. Complete removal of 2,4-DCP was achieved and the current efficiency of 47.4% could be obtained under the conditions of the initial pH of 2.2, the dechlorination current of 5 mA and the dechlorination time of 50 min when the initial 2,4-DCP concentration was 100 mg L{sup −1}. The analysis of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) identified that the intermediate products were 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). The final products were mainly phenol. Its further reduction product cyclohexanone was also detected. The electrocatalytic dechlorination pathways of 2,4-DCP on Pd/PPy-CTAB/foam-Ni electrode were discussed. The stability of the electrode was favorable that it could keep dechlorination efficiency at 100% after having been reused

APPLICATION OF POLYURETHANE FOAM FOR IMPACT ABSORPTION AND THERMAL INSULATION FOR RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS PACKAGINGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, A; Glenn Abramczyk, G; Paul Blanton, P; Steve Bellamy, S; William Daugherty, W; Sharon Williamson, S

2007-01-01

Polyurethane foam has been widely used as an impact absorbing and thermal insulating material for large radioactive materials packages, since the 1980's. With the adoption of the regulatory crush test requirement, for smaller packages, polyurethane foam has been adopted as a replacement for cane fiberboard, because of its ability to withstand the crush test. Polyurethane foam is an engineered material whose composition is much more closely controlled than that of cane fiberboard. In addition, the properties of the foam can be controlled by controlling the density of the foam. The conditions under which the foam is formed, whether confined or unconfined have an affect on foam properties. The study reported here reviewed the application of polyurethane foam in RAM packagings and compared property values reported in the literature with published property values and test results for foam specimens taken from a prototype 9977 packaging. The study confirmed that, polyurethane foam behaves in a predictable and consistent manner and fully satisfies the functional requirements for impact absorption and thermal insulation

Polymer compositions and methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, Scott D.; Willkomm, Wayne R.

2018-02-06

The present invention encompasses polyurethane compositions comprising aliphatic polycarbonate chains. In one aspect, the present invention encompasses polyurethane foams, thermoplastics and elastomers derived from aliphatic polycarbonate polyols and polyisocyanates wherein the polyol chains contain a primary repeating unit having a structure: ##STR00001## In another aspect, the invention provides articles comprising the inventive foam and elastomer compositions as well as methods of making such compositions.

1-D Van der Waals Foams Heated by Ion Beam Energy Deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zylstra, A.B.; Barnard, J.J.; More, R.M.

2009-01-01

One dimensional simulations of various initial average density aluminum foams (modeled as slabs of solid metal separated by low density regions) heated by volumetric energy deposition are conducted with a Lagrangian hydrodynamics code using a van der Waals equation of tate (EOS). The resulting behavior is studied to facilitate the design of future warm dense matter (WDM) experiments at LBNL. In the simulations the energy deposition ranges from 10 to 30 kJ/g and from 0.075 to 4.0 ns total pulse length, resulting in temperatures from approximately 1 o 4 eV. We study peak pressures and temperatures in the foams, expansion velocity, and the phase evolution. Five relevant time scales in the problem are identified. Additionally, we present a method for characterizing the level of inhomogeneity in a foam target as it is heated and the time it takes for a foam to homogenize.

Plasticity and damage in aluminum syntactic foams deformed under dynamic and quasi-static conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balch, Dorian K. [Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (United States); O' Dwyer, John G. [Waterford Institute of Technology (Ireland); Davis, Graham R. [Queen Mary, University of London (United Kingdom); Cady, Carl M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gray, George T. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dunand, David C. [Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (United States)]. E-mail: dunand@northwestern.edu

2005-01-25

Syntactic foams were fabricated by liquid metal infiltration of commercially pure and 7075 aluminum into preforms of hollow ceramic microspheres. The foams exhibited peak strengths during quasi-static compression ranging from -100 to -230 MPa, while dynamic compression loading showed a 10-30% increase in peak strength magnitude, with strain rate sensitivities similar to those of aluminum-matrix composite materials. X-ray tomographic investigation of the post-compression loaded foam microstructures revealed sharp differences in deformation modes, with the unalloyed-Al foam failing initially by matrix deformation, while the alloy-matrix foams failed more abruptly through the formation of sharp crush bands oriented at about 45 deg. to the compression axis. These foams displayed pronounced energy-absorbing capabilities, suggesting their potential use in packaging applications or for impact protection; proper tailoring of matrix and microsphere strengths would result in optimized syntactic foam properties.

Effect of Sphere Properties on Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of Cast Composite Metal Foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matias Garcia-Avila

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Aluminum-steel composite metal foams (Al-S CMF are manufactured using steel hollow spheres, with a variety of sphere carbon content, surface roughness, and wall porosity, embedded in an Aluminum matrix through gravity casting technique. The microstructural and mechanical properties of the material were studied using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and quasi-static compressive testing. Higher carbon content and surface roughness in the sphere wall were responsible for an increase in formation of intermetallic phases which had a strengthening effect at lower strain levels, increasing the yield strength of the material by a factor of 2, while higher sphere wall porosity resulted in a decrease on the density of the material and improving its cushioning and ductility maintaining its energy absorption capabilities.

Electrically conductive composite material

Science.gov (United States)

Clough, Roger L.; Sylwester, Alan P.

1989-01-01

An electrically conductive composite material is disclosed which comprises a conductive open-celled, low density, microcellular carbon foam filled with a non-conductive polymer or resin. The composite material is prepared in a two-step process consisting of first preparing the microcellular carbon foam from a carbonizable polymer or copolymer using a phase separation process, then filling the carbon foam with the desired non-conductive polymer or resin. The electrically conductive composites of the present invention has a uniform and consistant pattern of filler distribution, and as a result is superior over prior art materials when used in battery components, electrodes, and the like.

Foam Microrheology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KRAYNIK, ANDREW M.; LOEWENBERG, MICHAEL; REINELT, DOUGLAS A.

1999-01-01

The microrheology of liquid foams is discussed for two different regimes: static equilibrium where the capillary number Ca is zero, and the viscous regime where viscosity and surface tension are important and Ca is finite. The Surface Evolver is used to calculate the equilibrium structure of wet Kelvin foams and dry soap froths with random structure, i.e., topological disorder. The distributions of polyhedra and faces are compared with the experimental data of Matzke. Simple shearing flow of a random foam under quasistatic conditions is also described. Viscous phenomena are explored in the context of uniform expansion of 2D and 3D foams at low Reynolds number. Boundary integral methods are used to calculate the influence of Ca on the evolution of foam microstructure, which includes bubble shape and the distribution of liquid between films, Plateau borders, and (in 3D) the nodes where Plateau borders meet. The micromechanical point of view guides the development of structure-property-processing relationships for foams

Probabilistic Simulation of Multi-Scale Composite Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, Christos C.

2012-01-01

A methodology is developed to computationally assess the non-deterministic composite response at all composite scales (from micro to structural) due to the uncertainties in the constituent (fiber and matrix) properties, in the fabrication process and in structural variables (primitive variables). The methodology is computationally efficient for simulating the probability distributions of composite behavior, such as material properties, laminate and structural responses. Bi-products of the methodology are probabilistic sensitivities of the composite primitive variables. The methodology has been implemented into the computer codes PICAN (Probabilistic Integrated Composite ANalyzer) and IPACS (Integrated Probabilistic Assessment of Composite Structures). The accuracy and efficiency of this methodology are demonstrated by simulating the uncertainties in composite typical laminates and comparing the results with the Monte Carlo simulation method. Available experimental data of composite laminate behavior at all scales fall within the scatters predicted by PICAN. Multi-scaling is extended to simulate probabilistic thermo-mechanical fatigue and to simulate the probabilistic design of a composite redome in order to illustrate its versatility. Results show that probabilistic fatigue can be simulated for different temperature amplitudes and for different cyclic stress magnitudes. Results also show that laminate configurations can be selected to increase the redome reliability by several orders of magnitude without increasing the laminate thickness--a unique feature of structural composites. The old reference denotes that nothing fundamental has been done since that time.

Polystyrene foam products equation of state as a function of porosity and fill gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulford, Roberta N.; Swift, Damian C.

2009-01-01

An accurate EOS for polystyrene foam is necessary for analysis of numerous experiments in shock compression, inertial confinement fusion, and astrophysics. Plastic to gas ratios vary between various samples of foam, according to the density and cell-size of the foam. A matrix of compositions has been investigated, allowing prediction of foam response as a function of the plastic-to-air ratio. The EOS code CHEETAH allows participation of the air in the decomposition reaction of the foam. Differences between air-filled, Ar-blown, and CO 2 -blown foams are investigated, to estimate the importance of allowing air to react with products of polystyrene decomposition. O 2 -blown foams are included in some comparisons, to amplify any consequences of reaction with oxygen in air. He-blown foams are included in some comparisons, to provide an extremum of density. Product pressures are slightly higher for oxygen-containing fill gases than for non-oxygen-containing fill gases. Examination of product species indicates that CO 2 decomposes at high temperatures.

Rate Dependence of the Compressive Response of Ti Foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nik Petrinic

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Titanium foams of relative density ranging from 0.3 to 0.9 were produced by titanium powder sintering procedures and tested in uniaxial compression at strain rates ranging from 0.01 to 2,000 s−1. The material microstructure was examined by X-ray tomography and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM observations. The foams investigated are strain rate sensitive, with both the yield stress and the strain hardening increasing with applied strain rate, and the strain rate sensitivity is more pronounced in foams of lower relative density. Finite element simulations were conducted modelling explicitly the material’s microstructure at the micron level, via a 3D Voronoi tessellation. Low and high strain rate simulations were conducted in order to predict the material’s compressive response, employing both rate-dependant and rate-independent constitutive models. Results from numerical analyses suggest that the primary source of rate sensitivity is represented by the intrinsic sensitivity of the foam’s parent material.

Scaling up the Fabrication of Mechanically-Robust Carbon Nanofiber Foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Curtin

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This work aimed to identify and address the main challenges associated with fabricating large samples of carbon foams composed of interwoven networks of carbon nanofibers. Solutions to two difficulties related with the process of fabricating carbon foams, maximum foam size and catalyst cost, were developed. First, a simple physical method was invented to scale-up the constrained formation of fibrous nanostructures process (CoFFiN to fabricate relatively large foams. Specifically, a gas deflector system capable of maintaining conditions supportive of carbon nanofiber foam growth throughout a relatively large mold was developed. ANSYS CFX models were used to simulate the gas flow paths with and without deflectors; the data generated proved to be a very useful tool for the deflector design. Second, a simple method for selectively leaching the Pd catalyst material trapped in the foam during growth was successfully tested. Multiple techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, surface area measurements, and mechanical testing, were employed to characterize the foams generated in this study. All results confirmed that the larger foam samples preserve the basic characteristics: their interwoven nanofiber microstructure forms a low-density tridimensional solid with viscoelastic behavior. Fiber growth mechanisms are also discussed. Larger samples of mechanically-robust carbon nanofiber foams will enable the use of these materials as strain sensors, shock absorbers, selective absorbents for environmental remediation and electrodes for energy storage devices, among other applications.

Reducing wall plasma expansion with gold foam irradiated by laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Lu; Ding, Yongkun; Jiang, Shaoen; Yang, Jiamin; Li, Hang; Kuang, Longyu; Lin, Zhiwei; Jing, Longfei; Li, Liling; Deng, Bo; Yuan, Zheng; Chen, Tao; Yuan, Guanghui; Tan, Xiulan; Li, Ping

2015-01-01

The experimental study on the expanding plasma movement of low-density gold foam (∼1% solid density) irradiated by a high power laser is reported in this paper. Experiments were conducted using the SG-III prototype laser. Compared to solid gold with 19.3 g/cc density, the velocities of X-ray emission fronts moving off the wall are much smaller for gold foam with 0.3 g/cc density. Theoretical analysis and MULTI 1D simulation results also show less plasma blow-off, and that the density contour movement velocities of gold foam are smaller than those of solid gold, agreeing with experimental results. These results indicate that foam walls have advantages in symmetry control and lowering plasma fill when used in ignition hohlraum

Reducing wall plasma expansion with gold foam irradiated by laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Lu; Ding, Yongkun, E-mail: ding-yk@vip.sina.com; Jiang, Shaoen, E-mail: jiangshn@vip.sina.com; Yang, Jiamin; Li, Hang; Kuang, Longyu; Lin, Zhiwei; Jing, Longfei; Li, Liling; Deng, Bo; Yuan, Zheng; Chen, Tao; Yuan, Guanghui; Tan, Xiulan; Li, Ping [Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-986, Mianyang 621900 (China)

2015-11-15

The experimental study on the expanding plasma movement of low-density gold foam (∼1% solid density) irradiated by a high power laser is reported in this paper. Experiments were conducted using the SG-III prototype laser. Compared to solid gold with 19.3 g/cc density, the velocities of X-ray emission fronts moving off the wall are much smaller for gold foam with 0.3 g/cc density. Theoretical analysis and MULTI 1D simulation results also show less plasma blow-off, and that the density contour movement velocities of gold foam are smaller than those of solid gold, agreeing with experimental results. These results indicate that foam walls have advantages in symmetry control and lowering plasma fill when used in ignition hohlraum.

A numerical model to simulate foams during devolatilization of polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Irfan; Dixit, Ravindra

2014-11-01

Customers often demand that the polymers sold in the market have low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Some of the processes for making polymers involve the removal of volatiles to the levels of parts per million (devolatilization). During this step the volatiles are phase separated out of the polymer through a combination of heating and applying lower pressure, creating foam with the pure polymer in liquid phase and the volatiles in the gas phase. The efficiency of the devolatilization process depends on predicting the onset of solvent phase change in the polymer and volatiles mixture accurately based on the processing conditions. However due to the complex relationship between the polymer properties and the processing conditions this is not trivial. In this work, a bubble scale model is coupled with a bulk scale transport model to simulate the processing conditions of polymer devolatilization. The bubble scale model simulates the nucleation and bubble growth based on the classical nucleation theory and the popular ``influence volume approach.'' As such it provides the information of bubble size distribution and number density inside the polymer at any given time and position. This information is used to predict the bulk properties of the polymer and its behavior under the applied processing conditions. Initial results of this modeling approach will be presented.

Fabrication of Aluminum Tubes Filled with Aluminum Alloy Foam by Friction Welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshihiko Hangai

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Aluminum foam is usually used as the core of composite materials by combining it with dense materials, such as in Al foam core sandwich panels and Al-foam-filled tubes, owing to its low tensile and bending strengths. In this study, all-Al foam-filled tubes consisting of ADC12 Al-Si-Cu die-cast aluminum alloy foam and a dense A1050 commercially pure Al tube with metal bonding were fabricated by friction welding. First, it was found that the ADC12 precursor was firmly bonded throughout the inner wall of the A1050 tube without a gap between the precursor and the tube by friction welding. No deformation of the tube or foaming of the precursor was observed during the friction welding. Next, it was shown that by heat treatment of an ADC12-precursor-bonded A1050 tube, gases generated by the decomposition of the blowing agent expand the softened ADC12 to produce the ADC12 foam interior of the dense A1050 tube. A holding time during the foaming process of approximately tH = 8.5 min with a holding temperature of 948 K was found to be suitable for obtaining a sound ADC12-foam-filled A1050 tube with sufficient foaming, almost uniform pore structures over the entire specimen, and no deformation or reduction in the thickness of the tube.

