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http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/15152
Title: | Restructure of expanded cork with fumed silica as novel core materials for vacuum insulation panels |
Authors: | Zhuang, J Ghaffar, SH Fan, M Corker, J |
Issue Date: | 2017 |
Citation: | Composites Part B: Engineering, 2017, 127 pp. 215 - 221 |
Abstract: | Using expanded cork dust as a cheaper substitute of fumed silica, the expanded cork/fumed silica composites with hierarchical porous structure were designed and constructed as an alternative lower cost material for vacuum insulation panel (VIP) core. A novel strategy compromised of microwave pretreatment and vacuum impregnation method is developed for cork restructuring and recombination. The morphology, microstructure and thermo-physical properties of expanded cork/fumed silica composites were thoroughly investigated. It is found that the microwave pretreatment is a rapid and effective method to restructure cork, and then fumed silica can be introduced into the cork pores efficiently by the vacuum impregnation method, resulting in a hierarchical microstructure of cork micro-pores and nano-porous fumed silica micelle. Thanks to this unique hierarchical porous structure, the hybrid expanded cork-fumed silica materials show an excellent thermal insulation property (as low as 6.3 mW/m∙K at pressure < 1 mbar). The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is an efficient means to construct a hierarchical porous expanded cork/fumed silica hybrid network system, and the as-prepared composites could have a potential application for VIPs core materials due its cost-effective and good thermal insulation performance. |
URI: | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/15152 |
DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.06.019 |
ISSN: | 1359-8368 |
Appears in Collections: | Dept of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Research Papers |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Fulltext.doc | - | 1.87 MB | Microsoft Word | View/Open |
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