High strength, nanoporous bodies reinforced with fibrous materials
AssigneeAspen Aerogels, Inc.
InventorsGeorge L. Gould, Je Kyun Lee, Christopher J. Stepanian, Kang P. Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention discloses improvements that can be achieved in thermal or mechanical performance of aerogel composites via densification. Densified aerogels and aerogel composites can display higher compressive strength, modulus, flexural strength, and maintains or insubstantially increases the thermal conductivity relative to the pre-densified form. In the special case of fiber reinforced aerogel composites densification via mechanical compression can prove highly beneficial.
Claims31
A Method of processing an aerogel composite comprising the steps of:
- providing an aerogel composite comprising an aerogel material reinforced with a fibrous material, and
- mechanically compressing the composite aerogel,
- thereby substantially increasing the density of the composite by a factor of up to 10
- wherein the thermal conductivity of the aerogel composite is lowered or substantially unchanged.
A method for manufacturing a nanoporous body, the method comprising:
- passing the nanoporous body between counter-rotating reduction rollers in order to form a densified nanoporous body with the density ratio of up to 10, wherein the thermal conductivity of the nanoporous body is lowered or substantially unchanged.
A method for manufacturing a densified nanoporous body comprising:
- forming a nanoporous body laminate comprising at least two layers of a nanoporous material having at least one intermediate layer sandwiched between said nanoporous material that can be mechanically compressed;
- and compressing the nanoporous body laminate to form the densified nanoporous body laminate.
A Method of processing an aerogel composite comprising the steps of:
- providing an aerogel composite comprising an aerogel material reinforced with a fibrous material, and mechanically compressing the composite aerogel, thereby substantially increasing the density of the composite increasing the density of the composite by a factor of up to 5 wherein the thermal conductivity of the aerogel composite is changed by a factor of up to 2.
A Method of processing an aerogel composite comprising the steps of:
- providing a silica based aerogel composite comprising an aerogel material reinforced with a fibrous material;
- and
- mechanically compressing the composite aerogel wherein silica/fiber ratio of the composite is between about 2.2 and about 6.4.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.