Phytochemical, proximate and anti-nutrient compositions of four ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Chemical constituents of plants are influenced by environmental factors and fluctuations just as many other polygenic traits. Four different green leafy vegetables commonly used in the diets of South Eastern Nigeria were analyzed with a view to determine the phytochemicals, proximate and anti-nutrient compositions of ...

Foaming of CRT panel glass powder using Na2CO3

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup

2014-01-01

The recycling of glass from obsolete cathode ray tubes (CRT) has hitherto only occurred to a very limited extent, but the production of foam glass used as an insulation material component has recently been proposed as a promising recycling method. CRT panel glass has high recycling potential due...... to its non-hazardous composition. Here we report on the foaming of CRT panel glass using Na2CO3 as the foaming agent. We explore how heat treatment temperature and concentration of Na2CO3 affect the density and porosity of the foam glasses, and whether Na2O is incorporated in the glass network....... The optimum foaming temperature for minimising density and maximising closed porosity is found to be between 1023 and 1123 K. The pore structure depends on the amount of added Na2CO3, viz, the pores generally become more open with increasing Na2CO3 content. A minimum density of 0·28 g/cm3 is found when 14 wt...

Redox reaction and foaming in nuclear waste glass melting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryan, J.L.

1995-08-01

This document was prepared by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and is an attempt to analyze and estimate the effects of feed composition variables and reducing agent variables on the expected chemistry of reactions occurring in the cold cap and in the glass melt in the nuclear waste glass Slurry-fed, joule-heated melters as they might affect foaming during the glass-making process. Numerous redox reactions of waste glass components and potential feed additives, and the effects of other feed variables on these reactions are reviewed with regard to their potential effect on glass foaming. A major emphasis of this report is to examine the potential positive or negative aspects of adjusting feed with formic acid as opposed to other feed modification techniques including but not limited to use of other reducing agents. Feed modification techniques other than the use of reductants that should influence foaming behavior include control of glass melter feed pH through use of nitric acid. They also include partial replacement of sodium salts by lithium salts. This latter action (b) apparently lowers glass viscosity and raises surface tension. This replacement should decrease foaming by decreasing foam stability.

Notch-strengthening in two-dimensional foams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Onck, P.R.

Metallic foams show notch-strengthening behavior when analyzing double-edge notched specimen in compression and tension. A discrete microstructural model has been used to simulate the effect of notch depth and specimen size on the net-section-strength. The non-uniform deformation behavior is

PUR-PIR foam produced based on poly(hydroxybutyl citrate foamed founded with different factories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liszkowska Joanna

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A poly(hydroxybutyl citrate p(HBC was obtained. The product compound produced in the solution during esterification, was added to rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams (PUR-PIR. The amount of petrochemical polyol in the foams was decreased in favor of the p(HBC from 0.1 to 0.5 equivalent. The foams were foamed in two ways: with distilled water (W foams and with Solkane 365/227 (S foams. The examination results of both foam series were compared. They showed that the foams foamed with water have higher softening temperature than the foams foamed with solkane. The retention values for both foam series are around 91–95%, and water absorption in the range of 0.7–3.2%. The anisotropy coefficient did not exceed 1.08 (the lowest value being 1.01.

MnO2/multiwall carbon nanotube/Ni-foam hybrid electrode for electrochemical capacitor

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, L. H.; Li, L.; Qian, W. J.; Dong, C. K.

2018-01-01

The ternary composites of manganese dioxide/multiwall carbon nanotube/Ni-foam (MnO2/MWNT/Ni-foam) for supercapacitors were fabricated via a hydrothermal method after direct growth of MWNTs on the Ni-foam. The structural properties of the electrodes were characterized by SEM and TEM. The electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical properties from the investigation based on the three-electrode setup. Low contact resistance Rs of about 0.291 Ω between MnO2/MWNT and Ni-foam was reached benefited from the direct growth structure. High capacitance of 355.1 F/g at the current density of 2 A/g was achieved, with good capacitive response at high current density. The MnO2/MWNT/Ni-foam electrode exhibits good stability performance after 2000 cycles at a current of 40 mA.

Nutritional and Anti-nutritional Composition of Strychnos innocua ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mal. Usman

37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njbas.v22i1.6. ISSN 0794-5698. 33. Nutritional and Anti-nutritional Composition of Strychnos innocua Del. (Monkey Orange) Fruit. Pulp Grown in Zuru, Nigeria. 1L.G. Hassan, 2U. Abdulmumin,1K.J. Umar, 1P.

Thermal Conductivity of Foam Glasses Prepared using High Pressure Sintering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Martin Bonderup; Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob

The increasing focus on better building insulation is important to lower energy consumption. Development of new and improved insulation materials can contribute to solving this problem. Foam glass has a good insulating effect due to its large gas volume (porosity >90 %). It can be produced with o...... the thermal conductivity varies with gas composition. This allows us to determine the contribution of the gas and solid phase to the total thermal conductivity of a foam glass....

Numerical Analysis of a Paraffin/Metal Foam Composite for Thermal Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Di Giorgio, P.; Iasiello, M.; Viglione, A.; Mameli, M.; Filippeschi, S.; Di Marco, P.; Andreozzi, A.; Bianco, N.

2017-01-01

In the last decade, the use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) as passive thermal energy storage has been widely studied both analytically and experimentally. Among the PCMs, paraffins show many advantages, such as having a high latent heat, a low vapour pressure, being chemically inert, stable and non-toxic. But, their thermal conductivity is very low with a high volume change during the melting process. An efficient way to increase their poor thermal conductivity is to couple them with open cells metallic foams. This paper deals with a theoretical analysis of paraffin melting process inside an aluminum foam. A mathematical model is developed by using the volume-averaged governing equations for the porous domain, made up by the PCM embedded into the metal foam. Non-Darcian and buoyancy effects are considered in the momentum equation, while the energy equations are modelled with the Local Thermal Non-Equilibrium (LTNE) approach. The PCM liquefaction is treated with the apparent heat capacity method and the governing equations are solved with a finite-element scheme by COMSOL Multiphysics®. A new method to calculate the coupling coefficients needed for the thermal model has been developed and the results obtained have been validated comparing them to experimental data in literature.

Effect of Na2CO3 as Foaming Agent on Dynamics and Structure of Foam Glass Melts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup

2014-01-01

We investigate the kinetics and dynamics of the reaction between Na2CO3 and the cathode ray tube panel glass powder at 923-1173 K. The reaction causes foaming of the glass melt. After the reaction, the Tg decreases with increasing Na2CO3 content and reaches a minimum value of Tg. However, this Tg...... value is even lower than that of the homogeneous bulk glass with the same chemical composition. The lower Tg of the foam glass could be attributed to inhomogeneous incorporation of Na in the glass, leading to Na-rich domains that cause an overall decrease of Tg. Remarkably, after 5 min treatment at 1073...... K, the Tg drops by 120 K, indicating that the reaction between Na2CO3 and glass is very fast. Increasing treatment duration causes a slight increase of Tg likely due to both a more homogeneous Na distribution and the compositional change of the glass as a result of Na2SrSi2O6 crystal formation....

Foaming of polysiloxane resins with ethanol: a new route to pyrolytic macrocellular SiOC foams

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Strachota, Adam; Černý, Martin; Chlup, Zdeněk; Depa, Katarzyna; Šlouf, Miroslav; Sucharda, Zbyněk

2015-01-01

Roč. 41, č. 10 Part A (2015), s. 13561-13571 ISSN 0272-8842 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP107/12/2445 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 ; RVO:67985891 ; RVO:68081723 Keywords : silicon oxycarbide * siloxane * foams Subject RIV: JI - Composite Materials; JH - Ceramics, Fire-Resistant Materials and Glass (USMH-B); JL - Materials Fatigue, Friction Mechanics (UFM-A) Impact factor: 2.758, year: 2015

Fabrication and properties of carbon network reinforced composite fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umer, Malik Adeel; Mistarihi, Qusai Mahmoud; Kim, Joon Hui; Hong, Soon Hyung; Ryu, Ho Jin

2014-01-01

Zirconium dioxide composites reinforced with 3D glassy carbon foam was fabricated using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) with a heating rate of 100degC/min and a uniaxial pressure of 50 MPa at 1500degC, 1600degC, and 1700degC, respectively. The effect of carbon foam on the thermal properties of the ZrO 2 composites was investigated. In addition, the effect of the sintering temperature on the densification of the composites was also investigated and the optimized sintering temperature was identified. The microstructures of 3D carbon foam reinforced ZrO 2 composites showed that the 3D shape of carbon foam was retained after the sintering process, and the ZrO 2 was homogeneously distributed within the 3D carbon foam. At the interfaces between the 3D carbon foam and ZrO 2 , neither a chemical reaction nor a new phase formation was detected by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffractometry (XRD). The thermal diffusivity of carbon foam reinforced ZrO 2 composites measured at 1100degC was increased by 47% and reached to 0.66 mm 2 s -1 and the thermal conductivity was increased by 50% and reached to 2.428 W/m-K. (author)

Dielectric and Radiative Properties of Sea Foam at Microwave Frequencies: Conceptual Understanding of Foam Emissivity

OpenAIRE

Peter W. Gaiser; Magdalena D. Anguelova

2012-01-01

Foam fraction can be retrieved from space-based microwave radiometric data at frequencies from 1 to 37 GHz. The retrievals require modeling of ocean surface emissivity fully covered with sea foam. To model foam emissivity well, knowledge of foam properties, both mechanical and dielectric, is necessary because these control the radiative processes in foam. We present a physical description of foam dielectric properties obtained from the foam dielectric constant including foam skin depth; foam ...

Operator spin foam models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahr, Benjamin; Hellmann, Frank; Kaminski, Wojciech; Kisielowski, Marcin; Lewandowski, Jerzy

2011-01-01

The goal of this paper is to introduce a systematic approach to spin foams. We define operator spin foams, that is foams labelled by group representations and operators, as our main tool. A set of moves we define in the set of the operator spin foams (among other operations) allows us to split the faces and the edges of the foams. We assign to each operator spin foam a contracted operator, by using the contractions at the vertices and suitably adjusted face amplitudes. The emergence of the face amplitudes is the consequence of assuming the invariance of the contracted operator with respect to the moves. Next, we define spin foam models and consider the class of models assumed to be symmetric with respect to the moves we have introduced, and assuming their partition functions (state sums) are defined by the contracted operators. Briefly speaking, those operator spin foam models are invariant with respect to the cellular decomposition, and are sensitive only to the topology and colouring of the foam. Imposing an extra symmetry leads to a family we call natural operator spin foam models. This symmetry, combined with assumed invariance with respect to the edge splitting move, determines a complete characterization of a general natural model. It can be obtained by applying arbitrary (quantum) constraints on an arbitrary BF spin foam model. In particular, imposing suitable constraints on a spin(4) BF spin foam model is exactly the way we tend to view 4D quantum gravity, starting with the BC model and continuing with the Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine (EPRL) or Freidel-Krasnov (FK) models. That makes our framework directly applicable to those models. Specifically, our operator spin foam framework can be translated into the language of spin foams and partition functions. Among our natural spin foam models there are the BF spin foam model, the BC model, and a model corresponding to the EPRL intertwiners. Our operator spin foam framework can also be used for more general spin

Bubble and foam chemistry

CERN Document Server

Pugh, Robert J

2016-01-01

This indispensable guide will equip the reader with a thorough understanding of the field of foaming chemistry. Assuming only basic theoretical background knowledge, the book provides a straightforward introduction to the principles and properties of foams and foaming surfactants. It discusses the key ideas that underpin why foaming occurs, how it can be avoided and how different degrees of antifoaming can be achieved, and covers the latest test methods, including laboratory and industrial developed techniques. Detailing a variety of different kinds of foams, from wet detergents and food foams, to polymeric, material and metal foams, it connects theory to real-world applications and recent developments in foam research. Combining academic and industrial viewpoints, this book is the definitive stand-alone resource for researchers, students and industrialists working on foam technology, colloidal systems in the field of chemical engineering, fluid mechanics, physical chemistry, and applied physics.

Polystyrene foam products equation of state as a function of porosity and fill gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mulford, Roberta N [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Swift, Damian C [LLNL

2009-01-01

An accurate EOS for polystyrene foam is necessary for analysis of numerous experiments in shock compression, inertial confinement fusion, and astrophysics. Plastic to gas ratios vary between various samples of foam, according to the density and cell-size of the foam. A matrix of compositions has been investigated, allowing prediction of foam response as a function of the plastic-to-air ratio. The EOS code CHEETAH allows participation of the air in the decomposition reaction of the foam. Differences between air-filled, Ar-blown, and CO{sub 2}-blown foams are investigated, to estimate the importance of allowing air to react with products of polystyrene decomposition. O{sub 2}-blown foams are included in some comparisons, to amplify any consequences of reaction with oxygen in air. He-blown foams are included in some comparisons, to provide an extremum of density. Product pressures are slightly higher for oxygen-containing fill gases than for non-oxygen-containing fill gases. Examination of product species indicates that CO{sub 2} decomposes at high temperatures.

Graphite Foam Heat Exchangers for Thermal Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klett, J.W.

2004-06-07

Improved thermal management is needed to increase the power density of electronic and more effectively cool electronic enclosures that are envisioned in future aircraft, spacecraft and surface ships. Typically, heat exchanger cores must increase in size to more effectively dissipate increased heat loads, this would be impossible in many cases, thus improved heat exchanger cores will be required. In this Phase I investigation, MRi aimed to demonstrate improved thermal management using graphite foam (Gr-foam) core heat exchangers. The proposed design was to combine Gr-foams from POCO with MRi's innovative low temperature, active metal joining process (S-Bond{trademark}) to bond Gr-foam to aluminum, copper and aluminum/SiC composite faceplates. The results were very favorable, so a Phase II SBIR with the MDA was initiated. This had primarily 5 tasks: (1) bonding, (2) thermal modeling, (3) cooling chip scale packages, (4) evaporative cooling techniques and (5) IGBT cold plate development. The bonding tests showed that the ''reflow'' technique with S-Bond{reg_sign}-220 resulted in the best and most consistent bond. Then, thermal modeling was used to design different chip scale packages and IGBT cold plates. These designs were used to fabricate many finned graphite foam heat sinks specifically for two standard type IC packages, the 423 and 478 pin chips. These results demonstrated several advantages with the foam. First, the heat sinks with the foam were lighter than the copper/aluminum sinks used as standards. The sinks for the 423 design made from foam were not as good as the standard sinks. However, the sinks made from foam for the 478 pin chips were better than the standard heat sinks used today. However, this improvement was marginal (in the 10-20% better regime). However, another important note was that the epoxy bonding technique resulted in heat sinks with similar results as that with the S-bond{reg_sign}, slightly worse than the S

Refining of high-temperature uranium melt by filtration through foam-ceramic filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antsiferov, V.N.; Porozova, S.E.; Filippov, V.B.; Shtutsa, M.G.; Il'enko, E.V.; Kolotygina, N.S.

2004-01-01

An opportunity of applying foam-ceramic filters of corundum-mullite composition has been studied in refining natural uranium melts. Uranium melting conditions were chosen depending on technical characteristics of the foam ceramic filters. When their using, a portion of nonmetallic inclusions decreases by 20-30% (as little as 2.0-3.5% ingot weight), their size is reduced and their distribution in the ingot volume is equalized, contamination of uranium by the filter material being failed to be noticed. The parameters of foam-ceramic filters are optimized for provision of stable characteristics of uranium melt filtration process [ru

Foam engineering fundamentals and applications

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

Containing contributions from leading academic and industrial researchers, this book provides a much needed update of foam science research. The first section of the book presents an accessible summary of the theory and fundamentals of foams. This includes chapters on morphology, drainage, Ostwald ripening, coalescence, rheology, and pneumatic foams. The second section demonstrates how this theory is used in a wide range of industrial applications, including foam fractionation, froth flotation and foam mitigation. It includes chapters on suprafroths, flotation of oil sands, foams in enhancing petroleum recovery, Gas-liquid Mass Transfer in foam, foams in glass manufacturing, fire-fighting foam technology and consumer product foams.

