scholarly journals Extruded Polystyrene Foams with Enhanced Insulation and Mechanical Properties by a Benzene-Trisamide-Based Additive

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merve Aksit ◽  
Chunjing Zhao ◽  
Bastian Klose ◽  
Klaus Kreger ◽  
Hans-Werner Schmidt ◽  
...  

Low thermal conductivity and adequate mechanical strength are desired for extruded polystyrene foams when they are applied as insulation materials. In this study, we improved the thermal insulation behavior and mechanical properties of extruded polystyrene foams through morphology control with the foam nucleating agent 1,3,5-benzene-trisamide. Furthermore, the structure–property relationships of extruded polystyrene foams were established. Extruded polystyrene foams with selected concentrations of benzene-trisamide were used to evaluate the influence of cell size and foam density on the thermal conductivity. It was shown that the addition of benzene-trisamide reduces the thermal conductivity by up to 17%. An increase in foam density led to a higher compression modulus of the foams. With 0.2 wt % benzene-trisamide, the compression modulus increased by a factor of 4 from 11.7 ± 2.7 MPa for the neat polystyrene (PS) to 46.3 ± 4.3 MPa with 0.2 wt % benzene-trisamide. The increase in modulus was found to follow a power law relationship with respect to the foam density. Furthermore, the compression moduli were normalized by the foam density in order to evaluate the effect of benzene-trisamide alone. A 0.2 wt % benzene-trisamide increased the normalized compression modulus by about 23%, which could be attributed to the additional stress contribution of nanofibers, and might also retard the face stretching and edge bending of the foams.

1990 ◽  
Vol 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Lemay

AbstractHigh energy physics applications at the Department of Energy National Laboratories require unique low-density foams of demanding homogeneity specifications (cell sizes on the order of 10 μm or smaller). These delicate and fragile foams are machined and shaped into specimens to exacting tolerances. In this work, the mechanical properties of a variety of these low density microcellular foams are reported as functions of foam density and morphology.


2014 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Todeschini ◽  
Viviana Consonni ◽  
Davide Ballabio ◽  
Andrea Mauri ◽  
Matteo Cassotti ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In this preliminary study, mathematical models based on Quantitative Structure Property Relationships (QSPR) were applied in order to analyze how molecular structure of chloroprene rubber accelerators relates to their rheological and mechanical properties. QSPR models were developed in order to disclose which structural features mainly affect the mechanism of vulcanization. In such a way QSPR can help in a faster and more parsimonious design of new chloroprene rubber curative molecules. Regression mathematical models were calibrated on two rheological properties (scorch time and optimum cure time) and three mechanical properties (modulus 100%, hardness, and elongation at break). Models were calculated using experimental values of 14 accelerators belonging to diverse chemical classes and validated by means of different strategies. All the derived models gave a good degree of fitting (R2 values ranging from 84.5 to 98.7) and a satisfactory predictive power. Moreover, some hypotheses on the correlations between specific structural features and the analyzed rheological and mechanical properties were drawn. Owing to the relatively small set of accelerators used to calibrate the models, these hypotheses should be further investigated and proved.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen I. Winey ◽  
Takashi Kashiwagi ◽  
Minfang Mu

AbstractThe remarkable electrical and thermal conductivities of isolated carbon nanotubes have spurred worldwide interest in using nanotubes to enhance polymer properties. Electrical conductivity in nanotube/polymer composites is well described by percolation, where the presence of an interconnected nanotube network corresponds to a dramatic increase in electrical conductivity ranging from 10−5 S/cm to 1 S/cm. Given the high aspect ratios and small diameters of carbon nanotubes, percolation thresholds are often reported below 1 wt% although nanotube dispersion and alignment strongly influence this value. Increases in thermal conductivity are modest (∼3 times) because the inter facial thermal re sis tance between nanotubes is considerable and the thermal conductivity of nanotubes is only 104 greater than the polymer, which forces the matrix to contribute more toward the composite thermal conductivity, as compared to the contrast in electrical conductivity, >1014. The nanotube network is also valuable for improving flame-retardant efficiency by producing a protective nanotube residue. In this ar ticle, we highlight published research results that elucidate fundamental structure–property relationships pertaining to electrical, thermal, and/or flammability properties in numerous nanotube-containing polymer composites, so that specific applications can be targeted for future commercial success.


1977 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 480-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Hands

Abstract Values of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity are needed for heat-flow calculations, for the determination of structure-property relationships, and for material selection and comparison. However, all aspects are hampered by a dearth of reliable data and anything more than a superficial glance at the literature is apt to be discouraging for the uninitiated. Hardly any thermal diffusivity data exist, and the reported values of thermal conductivity show very large scatter. The present state of confusion can be seen, for example, in Figures 1 and 2, which show the reported thermal conductivity values for polystyrene and gum natural rubber. Not only do the values differ at some temperatures by more than 100%, and in the case of rubber by almost 300%, but different trends are indicated throughout the temperature range. Discrepancies of this size cannot be due to sample variations, and they give some indication of the experimental difficulties associated with thermal property measurements.


1979 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 920-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Minoura ◽  
Shinzo Yamashita ◽  
Hiroshi Okamoto ◽  
Tadao Matsuo ◽  
Michiaki Izawa ◽  
...  

Abstract The structure-property relationships of polyurethane elastomers derived from a liquid hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene/low molecular weight aliphatic diol/diisocyanate system were studied. The effects of the amount of low molecular weight diol on the mechanical properties of the elastomer were discussed on the basis of the results of stress-strain, swelling, dynamic viscoelasticity, x-ray diffraction, etc. It was found that some particular combinations of low molecular weight diol and diisocyanate specifically affect the properties of elastomers. When the mechanical properties of the elastomers were plotted against the number of methylene carbons in the low molecular weight diol, characteristic zigzag patterns were obtained. These patterns were explained by the difference in the packing and the dependence of the strength of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on whether the number of the methylene carbons was even or odd. This assumption was confirmed by x-ray diffraction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
Achmad Chafidz

Polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) can be considered as promising relatively new types of composite materials. PNCs give opportunity to develop new composites materials with different structure-property relationships compared to their conventional micro/macro scale composites. Polyolefin based nanocomposites nowadays become more important, because this type of composites has been largely used in various industries. For example, polypropylene based nanocomposites have been widely used in automobile – related industries to replace their conventional composites. This review paper will focus on the polypropylene based nanocomposites prepared using masterbatches of nanoclay and nano-CaCO3 via melt compounding method. The thermal and mechanical properties of such nanocomposites were also discussed.


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