Foams theory, measurements, and applications

CERN Document Server

Khan, Saad A

1996-01-01

This volume discusses the physics and physical processes of foam and foaming. It delineates various measurement techniques for characterizing foams and foam properties as well as the chemistry and application of foams. The use of foams in the textile industry, personal care products, enhanced oil recovery, firefighting and mineral floatation are highlighted, and the connection between the microstructure and physical properties of foam are detailed. Coverage includes nonaqueous foams and silicone antifoams, and more.

Premixed combustion on ceramic foam burners

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouma, P.H.; Goey, de L.P.H.

1999-01-01

Combustion of a lean premixed methane–air mixture stabilized on a ceramic foam burner has been studied. The stabilization of the flame in the radiant mode has been simulated using a one-dimensional numerical model for a burner stabilized flat-flame, taking into account the heat transfer between the

Characterization of synthesized polyurethane/montmorillonite nanocomposites foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansari, Farahnaz; Njuguna, James; Sachse, Sophia; Kavosh, Masoud; Michalowski, S; Pielichowski, Krzysztof

2014-01-01

Nanophased hybrid composites based on polyurethane/montmorillonite (PU/MMT) have been fabricated. The nanocomposite which was formed by the addition of a polyol premix with 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate to obtain nanophased polyurethane foams which were then used for fabrication of nanocomposite panels has been shown to have raised strength, stiffness and thermal insulation properties. The nanophased polyurethane foam was characterized by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements and X-ray diffraction (XRD). TEM and SEM analysis indicated that nanophased particles are dispersed homogeneously in the polyurethane matrix on the nanometer scale indicating that PU/MMT is an intercalated nanocomposite with a 2-3 nm nanolayer thickness

Design and fabrication hazard stakes golf course polymeric foam material empty bunch (EFB) fiber reinforced

Science.gov (United States)

Zulfahmi; Syam, B.; Wirjosentono, B.

2018-02-01

A golf course with obstacles in the forms of water obstacle and lateral water obstacle marked with the stakes which are called golf course obstacle stake in this study. This study focused on the design and fabrication of the golf course obstacle stake with a solid cylindrical geometry using EFB fiber-reinforced polimeric foam composite materials. To obtain the EFB fiber which is free from fat content and other elements, EFB is soaked in the water with 1% (of the watre total volume) NaOH. The model of the mould designed is permanent mould that can be used for the further refabrication process. The mould was designed based on resin-compound paste materials with talc powder plus E-glass fiber to make the mould strong. The composition of polimeric foam materials comprised unsaturated resin Bqtn-Ex 157 (70%), blowing agent (10%), fiber (10%), and catalyst (10%). The process of casting the polimeric foam composit materials into the mould cavity should be at vertical casting position, accurate interval time of material stirring, and periodical casting. To find out the strength value of the golf course obstacle stake product, a model was made and simulated by using the software of Ansys workbench 14.0, an impact loading was given at the height of 400 mm and 460 mm with the variation of golf ball speed (USGA standard) v = 18 m/s, v = 35 m/s, v = 66.2 m/s, v = 70 m/s, and v = 78.2 m/s. The clarification showed that the biggest dynamic explicit loading impact of Fmax = 142.5 N at the height of 460 mm with the maximum golf ball speed of 78.2 m/s did not experience the hysteresis effect and inertia effect. The largest deformation area occurred at the golf ball speed v = 66.2 mm/s, that is 18.029 mm (time: 2.5514e-004) was only concentrated around the sectional area of contact point of impact, meaning that the golf course obstacle stakes made of EFB fiber-reinforced polymeric foam materials have the geometric functional strength that are able to absorb the energy of golf ball

Evaluation of circularity error in drilling of syntactic foam composites

Science.gov (United States)

Ashrith H., S.; Doddamani, Mrityunjay; Gaitonde, Vinayak

2018-04-01

Syntactic foams are widely used in structural applications of automobiles, aircrafts and underwater vehicles due to their lightweight properties combined with high compression strength and low moisture absorption. Structural application requires drilling of holes for assembly purpose. In this investigation response surface methodology based mathematical models are used to analyze the effects of cutting speed, feed, drill diameter and filler content on circularity error both at entry and exit level in drilling of glass microballoon reinforced epoxy syntactic foam. Experiments are conducted based on full factorial design using solid coated tungsten carbide twist drills. The parametric analysis reveals that circularity error is highly influenced by drill diameter followed by spindle speed at the entry and exit level. Parametric analysis also reveals that increasing filler content decreases circularity error by 13.65 and 11.96% respectively at entry and exit levels. Average circularity error at the entry level is found to be 23.73% higher than at the exit level.

Development and validation of cryogenic foam insulation for LH2 subsonic transports

Science.gov (United States)

Anthony, F. M.; Colt, J. Z.; Helenbrook, R. G.

1981-01-01

Fourteen foam insulation specimens were tested. Some were plain foam while others contained flame retardants, chopped fiberglass reinforcement and/or vapor barriers. The thermal performance of the insulation was determined by measuring the rate at which LH2 boiled from an aluminum tank insulated with the test material. The test specimens were approximately 50 mm (2 in.) thick. They were structurally scaled so that the test cycle would duplicate the maximum thermal stresses predicted for the thicker insulation of an aircraft liquid hydrogen fuel tank during a typical subsonic flight. The simulated flight cycle of approximately 10 minutes duration heated the other insulation surface to 316 K (110 F) and cooled it to 226 K (20 F) while the inner insulation surface remained at liquid hydrogen temperature of 20 K (-423 F). Two urethane foam insulations exceeded the initial life goal of 2400 simulated flight cycles and sustained 4400 cycles with only minor damage. The addition of fiberglass reinforcement of flame retardant materials to an insulation degraded thermal performance and/or the life of the foam material. Installation of vapor barriers enhanced the structural integrity of the material but did not improve thermal performance. All of the foams tested were available materials; none were developed specifically for LH2 service.

Application of foam-extend on turbulent fluid-structure interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Rege, K.; Hjertager, B. H.

2017-12-01

Turbulent flow around flexible structures is likely to induce structural vibrations which may eventually lead to fatigue failure. In order to assess the fatigue life of these structures, it is necessary to take the action of the flow on the structure into account, but also the influence of the vibrating structure on the fluid flow. This is achieved by performing fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations. In this work, we have investigated the capability of a FSI toolkit for the finite volume computational fluid dynamics software foam-extend to simulate turbulence-induced vibrations of a flexible structure. A large-eddy simulation (LES) turbulence model has been implemented to a basic FSI problem of a flexible wall which is placed in a confined, turbulent flow. This problem was simulated for 2.32 seconds. This short simulation required over 200 computation hours, using 20 processor cores. Thereby, it has been shown that the simulation of FSI with LES is possible, but also computationally demanding. In order to make turbulent FSI simulations with foam-extend more applicable, more sophisticated turbulence models and/or faster FSI iteration schemes should be applied.

Comparative analysis of the microbial diversity in liquid and foaming layer in biogas reactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campanaro, Stefano; Treu, Laura; Kougias, Panagiotis

2014-01-01

Foaming incidents have been recorded in many biogas plants causing severe operational, economical and environmental problems (Kougias et al., 2014). However, the foaming phenomenon in biogas reactors fed with agro-industrial wastes has not been extensively investigated, especially with respect...... to the microbial composition of the digesters (Moeller et al., 2012). In the cited literature, it has been reported that specific microorganisms, which are mainly filamentous (e.g. Gordonia species, Microthrix parvicella), are attached to biogas bubbles and transferred to the air/liquid interface of sludge...... was to investigate the microbial diversity in the liquid versus the foaming layer in manure-based biogas reactors suffering by foaming incidents in order to elucidate potential role and contribution of the microorganisms in foam promotion. The experimental work was carried out in three thermophilic continuous...

Estimation of fracture parameters in foam core materials using thermal techniques

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dulieu-Barton, J. M.; Berggreen, Christian; Boyenval Langlois, C.

2010-01-01

is described. A mode I simulated crack in the form of a machined notch is used to establish the feasibility of the TSA approach to derive stress intensity factors for the foam material. The overall goal is to demonstrate that thermal techniques have the ability to provide deeper insight into the behaviour......The paper presents some initial work on establishing the stress state at a crack tip in PVC foam material using a non-contact infra-red technique known as thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA). A parametric study of the factors that may affect the thermoelastic response of the foam material...

Multifunctional foaming agent to prepare aluminum foam with enhanced mechanical properties

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xun; Liu, Ying; Ye, Jinwen; An, Xuguang; Ran, Huaying

2018-03-01

In this paper, CuSO4 was used as foaming agent to prepare close cell Aluminum foam(Al foam) at the temperature range of 680 °C ∼ 758 °C for the first time. The results show that CuSO4 has multifunctional such as, foaming, viscosity increasing, reinforcement in Al matrix, it has a wide decomposition temperature range of 641 °C ∼ 816 °C, its sustain-release time is 5.5 min at 758 °C. The compression stress and energy absorption of CuSO4-Al foam is 6.89 Mpa and 4.82 × 106 J m‑3(compression strain 50%), which are 77.12% and 99.17% higher than that of TiH2-Al foam at the same porosity(76% in porosity) due to the reinforcement in Al matrix and uniform pore dispersion.

Nanocellular foam with solid flame retardant

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Liang; Kelly-Rowley, Anne M.; Bunker, Shana P.; Costeux, Stephane

2017-11-21

Prepare nanofoam by (a) providing an aqueous solution of a flame retardant dissolved in an aqueous solvent, wherein the flame retardant is a solid at 23.degree. C. and 101 kiloPascals pressure when in neat form; (b) providing a fluid polymer composition selected from a solution of polymer dissolved in a water-miscible solvent or a latex of polymer particles in a continuous aqueous phase; (c) mixing the aqueous solution of flame retardant with the fluid polymer composition to form a mixture; (d) removing water and, if present, solvent from the mixture to produce a polymeric composition having less than 74 weight-percent flame retardant based on total polymeric composition weight; (e) compound the polymeric composition with a matrix polymer to form a matrix polymer composition; and (f) foam the matrix polymer composition into nanofoam having a porosity of at least 60 percent.

Foam Glass for Construction Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund

2016-01-01

Foaming is commonly achieved by adding foaming agents such as metal oxides or metal carbonates to glass powder. At elevated temperature, the glass melt becomes viscous and the foaming agents decompose or react to form gas, causing a foamy glass melt. Subsequent cooling to room temperature, result...... in a solid foam glass. The foam glass industry employs a range of different melt precursors and foaming agents. Recycle glass is key melt precursors. Many parameters influence the foaming process and optimising the foaming conditions is very time consuming. The most challenging and attractive goal is to make...... low density foam glass for thermal insulation applications. In this thesis, it is argued that the use of metal carbonates as foaming agents is not suitable for low density foam glass. A reaction mechanism is proposed to justify this result. Furthermore, an in situ method is developed to optimise...

Preparation of three-dimensional shaped aluminum alloy foam by two-step foaming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang, J.T.; Xuming, Chu; Deping, He

2008-01-01

A novel method, named two-step foaming, was investigated to prepare three-dimensional shaped aluminum alloy foam used in car industry, spaceflight, packaging and related areas. Calculations of thermal decomposition kinetics of titanium hydride showed that there is a considerable amount of hydrogen releasing when the titanium hydride is heated at a relatively high temperature after heated at a lower temperature. The hydrogen mass to sustain aluminum alloy foam, having a high porosity, was also estimated by calculations. Calculations indicated that as-received titanium hydride without any pre-treatment can be used as foaming agents in two-step foaming. The processes of two-step foaming, including preparing precursors and baking, were also studied by experiments. Results showed that, low titanium hydride dispersion temperature, long titanium hydride dispersion time and low precursors porosity are beneficial to prepare three-dimensional shaped aluminum alloy foams with uniform pores

Foam-oil interaction in porous media: implications for foam assisted enhanced oil recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Farajzadeh, R; Andrianov, A; Krastev, R; Hirasaki, G J; Rossen, W R

2012-11-15

The efficiency of a foam displacement process in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) depends largely on the stability of foam films in the presence of oil. Experimental studies have demonstrated the detrimental impact of oil on foam stability. This paper reviews the mechanisms and theories (disjoining pressure, coalescence and drainage, entering and spreading of oil, oil emulsification, pinch-off, etc.) suggested in the literature to explain the impact of oil on foam stability in the bulk and porous media. Moreover, we describe the existing approaches to foam modeling in porous media and the ways these models describe the oil effect on foam propagation in porous media. Further, we present various ideas on an improvement of foam stability and longevity in the presence of oil. The outstanding questions regarding foam-oil interactions and modeling of these interactions are pointed out. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancing heavy oil recovery using foam injection in applications to cyclic steam stimulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Isaacs, E. [Alberta Energy Research Inst., Edmonton, AB (Canada); Yuan, J.Y. [Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2008-07-01

Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) is a widely used heavy oil production technology. However, steam-based processes that are not stabilized can develop conformance as the steam can over-ride and channel past oil-bearing zones. This presentation discussed a refined CSS steam foaming process designed to improve recovery in marginal cycles. Laboratory studies were initially conducted to examine surfactant properties and flow behaviour in porous media. The results of numerical simulations were then applied to the steam-foaming portion of the CSS process. Results of the study showed that during the foam co-injection with steam stage, the steam injection rate did not alter. Improvement to the CSS process varied, indicating that earlier foam forming surfactant co-injection was preferable when steam-foam performance was constant in all cycles. It was concluded that the steam foaming process may improve bitumen production without requiring additional steam. 13 refs., 5 figs.

Validation of the simpleFoam (RANS solver for the atmospheric boundary layer in complex terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peralta C.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We validate the simpleFoam (RANS solver in OpenFOAM (version 2.1.1 for simulating neutral atmospheric boundary layer flows in complex terrain. Initial and boundary conditions are given using Richards and Hoxey proposal [1]. In order to obtain stable simulation of the ABL, modified wall functions are used to set the near-wall boundary conditions, following Blocken et al remedial measures [2]. A structured grid is generated with the new library terrainBlockMesher [3,4], based on OpenFOAM's blockMesh native mesher. The new tool is capable of adding orographic features and the forest canopy. Additionally, the mesh can be refined in regions with complex orography. We study both the classical benchmark case of Askervein hill [5] and the more recent Bolund island data set [6]. Our purpose is two-folded: to validate the performance of OpenFOAM steady state solvers, and the suitability of the new meshing tool to generate high quality structured meshes, which will be used in the future for performing more computationally intensive LES simulations in complex terrain.

Characterization and three-dimensional reconstruction of synthetic bone model foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gómez, S. [Interdepartment Research Group for the Applied Scientific Collaboration (IRGASC), Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Avda. Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Vlad, M.D. [Interdepartment Research Group for the Applied Scientific Collaboration (IRGASC), Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Avda. Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Faculty of Medical Bioengineering, “Gr. T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Str. Kogalniceanu 9-13, 700454 Iasi (Romania); López, J. [Interdepartment Research Group for the Applied Scientific Collaboration (IRGASC), Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Avda. Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Navarro, M. [Centre de Biotecnologia Animal i de Teràpia Gènica (CBATEG), Departament de Sanitat i d' Anatomia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès (Spain); Fernández, E., E-mail: enrique.fernandez@upc.edu [Interdepartment Research Group for the Applied Scientific Collaboration (IRGASC), Division of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Avda. Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain)

2013-08-01

Sawbones© open-cell foams with different porosity grades are being used as synthetic bone-like models for in vitro mechanical and infiltration experiments. However, a comprehensive characterization of these foams is not available and there is a lack of reliable information about them. For this reason two of these foams (Refs. 1522-505 and -507) have been characterized at the micro architectural level by scanning electron microscopy, computed tomography and image data analysis. BoneJ open software and ImageJ open software were used to obtain the characteristic histomorphometric parameters and the three dimensional virtual models of the foams. The results showed that both foams, while having different macro porosities, appeared undistinguishable at the micro scale. Moreover, the micro structural features resembled those of osteoporotic rather than healthy trabecular bone. It is concluded that Sawbones© foams behave reasonably as synthetic bone-like models. Consequently, their use is recommended for in vitro comparison purposes of both mechanical and infiltration testing performed in real vertebra. Finally, the virtual models obtained, which are available under request, can favour comparisons between future self-similar in vitro experiments and computer simulations. - Highlights: • Sawbones© model foams have been scanned by μ-CT. • Histomorphometric indices and 3D virtual models have been obtained. • The results will be of use to understand biocement vertebra infiltration studies.

Characterization and three-dimensional reconstruction of synthetic bone model foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gómez, S.; Vlad, M.D.; López, J.; Navarro, M.; Fernández, E.

2013-01-01

Sawbones© open-cell foams with different porosity grades are being used as synthetic bone-like models for in vitro mechanical and infiltration experiments. However, a comprehensive characterization of these foams is not available and there is a lack of reliable information about them. For this reason two of these foams (Refs. 1522-505 and -507) have been characterized at the micro architectural level by scanning electron microscopy, computed tomography and image data analysis. BoneJ open software and ImageJ open software were used to obtain the characteristic histomorphometric parameters and the three dimensional virtual models of the foams. The results showed that both foams, while having different macro porosities, appeared undistinguishable at the micro scale. Moreover, the micro structural features resembled those of osteoporotic rather than healthy trabecular bone. It is concluded that Sawbones© foams behave reasonably as synthetic bone-like models. Consequently, their use is recommended for in vitro comparison purposes of both mechanical and infiltration testing performed in real vertebra. Finally, the virtual models obtained, which are available under request, can favour comparisons between future self-similar in vitro experiments and computer simulations. - Highlights: • Sawbones© model foams have been scanned by μ-CT. • Histomorphometric indices and 3D virtual models have been obtained. • The results will be of use to understand biocement vertebra infiltration studies

Experimental Characterization of the Energy Absorption of Functionally Graded Foam Filled Tubes Under Axial Crushing Loads

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimi, Saeed; Vahdatazad, Nader; Liaghat, Gholamhossein

2018-03-01

This paper deals with the energy absorption characterization of functionally graded foam (FGF) filled tubes under axial crushing loads by experimental method. The FGF tubes are filled axially by gradient layers of polyurethane foams with different densities. The mechanical properties of the polyurethane foams are firstly obtained from axial compressive tests. Then, the quasi-static compressive tests are carried out for empty tubes, uniform foam filled tubes and FGF filled tubes. Before to present the experimental test results, a nonlinear FEM simulation of the FGF filled tube is carried out in ABAQUS software to gain more insight into the crush deformation patterns, as well as the energy absorption capability of the FGF filled tube. A good agreement between the experimental and simulation results is observed. Finally, the results of experimental test show that an FGF filled tube has excellent energy absorption capacity compared to the ordinary uniform foam-filled tube with the same weight.

Carbon particle induced foaming of molten sucrose for the preparation of carbon foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narasimman, R.; Vijayan, Sujith; Prabhakaran, K.

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • An easy method for the preparation of carbon foam from sucrose is presented. • Wood derived activated carbon particles are used to stabilize the molten sucrose foam. • The carbon foams show relatively good mechanical strength. • The carbon foams show excellent CO 2 adsorption and oil absorption properties. • The process could be scaled up for the preparation of large foam bodies. - Abstract: Activated carbon powder was used as a foaming and foam setting agent for the preparation of carbon foams with a hierarchical pore structure from molten sucrose. The rheological measurements revealed the interruption of intermolecular hydrogen bonding in molten sucrose by the carbon particles. The carbon particles stabilized the bubbles in molten sucrose by adsorbing on the molten sucrose–gas interface. The carbon foams obtained at the activated carbon powder to sucrose weight ratios in the range of 0–0.25 had a compressive strength in the range of 1.35–0.31 MPa. The produced carbon foams adsorb 2.59–3.04 mmol/g of CO 2 at 760 mmHg at 273 K and absorb oil from oil–water mixtures and surfactant stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with very good selectivity and recyclability

Effect of Graphene Coating on the Heat Transfer Performance of a Composite Anti-/Deicing Component

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Long Chen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The thermal conductivity of a graphene coating for anti-/deicing is rarely studied. This paper presents an improved anti-/deicing efficiency method for composite material anti-/deicing by using the heat-transfer characteristic of a graphene coating. An anti-/deicing experiment was conducted using the centrifugal force generated by a helicopter rotor. Results showed that the graphene coating can accelerate the internal heat transfer of the composite material, thereby improving the anti-icing and deicing efficiency of the helicopter rotor. The spraying process parameters, such as coating thickness and spraying pressure, were also studied. Results showed that reducing coating thickness and increasing spraying pressure are beneficial in preparing a graphene coating with high thermal conductivity. This study provides an experimental reference for the application of a graphene coating in anti-/deicing.

Clinical effectiveness of DSA-guided foam sclerotherapy for varicose veins of lower limbs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Jianhua; He Xu; Chen Guoping; Gu Jianping; Wang Yafei

2011-01-01

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of DSA-guided foam sclerotherapy for varicose veins of lower limbs. Methods: A total of 25 diseased limbs in 20 patients with varicose veins were treated with foam sclerotherapy. The patients were followed up for six months. Sodium morrhuate, used as the sclerosant, was foamed with air by using Tessari's method, with liquid-gas ratio of 1 : 4. The clinical effectiveness was estimated by CEAP, clinical signs and symptoms. Results: A total of 25 limbs in 20 patients with varicose veins were successfully treated with foam sclerotherapy. The technical success rate was 100%. No serious complications such as pulmonary embolism occurred. Phlebitis was observed in two cases at 2 days 4 days after foam sclerotherapy respectively which was relieved after anti-inflammatory medication for 3 days. At the time of discharge, excellent result was seen in 12 (48%) limbs, good effect in 13 (52%) limbs. The total effective rate was 100%. Six months after the treatment, excellent effect was obtained in 15 (60%) limbs and good effect was seen in 10 (40%) limbs. The total effective rate was 100%. Conclusion: DSA-guided foam sclerotherapy is a safe, effective and micro-invasive treatment for varicose veins of lower limbs with high technical success rate, although the long-term clinical effect needs to be further evaluated. (authors)

Studies on the chemical compositions and anti nutrients of some ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2008-11-05

Nov 5, 2008 ... fruit parts with low level of anti nutrient, high elemental composition, protein, lipid, carbohydrates and ascorbic acid could ... stored in airtight plastic containers inside the refrigerator. B. glabra .... vitamin and mineral availability.

State-of-the-Art Review on the Characteristics of Surfactants and Foam from Foam Concrete Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, Sritam Swapnadarshi; Gandhi, Indu Siva Ranjani; Khwairakpam, Selija

2018-06-01

Foam concrete finds application in many areas, generally as a function of its relatively lightweight and its beneficial properties in terms of reduction in dead load on structure, excellent thermal insulation and contribution to energy conservation. For production of foam concrete with desired properties, stable and good quality foam is the key requirement. It is to be noted that the selection of surfactant and foam production parameters play a vital role in the properties of foam which in turn affects the properties of foam concrete. However, the literature available on the influence of characteristics of foaming agent and foam on the properties of foam concrete are rather limited. Hence, a more systematic research is needed in this direction. The focus of this work is to provide a review on characteristics of surfactant (foaming agent) and foam for use in foam concrete production.

Utilization of power plant bottom-ash particles as stabilizer in aluminum foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Asavavisithchai, Seksak; Prapajaraswong, Attanadol [Chulalongkorn Univ., Bangkok (Thailand). Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering

2013-07-01

Aluminum foams, produced via powder metallurgical (PM) process, normally require the addition of ceramic particles in compaction stage, in order to increase both foamability of precursors and mechanical properties of the final foam products. Bottom ash particles are a by-product waste obtained from thermoelectric power plants which are commonly found to be used in landfill facilities. The major chemical constituent, approximately between 30 wt.-% and 60 wt.-%, of bottom ash particles is SiO{sub 2}, depending on chemical composition in coal, sintering condition and environment, and other process parameters. In this study, we explore the feasibility of utilizing bottom ash particles of thermoelectric power plant wastes as stabilizer in aluminum foams. A small amount of two-size bottom ash particles (mean size of 78 {mu}m and 186 {mu}m), between 1 wt.-% and 5 wt.-%, have been added to aluminum foams. Foam expansion, macro- and microstructures as well as mechanical properties, such as compressive strength and microhardness, were investigated. The results from the present study suggest that bottom ash particles can be used as a stabilizing material which can improve both cellular structure and mechanical properties of aluminum foams. (orig.)

Forming of shape memory composite structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Santo, Loredana; Quadrini, Fabrizio; De Chiffre, Leonardo

2013-01-01

A new forming procedure was developed to produce shape memory composite structures having structural composite skins over a shape memory polymer core. Core material was obtained by solid state foaming of an epoxy polyester resin with remarkably shape memory properties. The composite skin consisted...... of a two-layer unidirectional thermoplastic composite (glass filled polypropylene). Skins were joined to the foamed core by hot compression without any adhesive: a very good adhesion was obtained as experimental tests confirmed. The structure of the foam core was investigated by means of computer axial...... tomography. Final shape memory composite panels were mechanically tested by three point bending before and after a shape memory step. This step consisted of a compression to reduce the panel thickness up to 60%. At the end of the bending test the panel shape was recovered by heating and a new memory step...

Bright x-ray sources from laser irradiation of foams with high concentration of Ti

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez, F., E-mail: perez75@llnl.gov; Patterson, J. R.; May, M.; Colvin, J. D.; Biener, M. M.; Wittstock, A.; Kucheyev, S. O.; Charnvanichborikarn, S.; Satcher, J. H.; Gammon, S. A.; Poco, J. F.; Fournier, K. B. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave., Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Fujioka, S.; Zhang, Z.; Ishihara, K.; Tanaka, N.; Ikenouchi, T.; Nishimura, H. [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, 2-6 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

2014-02-15

Low-density foams irradiated by a 20 kJ laser at the Omega laser facility (Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Rochester, NY, USA) are shown to convert more than 5% of the laser energy into 4.6 to 6.0 keV x rays. This record efficiency with foam targets is due to novel fabrication techniques based on atomic-layer-deposition of Ti atoms on an aerogel scaffold. A Ti concentration of 33 at. % was obtained in a foam with a total density of 5 mg/cm{sup 3}. The dynamics of the ionization front through these foams were investigated at the 1 kJ laser of the Gekko XII facility (Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka, Japan). Hydrodynamic simulations can reproduce the average electron temperature but fail to predict accurately the heat front velocity in the foam. This discrepancy is shown to be unrelated to the possible water adsorbed in the foam but could be attributed to effects of the foam micro-structure.

Graphene hydrogels deposited in nickel foams for high-rate electrochemical capacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ji; Sheng, Kaixuan; Luo, Peihui; Li, Chun; Shi, Gaoquan

2012-08-28

Graphene hydrogel/nickel foam composite electrodes for high-rate electrochemical capacitors are produced by reduction of an aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide in a nickel foam (upper half of figure). The micropores of the hydrogel are exposed to the electrolyte so that ions can enter and form electrochemical double-layers. The nickel framework shortens the distances of charge transfer. Therefore, the electrochemical capacitor exhibits highrate performance (see plots). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Metal foams as gas coolers for exhaust gas recirculation systems subjected to particulate fouling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooman, K.; Malayeri, M.R.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Fouling of metal foam heat exchangers as EGR gas coolers is tested. • An optimal design was inferred based on the generated data. • A simple cleaning technique was suggested and evaluated. - Abstract: This paper presents experimental results indicating the benefits and challenges associated with the use of metal foams as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) coolers. Fouling of such heat exchangers is a critical issue and, as such, special attention has been paid to address this very issue in the present study where a soot generator has been employed to simulate the engine running condition. Effects of aluminium foam PPI and height as well as gas velocity are investigated. It has been noted that proper design of the foam can lead to significantly higher heat transfer rate and reasonable pressure drop compared to no-foam cases. More interestingly, it is demonstrated that the foams can be cleaned easily without relying on expensive cleaning techniques. Using simple brush-cleaning, the foams can be reused as EGR gas coolers with a performance penalty of only 17% (compared to a new or clean foam).

APPLICATION OF THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY CRITERION IN THE DESIGN OF FOAM-CERAMIC CONCRETES BASED ON THE OPAL-CRYSTOBALITE ROCK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korolev Evgeniy Valerevich

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Design method of the foam-ceramic concrete with the pre-set value of thermal conductivity is proposed. Computed dependencies between the thermal conductivity, strength and generalized structural criterion - porosity - are presented. As a result of the research, it was identified that local input materials are ecological and easy to extract, and that they may be used as the mineral basis for the manufacturing of effective foam-glass ceramic materials that demonstrate their porous structure, similar to the one of the foam-ceramic concrete. The employment of the proposed approach to the design of the composition of foam-glass ceramic materials may substantially improve the most important properties of this material, namely, it may reduce the sorption capacity and improve the strength, if compared with the benchmark composition.

Steady-state capabilities for hydroturbines with OpenFOAM

Science.gov (United States)

Page, M.; Beaudoin, M.; Giroux, A. M.

2010-08-01

The availability of a high quality Open Source CFD simulation platform like OpenFOAM offers new R&D opportunities by providing direct access to models and solver implementation details. Efforts have been made by Hydro-Québec to adapt OpenFOAM to hydroturbines for the development of steady-state capabilities. The paper describes the developments that have been made to implement new turbomachinery related capabilities: Multiple Frame of Reference solver, domain coupling interfaces (GGI, cyclicGGI and mixing plane) and specialized boundary conditions. Practical use of the new turbomachinery capabilities are demonstrated for the analysis of a 195-MW Francis hydroturbine.

Steady-state capabilities for hydroturbines with OpenFOAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Page, M; Beaudoin, M; Giroux, A M, E-mail: page.maryse@ireq.c [Hydro-Quebec, Institut de recherche 1800 Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec J3X 1S1 (Canada)

2010-08-15

The availability of a high quality Open Source CFD simulation platform like OpenFOAM offers new R and D opportunities by providing direct access to models and solver implementation details. Efforts have been made by Hydro-Quebec to adapt OpenFOAM to hydroturbines for the development of steady-state capabilities. The paper describes the developments that have been made to implement new turbomachinery related capabilities: Multiple Frame of Reference solver, domain coupling interfaces (GGI, cyclicGGI and mixing plane) and specialized boundary conditions. Practical use of the new turbomachinery capabilities are demonstrated for the analysis of a 195-MW Francis hydroturbine.

Steady-state capabilities for hydroturbines with OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Page, M; Beaudoin, M; Giroux, A M

2010-01-01

The availability of a high quality Open Source CFD simulation platform like OpenFOAM offers new R and D opportunities by providing direct access to models and solver implementation details. Efforts have been made by Hydro-Quebec to adapt OpenFOAM to hydroturbines for the development of steady-state capabilities. The paper describes the developments that have been made to implement new turbomachinery related capabilities: Multiple Frame of Reference solver, domain coupling interfaces (GGI, cyclicGGI and mixing plane) and specialized boundary conditions. Practical use of the new turbomachinery capabilities are demonstrated for the analysis of a 195-MW Francis hydroturbine.

Innovative energy absorbing devices based on composite tubes

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Chandrashekhar

Analytical and experimental study of innovative load limiting and energy absorbing devices are presented here. The devices are based on composite tubes and can be categorized in to two groups based upon the energy absorbing mechanisms exhibited by them, namely: foam crushing and foam fracturing. The device based on foam crushing as the energy absorbing mechanism is composed of light weight elastic-plastic foam filling inside an angle ply composite tube. The tube is tailored to have a high Poisson’s ratio (>20). Upon being loaded the device experiences large transverse contraction resulting in rapid decrease in diameter. At a certain axial load the foam core begins to crush and energy is dissipated. This device is termed as crush tube device. The device based upon foam shear fracture as the energy absorbing mechanism involves an elastic-plastic core foam in annulus of two concentric extension-twist coupled composite tubes with opposite angles of fibers. The core foam is bonded to the inner and outer tube walls. Upon being loaded axially, the tubes twist in opposite directions and fracture the core foam in out of plane shear and thus dissipate the energy stored. The device is termed as sandwich core device (SCD). The devices exhibit variations in force-displacement characteristics with changes in design and material parameters, resulting in wide range of energy absorption capabilities. A flexible matrix composite system was selected, which was composed of high stiffness carbon fibers as reinforcements in relatively low stiffness polyurethane matrix, based upon large strain to failure capabilities and large beneficial elastic couplings. Linear and non-linear analytical models were developed encapsulating large deformation theory of the laminated composite shells (using non-linear strain energy formulation) to the fracture mechanics of core foam and elastic-plastic deformation theory of the foam filling. The non-linear model is capable of including material and

Gas Release Behavior of Cu-TiH2 Composite Powder and Its Application as a Blowing Agent to Fabricate Aluminum Foams with Low Porosity and Small Pore Size

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ying; Li, Yanxiang; Chen, Xiang; Liu, Zhiyong; Zhou, Xu; Wang, Ningzhen

2018-03-01

Compared to traditional pore structure with high porosity (≥ 80 pct) and large pore size (≥ 3 mm), aluminum foams with low porosity (60 to 70 pct) and small pore size (≤ 2 mm) possess higher compressive property and formability. In order to achieve the goal of reducing pore size, Cu-TiH2 composite powder prepared by ball milling preoxidized TiH2 with Cu powder was used as a blowing agent. Its gas release behavior was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that the ball milling treatment can advance the gas release process and slow the gas release rate at the same time. All these changes are favorable to the reduction of porosity and pore size. Such Cu-TiH2 composite powder provides an alternative way to fabricate aluminum foams with low porosity and small pore size.

Gas Release Behavior of Cu-TiH2 Composite Powder and Its Application as a Blowing Agent to Fabricate Aluminum Foams with Low Porosity and Small Pore Size

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ying; Li, Yanxiang; Chen, Xiang; Liu, Zhiyong; Zhou, Xu; Wang, Ningzhen

2018-06-01

Compared to traditional pore structure with high porosity (≥ 80 pct) and large pore size (≥ 3 mm), aluminum foams with low porosity (60 to 70 pct) and small pore size (≤ 2 mm) possess higher compressive property and formability. In order to achieve the goal of reducing pore size, Cu-TiH2 composite powder prepared by ball milling preoxidized TiH2 with Cu powder was used as a blowing agent. Its gas release behavior was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that the ball milling treatment can advance the gas release process and slow the gas release rate at the same time. All these changes are favorable to the reduction of porosity and pore size. Such Cu-TiH2 composite powder provides an alternative way to fabricate aluminum foams with low porosity and small pore size.

Strain-rate dependence for Ni/Al hybrid foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung Anne

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Shock absorption often needs stiff but lightweight materials that exhibit a large kinetic energy absorption capability. Open-cell metal foams are artificial structures, which due to their plateau stress, including a strong hysteresis, can in principle absorb large amounts of energy. However, their plateau stress is too low for many applications. In this study, we use highly novel and promising Ni/Al hybrid foams which consist of standard, open-cell aluminium foams, where nanocrystalline nickel is deposited by electrodeposition as coating on the strut surface. The mechanical behaviour of cellular materials, including their behaviour under higher strain-rates, is governed by their microstructure due to the properties of the strut material, pore/strut geometry and mass distribution over the struts. Micro-inertia effects are strongly related to the microstructure. For a conclusive model, the exact real microstructure is needed. In this study a micro-focus computer tomography (μCT system has been used for the analysis of the microstructure of the foam samples and for the development of a microstructural Finite Element (micro-FE mesh. The microstructural FE models have been used to model the mechanical behaviour of the Ni/Al hybrid foams under dynamic loading conditions. The simulations are validated by quasi-static compression tests and dynamic split Hopkinson pressure bar tests.

Morphological Parameters in Relation to the Electromagnetic Properties of Microcellular Thermoplastic Polyurethane Foam in X-Band Frequency Ranges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Hassan Moeini

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Microcellular thermoplastic polyurethane foams are examined as absorbing materials in the X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz frequency range by means of experiment. In this work, we aim to establish relationships between foam morphology including cell size and air volume fraction and electromagnetic properties including absorption, transmission and reflection quality. Nanocomposites based on thermoplastic polyurethane containing carbon black were prepared by coagulation method. In this procedure 15 wt% carbon black-containing nanocomposite was converted to microcellular foams using batch foaming process and supercritical carbon dioxide as physical foaming agent. The morphology of the foams was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. S-parameters of the samples were measured by a vector network analyzer (VNA and the effect of morphological parameters such as cell size and air volume fraction on the absorbing properties was investigated. We also established structure/properties relationships which were essential for further optimizations of the materials used in the construction of radar absorbing composites. Foaming reduced the percolation threshold of the nanocomposites due to the reduction in the average distance between nanoparticles. Foaming and dielectric constant reduction dropped the reflection percentage significantly. The increase in air volume fraction in the foam increased absorption per its weight, because of multiple scattering in composite media. The sensitivity of electromagnetic wave toward the variation of cell size is strongly weaker than that toward the variation of air volume fraction. Electromagnetic properties of the microcellular foams deviated a little from effective medium theories (EMTs. Air volume fraction of the cells was a function of cell size and smaller cells showed higher absorption.

THIRD-GENERATION FOAM BLOWING AGENTS FOR FOAM INSULATION

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a study of third-generation blowing agents for foam insulation. (NOTE: the search for third-generation foam blowing agents has led to the realization that, as the number of potential substitutes increases, new concerns, such as their potential to act a...

Soft Soil Impact Testing and Simulation of Aerospace Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Fasanella, Edwin L.; Jackson, Karen E.; Kellas, Sotiris

2008-01-01

In June 2007, a 38-ft/s vertical drop test of a 5-ft-diameter, 5-ft-long composite fuselage section that was retrofitted with a novel composite honeycomb Deployable Energy Absorber (DEA) was conducted onto unpacked sand. This test was one of a series of tests to evaluate the multi-terrain capabilities of the DEA and to generate test data for model validation. During the test, the DEA crushed approximately 6-in. and left craters in the sand of depths ranging from 7.5- to 9-in. A finite element model of the fuselage section with DEA was developed for execution in LS-DYNA, a commercial nonlinear explicit transient dynamic code. Pre-test predictions were generated in which the sand was represented initially as a crushable foam material MAT_CRUSHABLE_FOAM (Mat 63). Following the drop test, a series of hemispherical penetrometer tests were conducted to assist in soil characterization. The penetrometer weighed 20-lb and was instrumented with a tri-axial accelerometer. Drop tests were performed at 16-ft/s and crater depths were measured. The penetrometer drop tests were simulated as a means for developing a more representative soil model based on a soil and foam material definition MAT_SOIL_AND FOAM (Mat 5) in LS-DYNA. The model of the fuselage with DEA was reexecuted using the updated soil model and test-analysis correlations are presented.

Analysis of Stainless Steel Sandwich Panels with a Metal Foam Care for Lightweight Fan Blade Design

Science.gov (United States)

Min, James B.; Ghosn, Louis J.; Lerch, Bradley A.; Raj, Sai V.; Holland, Frederic A., Jr.; Hebsur, Mohan G.

2004-01-01

The quest for cheap, low density and high performance materials in the design of aircraft and rotorcraft engine fan and propeller blades poses immense challenges to the materials and structural design engineers. Traditionally, these components have been fabricated using expensive materials such as light weight titanium alloys, polymeric composite materials and carbon-carbon composites. The present study investigates the use of P sandwich foam fan blade made up of solid face sheets and a metal foam core. The face sheets and the metal foam core material were an aerospace grade precipitation hardened 17-4 PH stainless steel with high strength and high toughness. The stiffness of the sandwich structure is increased by separating the two face sheets by a foam core. The resulting structure possesses a high stiffness while being lighter than a similar solid construction. Since the face sheets carry the applied bending loads, the sandwich architecture is a viable engineering concept. The material properties of 17-4 PH metal foam are reviewed briefly to describe the characteristics of the sandwich structure for a fan blade application. A vibration analysis for natural frequencies and P detailed stress analysis on the 17-4 PH sandwich foam blade design for different combinations of skin thickness and core volume %re presented with a comparison to a solid titanium blade.

Chemical compounds and mechanisms involved in the formation and stabilization of foam in sparkling wines.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, Belinda; Condé, Bruna; Jégou, Sandrine; Howell, Kate; Vasserot, Yann; Marchal, Richard

2018-02-08

The visual properties of sparkling wine including foam and bubbles are an indicator of sparkling wine quality. Foam properties, particularly foam height (FH) and foam stability (TS), are significantly influenced by the chemical composition of the wine. This review investigates our current knowledge of specific chemical compounds and, the mechanisms by which they influence the foam properties of sparkling wines. Grape and yeast proteins, amino acids, polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, organic acids, fatty acids, ethanol and sugar are examined with respect to their contribution to foam characteristics in sparkling wines made with the Traditional, Transfer, and Charmat and carbonation methods. Contradictory results have been identified that appear to be due to the analytical methods used to measure and quantify compounds and foam. Biopolymer complexes are discussed and absent knowledge with regards to thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs), polysaccharides, amino acids, oak-derived phenolic compounds and organic acids are identified. Future research is also likely to concentrate on visual analysis of sparkling wines by in-depth imaging analysis and specific sensory analysis techniques.

Identifying the Imprint of Surfactant Stabilisation in Whitecap Foam Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Callaghan, A. H.; Deane, G. B.; Stokes, D.

2016-02-01

Surfactants are ubiquitous in the world's oceans and can affect climatically-relevant processes such as air-sea gas exchange, sea spray aerosol (SSA) flux, and air-sea momentum transfer. Surfactants are amphiphilic and help form the physically and chemically distinct ocean surface microlayer (SML), however, the spatial distribution, concentration and composition of the SML is not well understood, especially under conditions of vigorous wave breaking. Like the SML, breaking waves also influence physical exchange processes at the air-sea interface, and oceanic whitecap foam coverage is commonly used to quantify bubble-mediated exchange processes. However, surfactants can increase the lifetime of foam over clean water conditions, potentially complicating the use of whitecap coverage to parameterise air-sea gas exchange and SSA production flux. A better understanding of how surfactants affect the evolution of whitecap foam is needed to improve whitecap parameterisations of bubble-mediated processes, and may also provide a remote sensing approach to map the spatial distribution of surfactants at the water surface. Here we present results from a laboratory study that looked at whitecap foam evolution in "clean" and "surfactant-added" seawater regimes. We find that the whitecap foam area growth timescale is largely insensitive to the presence of surfactants, but that surfactant stabilization of whitecap foam becomes important during the whitecap foam area decay phase. The timescale at which this occurs appears to be consistent for breaking waves of different scale and intensity. A simple method is then used to isolate the surfactant signal and derive an equivalent "clean" seawater foam decay time for the whitecaps in the "surfactant-added" regime. The method is applied to oceanic whitecaps and results compared to the laboratory whitecaps from the "clean" and "surfactant-added" regimes.

Polymer Composites Corrosive Degradation: A Computational Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, Christos C.; Minnetyan, Levon

2007-01-01

A computational simulation of polymer composites corrosive durability is presented. The corrosive environment is assumed to manage the polymer composite degradation on a ply-by-ply basis. The degradation is correlated with a measured pH factor and is represented by voids, temperature and moisture which vary parabolically for voids and linearly for temperature and moisture through the laminate thickness. The simulation is performed by a computational composite mechanics computer code which includes micro, macro, combined stress failure and laminate theories. This accounts for starting the simulation from constitutive material properties and up to the laminate scale which exposes the laminate to the corrosive environment. Results obtained for one laminate indicate that the ply-by-ply degradation degrades the laminate to the last one or the last several plies. Results also demonstrate that the simulation is applicable to other polymer composite systems as well.

Development of graphite foam infiltrated with MgCl 2 for a latent heat based thermal energy storage (LHTES) system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Dileep; Kim, Taeil; Zhao, Weihuan; Yu, Wenhua; France, David M.

2016-08-01

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems that are compatible with high temperature power cycles for concentrating solar power (CSP) require high temperature media for transporting and storing thermal energy. To that end, TES systems have been proposed based on the latent heat of fusion of the phase change materials (PCMs). However, PCMs have relatively low thermal conductivities. In this paper, use of high-thermal-conductivity graphite foam infiltrated with a PCM (MgCl2) has been investigated as a potential TES system. Graphite foams with two porosities were infiltrated with MgCl2. The infiltrated composites were evaluated for density, heat of fusion, melting/freezing temperatures, and thermal diffusivities. Estimated thermal conductivities of MgCl2/graphite foam composites were significantly higher than those of MgCl2 alone over the measured temperature range. Furthermore, heat of fusion, melting/freezing temperatures, and densities showed comparable values to those of pure MgCl2. Results of this study indicate that MgCl2/graphite foam composites show promise as storage media for a latent heat thermal energy storage system for CSP applications.

Thermal Conductivity of Foam Glass

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob; Yue, Yuanzheng

Due to the increased focus on energy savings and waste recycling foam glass materials have gained increased attention. The production process of foam glass is a potential low-cost recycle option for challenging waste, e.g. CRT glass and industrial waste (fly ash and slags). Foam glass is used...... as thermal insulating material in building and chemical industry. The large volume of gas (porosity 90 – 95%) is the main reason of the low thermal conductivity of the foam glass. If gases with lower thermal conductivity compared to air are entrapped in the glass melt, the derived foam glass will contain...... only closed pores and its overall thermal conductivity will be much lower than that of the foam glass with open pores. In this work we have prepared foam glass using different types of recycled glasses and different kinds of foaming agents. This enabled the formation of foam glasses having gas cells...

Equilibrium states and ground state of two-dimensional fluid foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graner, F.; Jiang, Y.; Janiaud, E.; Flament, C.

2001-01-01

We study the equilibrium energies of two-dimensional (2D) noncoarsening fluid foams, which consist of bubbles with fixed areas. The equilibrium states correspond to local minima of the total perimeter. We present a theoretical derivation of energy minima; experiments with ferrofluid foams, which can be either highly distorted, locally relaxed, or globally annealed; and Monte Carlo simulations using the extended large-Q Potts model. For a dry foam with small size variance we develop physical insight and an electrostatic analogy, which enables us to (i) find an approximate value of the global minimum perimeter, accounting for (small) area disorder, the topological distribution, and physical boundary conditions; (ii) conjecture the corresponding pattern and topology: small bubbles sort inward and large bubbles sort outward, topological charges of the same signs ''repel'' while charges of the opposite signs ''attract;'' (iii) define local and global markers to determine directly from an image how far a foam is from its ground state; (iv) conjecture that, in a local perimeter minimum at prescribed topology, the pressure distribution and thus the edge curvature are unique. Some results also apply to 3D foams

Gas-Foamed Scaffold Gradients for Combinatorial Screening in 3D

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim Kohn

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Current methods for screening cell-material interactions typically utilize a two-dimensional (2D culture format where cells are cultured on flat surfaces. However, there is a need for combinatorial and high-throughput screening methods to systematically screen cell-biomaterial interactions in three-dimensional (3D tissue scaffolds for tissue engineering. Previously, we developed a two-syringe pump approach for making 3D scaffold gradients for use in combinatorial screening of salt-leached scaffolds. Herein, we demonstrate that the two-syringe pump approach can also be used to create scaffold gradients using a gas-foaming approach. Macroporous foams prepared by a gas-foaming technique are commonly used for fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds due to their high interconnectivity and good mechanical properties. Gas-foamed scaffold gradient libraries were fabricated from two biodegradable tyrosine-derived polycarbonates: poly(desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine ethyl ester carbonate (pDTEc and poly(desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine octyl ester carbonate (pDTOc. The composition of the libraries was assessed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR and showed that pDTEc/pDTOc gas-foamed scaffold gradients could be repeatably fabricated. Scanning electron microscopy showed that scaffold morphology was similar between the pDTEc-rich ends and the pDTOc-rich ends of the gradient. These results introduce a method for fabricating gas-foamed polymer scaffold gradients that can be used for combinatorial screening of cell-material interactions in 3D.

Anti-nutrient, vitamin and other phytochemical compositions of old ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study was carried out to determine the anti-nutrient, vitamin and other phytochemical compositions of old and succulent leaves of Moringa oleifera plants as influenced by poultry manure application. Three levels of poultry manure, that is, 0, 5 and 10 tonnes ha-1 were used for treatment. Poultry manure application ...

Foaming in Hanford River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant LAW Evaporation Processes - FY01 Summary Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calloway, T.B.

2002-01-01

The LAW evaporation processes currently being designed for the Hanford River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant are subject to foaming. Experimental simulant studies have been conducted in an effort to achieve an effective antifoam agent suitable to mitigate such foaming

Process simulations for manufacturing of thick composites

Science.gov (United States)

Kempner, Evan A.

The availability of manufacturing simulations for composites can significantly reduce the costs associated with process development. Simulations provide a tool for evaluating the effect of processing conditions on the quality of parts produced without requiring numerous experiments. This is especially significant in parts that have troublesome features such as large thickness. The development of simulations for thick walled composites has been approached by examining the mechanics of resin flow and fiber deformation during processing, applying these evaluations to develop simulations, and evaluating the simulation with experimental results. A unified analysis is developed to describe the three-dimensional resin flow and fiber preform deformation during processing regardless of the manufacturing process used. It is shown how the generic governing evaluations in the unified analysis can be applied to autoclave molding, compression molding, pultrusion, filament winding, and resin transfer molding. A comparison is provided with earlier models derived individually for these processes. The evaluations described for autoclave curing were used to produce a one-dimensional cure simulation for autoclave curing of thick composites. The simulation consists of an analysis for heat transfer and resin flow in the composite as well as bleeder plies used to absorb resin removed from the part. Experiments were performed in a hot press to approximate curing in an autoclave. Graphite/epoxy laminates of 3 cm and 5 cm thickness were cured while monitoring temperatures at several points inside the laminate and thickness. The simulation predicted temperatures fairly closely, but difficulties were encountered in correlation of thickness results. This simulation was also used to study the effects of prepreg aging on processing of thick composites. An investigation was also performed on filament winding with prepreg tow. Cylinders were wound of approximately 12 mm thickness with pressure

Foam patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhry, Anil R; Dzugan, Robert; Harrington, Richard M; Neece, Faurice D; Singh, Nipendra P; Westendorf, Travis

2013-11-26

A method of creating a foam pattern comprises mixing a polyol component and an isocyanate component to form a liquid mixture. The method further comprises placing a temporary core having a shape corresponding to a desired internal feature in a cavity of a mold and inserting the mixture into the cavity of the mold so that the mixture surrounds a portion of the temporary core. The method optionally further comprises using supporting pins made of foam to support the core in the mold cavity, with such pins becoming integral part of the pattern material simplifying subsequent processing. The method further comprises waiting for a predetermined time sufficient for a reaction from the mixture to form a foam pattern structure corresponding to the cavity of the mold, wherein the foam pattern structure encloses a portion of the temporary core and removing the temporary core from the pattern independent of chemical leaching.

Advanced Li-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitors Based on 3D Graphene-Foam Composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wenwen; Li, Jingde; Feng, Kun; Sy, Abel; Liu, Yangshuai; Lim, Lucas; Lui, Gregory; Tjandra, Ricky; Rasenthiram, Lathankan; Chiu, Gordon; Yu, Aiping

2016-10-05

Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors (LIHSs) have recently attracted increasing attention as a new and promising energy storage device. However, it is still a great challenge to construct novel LIHSs with high-performance due to the majority of battery-type anodes retaining the sluggish kinetics of Li-ion storage and most capacitor-type cathodes with low specific capacitance. To solve this problem, 3D graphene-wrapped MoO 3 nanobelt foam with the unique porous network structure has been designed and prepared as anode material, which delivers high capacity, improved rate performance, and enhanced cycle stability. First-principles calculation reveals that the combination of graphene dramatically reduces the diffusion energy barrier of Li + adsorbed on the surface of MoO 3 nanobelt, thus improving its electrochemical performance. Furthermore, 3D graphene-wrapped polyaniline nanotube foam derived carbon is employed as a new type of capacitor-type cathode, demonstrating high specific capacitance, good rate performance, and long cycle stability. Benefiting from these two graphene foam-enhanced materials, the constructed LIHSs show a wide operating voltage range (3.8 V), a long stable cycle life (90% capacity retention after 3000 cycles), a high energy density (128.3 Wh·kg -1 ), and a high power density (13.5 kW·kg -1 ). These encouraging performances indicate that the obtained LIHSs may have promising prospect as next-generation energy-storage devices.

Thermosetting Fluoropolymer Foams

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sheng Yen

1987-01-01

New process makes fluoropolymer foams with controllable amounts of inert-gas fillings in foam cells. Thermosetting fluoropolymers do not require foaming additives leaving undesirable residues and do not have to be molded and sintered at temperatures of about 240 to 400 degree C. Consequently, better for use with electronic or other parts sensitive to high temperatures or residues. Uses include coatings, electrical insulation, and structural parts.

Design of foam-buffered high gain target with Fokker-Planck implosion simulation for thermal insulation and imprint mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, T.; Mima, K.; Norimatsu, T.; Nagatomo, H.; Nishiguchi, A.

2003-01-01

It is proposed that a thick foam layer on a plastic capsule of fusion pellet is effective not only for reducing the initial imprint, but also for solving the melting problem of cryogenic deuterium-tritium layer, in a reactor chamber. Investigated are the dependences of gain, thermal insulation for preventing the melting, and imprint mitigation of a foam-buffered target on the foam layer thickness. The imprint mitigation, the Rayleigh-Taylor growth factor and the fusion gain of a foam-buffered target are evaluated by the hydrodynamic implosion code HIMICO [A. Nishiguchi et al., Phys. Fluids B 4, 417 (1992)], which includes a Fokker-Planck transport code. As the result, it is found that high gain can be achieved by the foam-buffered target together with thermal insulation and imprint mitigation

Sorption of Triangular Silver Nanoplates on Polyurethane Foam

Science.gov (United States)

Furletov, A. A.; Apyari, V. V.; Garshev, A. V.; Volkov, P. A.; Tolmacheva, V. V.; Dmitrienko, S. G.

2018-02-01

The sorption of triangular silver nanoplates on polyurethane foam is investigated as a procedure for creating a nanocomposite sensing material for subsequent use in optical means of chemical analysis. Triangular silver nanoplates are synthesized and characterized, and a simple sorption technique for the formation of a composite material based on these nanoplates is proposed.

Foaming/antifoaming in WTP Tanks Equipped with Pulse Jet Mixer and Air Spargers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HASSAN, NEGUIB

2004-01-01

The River Protection Project-Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP) requested Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to conduct small-scale foaming and antifoam testing using actual Hanford waste and simulants subjected to air sparging. The foaminess of Hanford tank waste solutions was previously demonstrated in SRNL during WTP evaporator foaming and ultrafiltration studies and commercial antifoam DOW Q2-3183A was recommended to mitigate the foam in the evaporators. Currently, WTP is planning to use air spargers in the HLW Lag Storage Vessels, HLW Concentrate Receipt Vessel, and the Ultrafiltration Vessels to assist the performance of the Jet Pulse Mixers (JPM). Sparging of air into WTP tanks will induce a foam layer within the process vessels. The air dispersion in the waste slurries and generated foams could present problems during plant operation. Foam in the tanks could also adversely impact hydrogen removal and mitigation. Antifoam (DOW Q2-3183A) will be used to control foaming in Hanford sparged waste processing tanks. These tanks will be mixed by a combination of pulse-jet mixers and air spargers. The percent allowable foaminess or freeboard in WTP tanks are shown in tables

Pipe Decontamination Involving String-Foam Circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turchet, J.P.; Estienne, G.; Fournel, B.

2002-01-01

Foam applications number for nuclear decontamination purposes has recently increased. The major advantage of foam decontamination is the reduction of secondary liquid wastes volumes. Among foam applications, we focus on foam circulation in contaminated equipment. Dynamic properties of the system ensures an homogeneous and rapid effect of the foam bed-drifted chemical reagents present in the liquid phase. This paper describes a new approach of foam decontamination for pipes. It is based on an alternated air and foam injections. We called it 'string-foam circulation'. A further reduction of liquid wastes is achieved compared to continuous foam. Secondly, total pressure loss along the pipe is controlled by the total foam length in the pipe. It is thus possible to clean longer pipes keeping the pressure under atmospheric pressure value. This ensures the non dispersion of contamination. This study describes experimental results obtained with a neutral foam as well with an acid foam on a 130 m long loop. Finally, the decontamination of a 44 meters pipe is presented. (authors)

Reversed preparation of low-density poly(divinylbenzene/styrene) foam columns coated with gold films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Yinhai; Wang, Ni; Li, Yaling; Yao, Mengqi; Gan, Haibo; Hu, Wencheng, E-mail: huwc@uestc.edu.cn

2016-06-15

Highlights: • A reversed fabrication of low density foam columns coated with gold films was proposed. • The uniformity in thickness and purity of gold film are easy to be controlled. • A compact layer is prepared through an electrophoretic deposition method. • A low density (12 mg/cc) foam column coated with gold film is obtained. - Abstract: This work aims to fabricate low-density, porous, non-conductive, structural poly(divinylbenzene/styrene) foam columns by high-internal-phase emulsion templating. We prepare these non-conductive foam columns coated with a thin gold layer by electrochemical deposition and the reversed preparation technique. As expected, the density of the foam obtained through this novel method was about 12 mg cm{sup −3}, and the thickness of the gold coating was about 3 μm. We performed field emission scanning electron microscopy to morphologically and microstructurally characterize the products and X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy to determine the composition of the gold coating.

Influence of foaming agents on solid thermal conductivity of foam glasses prepared from CRT panel glass

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Martin Bonderup; Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob

2017-01-01

The understanding of the thermal transport mechanism of foam glass is still lacking. The contribution of solid- and gas conduction to the total thermal conductivity remains to be reported. In many foam glasses, the solid phase consist of a mix of an amorphous and a crystalline part where foaming...... containing glass and crystalline foaming agents and amorphous samples where the foaming agents are completely dissolved in the glass structure, respectively. Results show that the samples prepared by sintering have a higher thermal conductivity than the samples prepared by melt-quenching. The thermal...... conductivities of the sintered and the melt-quenched samples represent an upper and lower limit of the solid phase thermal conductivity of foam glasses prepared with these foaming agents. The content of foaming agents dissolved in the glass structure has a major impact on the solid thermal conductivity of foam...

Method of forming a ceramic matrix composite and a ceramic matrix component

Science.gov (United States)

de Diego, Peter; Zhang, James

2017-05-30

A method of forming a ceramic matrix composite component includes providing a formed ceramic member having a cavity, filling at least a portion of the cavity with a ceramic foam. The ceramic foam is deposited on a barrier layer covering at least one internal passage of the cavity. The method includes processing the formed ceramic member and ceramic foam to obtain a ceramic matrix composite component. Also provided is a method of forming a ceramic matrix composite blade and a ceramic matrix composite component.

Morphologies, Processing and Properties of Ceramic Foams and Their Potential as TPS Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Stackpoole, Mairead; Simoes, Conan R.; Johnson, Sylvia M.

2002-01-01

The current research is focused on processing ceramic foams with compositions that have potential as a thermal protection material. The use of pre-ceramic polymers with the addition of sacrificial blowing agents or sacrificial fillers offers a viable approach to form either open or closed cell insulation. Our work demonstrates that this is a feasible method to form refractory ceramic foams at relatively low processing temperatures. It is possible to foam complex shapes then pyrolize the system to form a ceramic while retaining the shape of the unfired foam. Initial work focused on identifying suitable pre-ceramic polymers with desired properties such as ceramic yield and chemical make up of the pyrolysis product after firing. We focused on making foams in the Si system (Sic, Si02, Si-0-C), which is in use in current acreage TPS systems. Ceramic foams with different architectures were formed from the pyrolysis of pre-ceramic polymers at 1200 C in different atmospheres. In some systems a sacrificial polyurethane was used as the blowing agent. We have also processed foams using sacrificial fillers to introduce controlled cell sizes. Each sacrificial filler or blowing agent leads to a unique morphology. The effect of different fillers on foam morphologies and the characterization of these foams in terms of mechanical and thermal properties are presented. We have conducted preliminary arc jet testing on selected foams with the materials being exposed to typical re-entry conditions for acreage TPS and these results will be discussed. Foams processed using these approaches have bulk densities ranging from 0.15 to 0.9 g/cm3 and cell sizes ranging from 5 to 500 pm. Compression strengths ranged from 2 to 7 MPa for these systems. Finally, preliminary oxidation studies have been conducted on selected systems and will be discussed.

Numerical modeling of aluminium foam on two scales

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Němeček, J.; Denk, F.; Zlámal, Petr

Roč. 267, September (2015), s. 506-516 ISSN 0096-3003 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP105/12/0824 Institutional support: RVO:68378297 Keywords : closed-cell aluminium foam * Alporas * multiscale modeling * homogenization * FFT * finite element modeling Subject RIV: JI - Composite Materials Impact factor: 1.345, year: 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0096300315001162

Foam-mat drying technology: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, Z; Jideani, V A

2017-08-13

This article reviews various aspects of foam-mat drying such as foam-mat drying processing technique, main additives used for foam-mat drying, foam-mat drying of liquid and solid foods, quality characteristics of foam-mat dried foods, and economic and technical benefits for employing foam-mat drying. Foam-mat drying process is an alternative method that allows the removal of water from liquid materials and pureed materials. In this drying process, a liquid material is converted into foam that is stable by being whipped after adding an edible foaming agent. The stable foam is then spread out in sheet or mat and dried by using hot air (40-90°C) at atmospheric pressure. Methyl cellulose (0.25-2%), egg white (3-20%), maltodextrin (0.5-05%), and gum Arabic (2-9%) are the commonly utilized additives for the foam-mat drying process at the given range, either combined together for their effectiveness or individual effect. The foam-mat drying process is suitable for heat sensitive, viscous, and sticky products that cannot be dried using other forms of drying methods such as spray drying because of the state of product. More interest has developed for foam-mat drying because of the simplicity, cost effectiveness, high speed drying, and improved product quality it provides.

Apparatus and method of manufacture for depositing a composite anti-reflection layer on a silicon surface

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata (Inventor)

2012-01-01

An apparatus and associated method are provided. A first silicon layer having at least one of an associated passivation layer and barrier is included. Also included is a composite anti-reflection layer including a stack of layers each with a different thickness and refractive index. Such composite anti-reflection layer is disposed adjacent to the first silicon layer.

Hierarchical Cu2O foam/g-C3N4 photocathode for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xinzhou; Zhang, Jingtao; Wang, Biao; Li, Qiuguo; Chu, Sheng

2018-01-01

Solar photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production is a promising way for solving energy and environment problems. Earth-abundant Cu2O is a potential light absorber for PEC hydrogen production. In this article, hierarchical porous Cu2O foams are prepared by thermal oxidation of the electrochemically deposited Cu foams. PEC performances of the Cu2O foams are systematically studied and discussed. Benefiting from their higher light harvesting and more efficient charge separation, the Cu2O foams demonstrate significantly enhanced photocurrents and photostability compared to their film counterparts. Moreover, by integrating g-C3N4, hierarchical Cu2O foam/g-C3N4 composites are prepared with further improved photocurrent and photostability, appearing to be potential photocathodes for solar PEC hydrogen production. This study may provide a new and useful insight for the development of Cu2O-based photocathodes for PEC hydrogen production.

Production of lightweight foam glass (invited talk)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; König, Jakob; Yue, Yuanzheng

The foam glass production allows low cost recycling of postconsumer glass and industrial waste materials as foaming agent or as melt resource. Foam glass is commonly produced by utilising milled glass mixed with a foaming agent. The powder mixture is heat-treated to around 10^3.7 – 10^6 Pa s, which...... result in viscous sintering and subsequent foaming of the glass melt. The porous glass melt is cooled down to room temperature to freeze-in the foam structure. The resulting foam glass is applied in constructions as a light weight material to reduce load bearing capacity and as heat insulating material...... in buildings and industry. We foam panel glass from old televisions with different foaming agents. We discuss the foaming ability and the foaming mechanism of different foaming systems. We compare several studies to define a viscous window for preparing low density foam glass. However, preparing foam glass...

Polyurethane-Foam Maskant

Science.gov (United States)

Bodemeijer, R.

1985-01-01

Brown wax previously used to mask hardware replaced with polyurethane foam in electroplating and electroforming operations. Foam easier to apply and remove than wax and does not contaminate electrolytes.

Magnetically driven floating foams for the removal of oil contaminants from water.

Science.gov (United States)

Calcagnile, Paola; Fragouli, Despina; Bayer, Ilker S; Anyfantis, George C; Martiradonna, Luigi; Cozzoli, P Davide; Cingolani, Roberto; Athanassiou, Athanassia

2012-06-26

In this study, we present a novel composite material based on commercially available polyurethane foams functionalized with colloidal superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and submicrometer polytetrafluoroethylene particles, which can efficiently separate oil from water. Untreated foam surfaces are inherently hydrophobic and oleophobic, but they can be rendered water-repellent and oil-absorbing by a solvent-free, electrostatic polytetrafluoroethylene particle deposition technique. It was found that combined functionalization of the polytetrafluoroethylene-treated foam surfaces with colloidal iron oxide nanoparticles significantly increases the speed of oil absorption. Detailed microscopic and wettability studies reveal that the combined effects of the surface morphology and of the chemistry of the functionalized foams greatly affect the oil-absorption dynamics. In particular, nanoparticle capping molecules are found to play a major role in this mechanism. In addition to the water-repellent and oil-absorbing capabilities, the functionalized foams exhibit also magnetic responsivity. Finally, due to their light weight, they float easily on water. Hence, by simply moving them around oil-polluted waters using a magnet, they can absorb the floating oil from the polluted regions, thereby purifying the water underneath. This low-cost process can easily be scaled up to clean large-area oil spills in water.

Characterization of Functionalized Polyurethane Foam for Lead Ion Removal from Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subhashini Gunashekar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Polyurethane foams functionalized with sulfonic acid groups are used in this study to exchange lead (Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate, 2,6-diisocyanate (TDI was reacted with Polypropylene glycol 1200 (PPG in 2 : 1 molar ratio to form a linear prepolymer. The linear prepolymer was further polymerized using N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid (BES, which acts both as a chain extender and an ion-exchanger for Pb2+ ions. The functionalized polyurethane foam was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX. The Pb2+ ion exchange capacity was determined using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS. The maximum Pb2+ ion exchange capacity of the foam was found to be 51 ppb/g from a 100 ppb Pb2+ solution over a period of two hours. In addition, pH analysis was carried out on the foam composition with the best Pb2+ ion removal capacity. The pH results based on two-hour exposures showed that the functionalized polyurethane foam performed better at lower pH levels.

Applicability of Solid Solution Heat Treatments to Aluminum Foams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Rodríguez-Pérez

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Present research work evaluates the influence of both density and size on the treatability of Aluminum-based (6000 series foam-parts subjected to a typical solid solution heat treatment (water quenching. The results are compared with those obtained for the bulk alloy, evaluating the fulfilment of cooling requirements. Density of the foams was modeled by tomography analysis and the thermal properties calculated, based on validated density-scaled models. With this basis, cooling velocity maps during water quenching were predicted by finite element modeling (FEM in which boundary conditions were obtained by solving the inverse heat conduction problem. Simulations under such conditions have been validated experimentally. Obtained results address incomplete matrix hardening for foam-parts bigger than 70 mm in diameter with a density below 650 kg/m3. An excellent agreement has been found in between the predicted cooling maps and final measured microhardness profiles.

Experimental characterization of fire-induced response of rigid polyurethane foam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chu, T.Y.; Gill, W.; Moore, J.W.; Hobbs, M.L.; Gritzo, L.A.; Moya, J.L.

1995-12-31

Reported is the result of an experimental investigation of fire-induced response of a 96 kg/m{sup 3} closed cell rigid polyurethane foam. The specimen is 0.37 m in diameter, and 152 mm thick, placed in a cylindrical test vessel. The fire condition is simulated by heating the bottom of the test vessel to 1283 K using a radiant heat source. Real-time x-ray shows that the degradation process involves the progression of a charring front into the virgin material. The charred region has a regular and graded structure consisting of a packed bubble outer layer and successive layers of thin shells. The layer-to-layer permeability appears to be poor. There are indications that gas vents laterally. The shell-like structure might be the result of lateral venting. Although the foam degradation process is quite complicated, the in-depth temperature responses in the uncharted foam appear to be consistent with steady state ablation. The measured temperature responses are well represented by the exponential distribution for steady state ablation. An estimate of the thermal diffusivity of the foam is obtained from the ablation model. The experiment is part of a more comprehensive program to develop material response models of foams and encapsulants.

Influence of stacking sequence on scattering characteristics of the fundamental anti-symmetric Lamb wave at through holes in composite laminates.

Science.gov (United States)

Veidt, Martin; Ng, Ching-Tai

2011-03-01

This paper investigates the scattering characteristics of the fundamental anti-symmetric (A(0)) Lamb wave at through holes in composite laminates. Three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) simulations and experimental measurements are used to study the physical phenomenon. Unidirectional, bidirectional, and quasi-isotropic composite laminates are considered in the study. The influence of different hole diameter to wavelength aspect ratios and different stacking sequences on wave scattering characteristics are investigated. The results show that amplitudes and directivity distribution of the scattered Lamb wave depend on these parameters. In the case of quasi-isotropic composite laminates, the scattering directivity patterns are dominated by the fiber orientation of the outer layers and are quite different for composite laminates with the same number of laminae but different stacking sequence. The study provides improved physical insight into the scattering phenomena at through holes in composite laminates, which is essential to develop, validate, and optimize guided wave damage detection and characterization techniques. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Fire-retardant foams

Science.gov (United States)

Gagliani, J.

1978-01-01

Family of polyimide resins are being developed as foams with exceptional fire-retardant properties. Foams are potentially useful for seat cushions in aircraft and ground vehicles and for applications such as home furnishings and building-construction materials. Basic formulations can be modified with reinforcing fibers or fillers to produce celular materials for variety of applications. By selecting reactants, polymer structure can be modified to give foams with properties ranging from high resiliency and flexibility to brittleness and rigidity.

Influence of the glass particle size on the foaming process and physical characteristics of foam glasses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

König, Jakob; Petersen, Rasmus Rosenlund; Yue, Yuanzheng

2016-01-01

We have prepared low-density foam glasses from cathode-ray-tube panel glass using carbon and MnO2 as the foaming agents. The effect of the glass particle size on the foaming process, the apparent density and the pore morphology is revealed. The results show that the foaming is mainly caused...... by the reduction of manganese. Foam glasses with a density of

High performance symmetric supercapacitor based on zinc hydroxychloride nanosheets and 3D graphene-nickel foam composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khamlich, S.; Abdullaeva, Z.; Kennedy, J.V.; Maaza, M.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A symmetric supercapacitor device based on NiF-G/ZHCNs composite materials electrodes was successfully fabricated. • The fabricated device exhibited high specific areal capacitance of 222 mF cm"−"2 at 1.0 mA cm"−"2 current density. • Excellent cycling performance with 96% specific capacitance retention after 5000 cycles was achieved. - Abstract: In this work, zinc hydroxychloride nanosheets (ZHCNs) were deposited on 3d graphene-nickel foam (NiF-G) by employing a simple hydrothermal synthesis method to form NiF-G/ZHCNs composite electrode materials. The fabricated NiF-G/ZHCNs electrode revealed a well-developed pore structures with high specific surface area of 119 m"2 g"−"1, and used as electrode materials for symmetric supercapacitor with aqueous alkaline electrolyte. The specific areal capacitance and electron charge transfer resistance (R_c_t) were 222 mF cm"−"2 (at current density of 1.0 mA cm"−"2) and 1.63 Ω, respectively, in a symmetric two-electrode system. After 5000 cycles with galvanostatic charge/discharge, the device can maintain 96% of its initial capacitance under 1.0 mA cm"−"2 and showed low R_c_t of about 9.84 Ω. These results indicate that NiF-G/ZHCNs composite is an excellent electrode material for electrochemical energy storage devices.

Foam separation of Cu (II) and Ni(II) from aqueous solutions and simulated wastewaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shakir, K.; Beheir, Sh.G.; Aziz, M.

2003-01-01

Batch experiments on the removal of Cu(II) and Ni(II) from aqueous solutions were performed through two foam separation techniques: precipitate flotation (PTF) an adsorbing colloid flotation (ACF). In ACF, Fe(III), oxyhydroxide was used as co precipitant and/or adsorbing colloid and sodium lauryl sulfate was used as a collector. ACF required a lower collector concentration than PTF. foreign ions were found to decrease the percent removal, the extent of decrease being higher by divalent ions than that by monovalent ones. However, the percent removal could be improved, even in presence of foreign ions, by addition of Al(II) as an activator. High removals could be attained for Cu(II) and Ni(II) from simulated wastewaters containing different concentrations of both metal ions. The addition of concentrations below the limits recommended by the egyptian regulations for environmental discharge

Activated, coal-based carbon foam

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Darren Kenneth; Plucinski, Janusz Wladyslaw

2004-12-21

An ablation resistant, monolithic, activated, carbon foam produced by the activation of a coal-based carbon foam through the action of carbon dioxide, ozone or some similar oxidative agent that pits and/or partially oxidizes the carbon foam skeleton, thereby significantly increasing its overall surface area and concurrently increasing its filtering ability. Such activated carbon foams are suitable for application in virtually all areas where particulate or gel form activated carbon materials have been used. Such an activated carbon foam can be fabricated, i.e. sawed, machined and otherwise shaped to fit virtually any required filtering location by simple insertion and without the need for handling the "dirty" and friable particulate activated carbon foam materials of the prior art.

Foam pad of appropriate thickness can improve diagnostic value of foam posturography in detecting postural instability.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bo; Leng, Yangming; Zhou, Renhong; Liu, Jingjing; Liu, Dongdong; Liu, Jia; Zhang, Su-Lin; Kong, Wei-Jia

2018-04-01

The present study investigated the effect of foam thickness on postural stability in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH) during foam posturography. Static and foam posturography were performed in 33 patients (UVH group) and 30 healthy subjects (control group) with eyes open (EO) and closed (EC) on firm surface and on 1-5 foam pad(s). Sway velocity (SV) of center of pressure, standing time before falling (STBF) and falls reaction were recorded and analyzed. (1) SVs had an increasing tendency in both groups as the foam pads were added under EO and EC conditions. (2) STBFs, only in UVH group with EC, decreased with foam thickness increasing. (3) Significant differences in SV were found between the control and UVH group with EO (except for standing on firm surface, on 1 and 2 foam pad(s)) and with EC (all surface conditions). (4) Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the SV could better reflect the difference in postural stability between the two groups while standing on the 4 foam pads with EC. Our study showed that diagnostic value of foam posturography in detecting postural instability might be enhanced by using foam pad of right thickness.

Comparison of sound absorbing performances of copper foam and iron foam with the same parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, X. C.; Shen, X. M.; Xu, P. J.; Zhang, X. N.; Bai, P. F.; Peng, K.; Yin, Q.; Wang, D.

2018-01-01

Sound absorbing performances of the copper foam and the iron foam with the same parameters were investigated by the AWA6128A detector according to standing wave method. Two modes were investigated, which included the pure metal foam mode and the combination mode with the settled thickness of metal foam. In order to legibly compare the sound absorbing coefficients of the two metal foams, the detected sound frequency points were divided into the low frequency range (100 Hz ~ 1000 Hz), the middle frequency range (1000 Hz ~ 3200 Hz), and the high frequency range (3500 Hz ~ 6000 Hz). Sound absorbing performances of the two metal foams in the two modes were discussed within the three frequency ranges in detail. It would be calculated that the average sound absorbing coefficients of copper foam in the pure metal foam mode were 12.6%, 22.7%, 34.6%, 43.6%, 51.1%, and 56.2% when the thickness was 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm, and 30 mm. meanwhile, in the combination mode, the average sound absorbing coefficients of copper foam with the thickness of 10 mm were 30.6%, 34.8%, 36.3%, and 35.8% when the cavity was 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, and 20 mm. In addition, those of iron foam in the pure metal foam mode were 13.4%, 20.1%, 34.4%, 43.1%, 49.6%, and 56.1%, and in the combination mode were 25.6%, 30.5%, 34.3%, and 33.4%.

Dispersion simulation of airborne effluent through tree canopy using OpenFOAM CFD code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rakesh, P.T.; Venkatesan, R.; Baskaran, R.; Venkatraman, B.

2016-01-01

Nuclear plants are often surrounded by tree canopy as a part of landscaping and green belt development. The transport and dispersion of air borne pollutants within the tree/plant canopies is greatly controlled by turbulence. The density of the tree canopy, the height and type of the trees is of importance while determining the intensity of turbulence. In order to study the mechanical effect of the canopy and the consequent modification in the ground level concentration pattern from a ground level release of radioactivity, a CFD code called OpenFOAM is used. The main task of this study is the implementation of flow and dispersion through plant canopies in Open FOAM

Proximate and anti-nutritional composition of leaves and seeds of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Proximate and anti-nutrient composition of the leaves and seeds of ten provenances of Moringa oleifera from parts of Nigeria, were examined at Nsukka, Nigeria in 2012. Results indicated absence of significant main effect on any of the proximate traits evaluated while protein content responded significantly to plant part, ...

Chemical composition and anti-bacterial activity of essential oil from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This work assesses the chemical compositions and in vitro anti-bacterial activities of seed essential oil from Cedrela sinesis (A. Juss.) Roem. seed. which has abundant mineral elements such as K, Ca, Fe. The fatty acid profiles of seed essential oil are characterized by considerable unsaturated fatty acids (90.39%) ...

Development of Nanoparticle-Stabilized Foams to Improve Performance of Water-less Hydraulic Fracturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prodanovic, Masa [The University of Texas at Austin; Johnston, Keith P. [The University of Texas at Austin

2017-12-29

We have successfully created ultra dry carbon-dioxide-in-water and nitrogen-in-water foams (with water content down to 2-5% range), that are remarkably stable at high temperatures (up to 120 deg, C) and pressures (up to 3000psi) and viscous enough (100-200 cP tunable range) to carry proppant. Two generations of these ultra-dry foams have been developed; they are stabilized either with a synergy of surfactants and nanoparticle, or just with viscoelastic surfactants that viscosify the aqueous phase. Not only does this reduce water utilization and disposal, but it minimizes fluid blocking of hydrocarbon production. Further, the most recent development shows successful use of environmentally friendly surfactants at high temperature and pressure. We pay special attention to the role of nanoparticles in stabilization of the foams, specifically for high salinity brines. The preliminary numerical simulation for which shows they open wider fractures with shorter half-length and require less clean-up due to minimal water use. We also tested the stability and sand carrying properties of these foams at high pressure, room temperature conditions in sapphire cell. We performed on a preliminary numerical investigation of applicability for improved oil recovery applications. The applicability was evaluated by running multiphase flow injection simulations in a case-study oil reservoir. The results of this research thus expand the options available to operators for hydraulic fracturing and can simplify the design and field implementation of foamed fracturing fluids.

Study of two-phase foam flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gurbanov, R S; Guliev, B B; Mekhtiev, K G; Kerimov, R G

1970-01-01

The objectives of this study were to determine characteristics of aqueous foam flow through porous media and to estimate the depth of foam penetration into a formation. Foam was generated by mixing air and 1% solution of surfactant PO-1. Foam density was maintained at 0.14 g/cc in all experiments. The foam was passed through sand columns (800 mm long x 30 mm diam) of permeabilities 26, 39, 80, 111, and 133 darcys. Flow rates were measured at various pressure drops and the relationship between system parameters was expressed analytically and graphically. From the data, distance of foam penetration into a formation as a function of pressure drop and permeability was calculated. The data indicate that under most conditions, foam will penetrate the formation to a negligible distance. This study indicates that when foam is used to remove sand from a well, a negligible loss of foam to the formation occurs.

Siliceous mesostructured cellular foams/ poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate composite biomaterials for bone regeneration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang S

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Shengbing Yang,1,* Shuogui Xu,2,* Panyu Zhou,2,* Jing Wang,3 Honglue Tan,4 Yang Liu,5 TingTing Tang,4 ChangSheng Liu1,3,5 1The State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Changhai Hospital, Department of Orthopedics, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Implant, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai 9th People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine China, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 5Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials of Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: Osteoinductive and biodegradable composite biomaterials for bone regeneration were prepared by combining poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate (PHBHHx with siliceous mesostructured cellular foams (SMC, using the porogen leaching method. Surface hydrophilicity, morphology, and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 adsorption/release behavior of the SMC/PHBHHx scaffolds were analyzed. Results of scanning electron microscopy indicated that the SMC was uniformly dispersed in the PHBHHx scaffolds, and SMC modification scaffolds have an interconnected porous architecture with pore sizes ranging from 200 to 400 µm. The measurements of the water contact angles suggested that the incorporation of SMC into PHBHHx improves the hydrophilicity of the composite. In vitro studies with simulated body fluid show great improvements to bioactivity and biodegradability versus pure PHBHHx scaffolds. Cell adhesion and cell proliferation on the scaffolds was also evaluated, and the new

Foaming in manure based digesters: Effect of overloading and foam suppression using antifoam agents

OpenAIRE

Kougias, Panagiotis; Tsapekos, Panagiotis; Boe, Kanokwan; Angelidaki, Irini

2013-01-01

Anaerobic digestion foaming is one of the major problems that occasionally occur in full-scale biogas plants, affecting negatively the overall digestion process. The foam is typically created either in the main biogas reactor or/and in the pre-storage tank and the entrapped solids in the foam cause severe operational problems, such as blockage of mixing devices and collapse of pumps. Furthermore, the foaming problem is linked with economic consequences for biogas plants, due to income losses ...

Large Eddy Simulations using oodlesDST

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Research Agency DST-Group-TR-3205 ABSTRACT The oodlesDST code is based on OpenFOAM software and performs Large Eddy Simulations of......maritime platforms using a variety of simulation techniques. He is currently using OpenFOAM software to perform both Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes

Chaotic bubbling and nonstagnant foams.

Science.gov (United States)

Tufaile, Alberto; Sartorelli, José Carlos; Jeandet, Philippe; Liger-Belair, Gerard

2007-06-01

We present an experimental investigation of the agglomeration of bubbles obtained from a nozzle working in different bubbling regimes. This experiment consists of a continuous production of bubbles from a nozzle at the bottom of a liquid column, and these bubbles create a two-dimensional (2D) foam (or a bubble raft) at the top of this column. The bubbles can assemble in various dynamically stable arrangement, forming different kinds of foams in a liquid mixture of water and glycerol, with the effect that the bubble formation regimes influence the foam obtained from this agglomeration of bubbles. The average number of bubbles in the foam is related to the bubble formation frequency and the bubble mean lifetime. The periodic bubbling can generate regular or irregular foam, while a chaotic bubbling only generates irregular foam.

Determination of Acreage Thermal Protection Foam Loss From Ice and Foam Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Carney, Kelly S.; Lawrence, Charles

2015-01-01

A parametric study was conducted to establish Thermal Protection System (TPS) loss from foam and ice impact conditions similar to what might occur on the Space Launch System. This study was based upon the large amount of testing and analysis that was conducted with both ice and foam debris impacts on TPS acreage foam for the Space Shuttle Project External Tank. Test verified material models and modeling techniques that resulted from Space Shuttle related testing were utilized for this parametric study. Parameters varied include projectile mass, impact velocity and impact angle (5 degree and 10 degree impacts). The amount of TPS acreage foam loss as a result of the various impact conditions is presented.

A review of aqueous foam in microscale.

Science.gov (United States)

Anazadehsayed, Abdolhamid; Rezaee, Nastaran; Naser, Jamal; Nguyen, Anh V

2018-06-01

In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in the study of aqueous foams. Having said this, a better understanding of foam physics requires a deeper and profound study of foam elements. This paper reviews the studies in the microscale of aqueous foams. The elements of aqueous foams are interior Plateau borders, exterior Plateau borders, nodes, and films. Furthermore, these elements' contribution to the drainage of foam and hydraulic resistance are studied. The Marangoni phenomena that can happen in aqueous foams are listed as Marangoni recirculation in the transition region, Marangoni-driven flow from Plateau border towards the film in the foam fractionation process, and Marangoni flow caused by exposure of foam containing photosurfactants under UV. Then, the flow analysis of combined elements of foam such as PB-film along with Marangoni flow and PB-node are studied. Next, we contrast the behavior of foams in different conditions. These various conditions can be perturbation in the foam structure caused by injected water droplets or waves or using a non-Newtonian fluid to make the foam. Further review is about the effect of oil droplets and particles on the characteristics of foam such as drainage, stability and interfacial mobility. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Foam Thermal Protection System on the Damage Tolerance Characteristics of Composite Sandwich Structures for Launch Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Nettles, A. T.; Hodge, A. J.; Jackson, J. R.

2011-01-01

For any structure composed of laminated composite materials, impact damage is one of the greatest risks and therefore most widely tested responses. Typically, impact damage testing and analysis assumes that a solid object comes into contact with the bare surface of the laminate (the outer ply). However, most launch vehicle structures will have a thermal protection system (TPS) covering the structure for the majority of its life. Thus, the impact response of the material with the TPS covering is the impact scenario of interest. In this study, laminates representative of the composite interstage structure for the Ares I launch vehicle were impact tested with and without the planned TPS covering, which consists of polyurethane foam. Response variables examined include maximum load of impact, damage size as detected by nondestructive evaluation techniques, and damage morphology and compression after impact strength. Results show that there is little difference between TPS covered and bare specimens, except the residual strength data is higher for TPS covered specimens.

Beer foam physics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ronteltap, A.D.

1989-01-01

The physical aspects of beer foam behavior were studied in terms of the four physical processes, mainly involved in the formation and breakdown of foam. These processes are, bubble formation, drainage, disproportionation and coalescence. In detail, the processes disproportionation and

Structural Foaming at the Nano-, Micro-, and Macro-Scales of Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-29

structural porosity at MNM scales could be introduced into the matrix, the carbon fiber reinforcement, and during prepreg lamination processing, without...areas, including fibers. Furthermore, investigate prepreg thickness and resin content effects on the thermomechanical performance of laminated ...Accomplishment 4) 5 Develop constitutive models for nano- foamed and micro- foamed PMC systems from single ply prepreg to multilayer laminated

High performance polymeric foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gargiulo, M.; Sorrentino, L.; Iannace, S.

2008-01-01

The aim of this work was to investigate the foamability of high-performance polymers (polyethersulfone, polyphenylsulfone, polyetherimide and polyethylenenaphtalate). Two different methods have been used to prepare the foam samples: high temperature expansion and two-stage batch process. The effects of processing parameters (saturation time and pressure, foaming temperature) on the densities and microcellular structures of these foams were analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy

Stability of metallic foams studied under microgravity

CERN Document Server

Wuebben, T; Banhart, J; Odenbach, S

2003-01-01

Metal foams are prepared by mixing a metal powder and a gas-releasing blowing agent, by densifying the mix to a dense precursor and finally foaming by melting the powder compact. The foaming process of aluminium foams is monitored in situ by x-ray radioscopy. One observes that foam evolution is accompanied by film rupture processes which lead to foam coalescence. In order to elucidate the importance of oxides for foam stability, lead foams were manufactured from lead powders having two different oxide contents. The two foam types were generated on Earth and under weightlessness during parabolic flights. The measurements show that the main function of oxide particles is to prevent coalescence, while their influence on bulk viscosity of the melt is of secondary importance.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Composition of Senecio salignus Kunth

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez González, Cuauhtemoc; Serrano Vega, Roberto; González-Chávez, Marco; Zavala Sánchez, Miguel Angel; Pérez Gutiérrez, Salud

2013-01-01

We investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of Senecio salignus. This medicinal plant is often used in Mexico for the treatment of fever and rheumatism. Chloroform and methanol extracts of the plant were tested on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate- (TPA-) induced edema in mice ears. The methanol extract of the plant inhibited edema by 36 ± 4.4% compared with the control, while the chloroform extract exhibited an even greater level of inhibition (64.1%). The chloroform extract was then fractionated, and the composition of the active fraction was determined by GC-MS. The anti-inflammatory activity of this fraction was then tested on TPA-induced ear edema in mice, and we found that the active fraction could inhibit edema by 46.9%. The anti-inflammatory effect of the fraction was also tested on carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats at doses of 100 mg/kg; a 58.9 ± 2.8% reduction of the edema was observed 4 h after administration of carrageenan, and the effect was maintained for 5 h. PMID:23691512

Violent flows in aqueous foams III: physical multi-phase model comparison with aqueous foam shock tube experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Redford, J. A.; Ghidaglia, J.-M.; Faure, S.

2018-06-01

Mitigation of blast waves in aqueous foams is a problem that has a strong dependence on multi-phase effects. Here, a simplified model is developed from the previous articles treating violent flows (D'Alesio et al. in Eur J Mech B Fluids 54:105-124, 2015; Faure and Ghidaglia in Eur J Mech B Fluids 30:341-359, 2011) to capture the essential phenomena. The key is to have two fluids with separate velocities to represent the liquid and gas phases. This allows for the interaction between the two phases, which may include terms for drag, heat transfer, mass transfer due to phase change, added mass effects, to be included explicitly in the model. A good test for the proposed model is provided by two experimental data sets that use a specially designed shock tube. The first experiment has a test section filled with spray droplets, and the second has a range of aqueous foams in the test section. A substantial attenuation of the shock wave is seen in both cases, but a large difference is observed in the sound speeds. The droplets cause no observable change from the air sound speed, while the foams have a reduced sound speed of approximately 50-75 m/s . In the model given here, an added mass term is introduced in the governing equations to capture the low sound speed. The match between simulation and experiment is found to be satisfactory for both droplets and the foam. This is especially good when considering the complexity of the physics and the effects that are unaccounted for, such as three-dimensionality and droplet atomisation. The resulting statistics illuminate the processes occurring in such flows.

Efficient removal of perfluorooctane sulfonate from aqueous film-forming foam solution by aeration-foam collection.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Pingping; Deng, Shubo; Maimaiti, Ayiguli; Wang, Bin; Huang, Jun; Wang, Yujue; Cousins, Ian T; Yu, Gang

2018-07-01

Aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) used in fire-fighting are one of the main contamination sources of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) to the subterranean environment, requiring high costs for remediation. In this study, a method that combined aeration and foam collection was presented to remove PFOS from a commercially available AFFF solution. The method utilized the strong surfactant properties of PFOS that cause it to be highly enriched at air-water interfaces. With an aeration flow rate of 75 mL/min, PFOS removal percent reached 96% after 2 h, and the PFOS concentration in the collected foam was up to 6.5 mmol/L, beneficial for PFOS recovery and reuse. Increasing the aeration flow rate, ionic strength and concentration of co-existing surfactant, as well as decreasing the initial PFOS concentration, increased the removal percents of PFOS by increasing the foam volume, but reduced the enrichment of PFOS in the foams. With the assistance of a co-existing hydrocarbon surfactant, PFOS removal percent was above 99.9% after aeration-foam collection for 2 h and the enrichment factor exceeded 8400. Aeration-foam collection was less effective for short-chain perfluoroalkyl substances due to their relatively lower surface activity. Aeration-foam collection was found to be effective for the removal of high concentrations of PFOS from AFFF-contaminated wastewater, and the concentrated PFOS in the collected foam can be reused. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.