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Needle-punched fabric reinforced nanoporous phenolic composite (NPC) is a kind of promising ablative thermal protection material for spaceflight. However, in practical applications, typically anisotropic microstructure of NPC may lead to different performances and damage mechanisms under various directional mechanical or thermal loads. Herein, NPC is prepared and cut into specimens along three typical plane directions including XY -plane (0°), Z -plane (90°), and transitional-plane (45°), and their mechanical, thermal insulation, and ablation behaviors are systematically investigated. Benefiting from the woven fabric in XY -plane, NPC in 0°-plane direction exhibits highest tensile strength (169.2 ± 12.6 MPa), and CT image-based simulation further verifies that woven fabrics are primary load-bearing structure. Meanwhile, NPC in 45°-plane direction shows highest compressive strength (443.1 ± 18.2 MPa) but low compressive stress at low strain, demonstrating a weak bonding between two layers of woven fabrics. Moreover, the heat transfer simulation indicates that horizontally stacked woven fabrics effectively protect the internal material from thermal erosion, thus NPC in 0°-plane direction exhibits optimal thermal insulation. The ablation testing and micro-CT observations further demonstrate that the angle between woven fabric and thermal load significantly influences the ablation mechanism. The present work will further promote the structural reliability and optimization of needle-punched composites. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally insulating aramid nanofiber (ANF) aerogels enable a wide range of applications but are limited by their low mechanical elasticity. Efficient design of aerogels' components and microstructures is crucial yet remains highly challenging for effectively improving the flexibility of ANF aerogels. Here, for the first time, we report the incorporation of boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) into ANF aerogel to form a multilayer BNNR/ANF hybrid aerogel, which is prepared by suspension mixing of BNNRs and ANFs followed by a vacuum-assisted and directional solidification process. Flexible BNNRs with a high aspect ratio are uniformly embedded in the ANF networks, giving the ANF aerogel an extremely high mechanical deformability (up to 60 % compressive strain), capable of retaining its elasticity even after 100 compression cycles or in liquid N 2 (−196 °C). Moreover, the introduction of BNNRs does not reduce the thermal insulation capacity of ANF aerogels, while significantly improving their thermal stability and fire resistance. These excellent multifunctionality benefits from the synergistic effect of organic–inorganic components and the multilayer structure of aerogel. This work paves the avenue for developing next-generation elastic and thermal insulating materials with great potential for widespread applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic-based composites are the most promising ablative thermal protection materials for space applications, but optimizing their thermal insulation performance while maintaining high strength remains extremely challenging. Herein, phenolic-based composites with co-optimized thermal insulation and mechanical properties are prepared via 2.5D quartz fabric reinforcing nanoporous phenolic. The pore size of phenolic matrix is efficiently refined to ∼35 nm by adjusting resin concentration, enabling composites to exhibit high density but low thermal conductivity by enhancing Knudsen diffusion. Finite element analysis shows that low braiding angle of 2.5D fabric can further weakening heat transfer of composites due to anisotropic thermal conductivity of fiber yarns. In-situ X-ray micro-CT results indicate that 2.5D fabrics can reinforce composites through interwoven yarns, and straighter weft yarns result in higher strength along weft direction than that along warp direction. Compared with dense quartz/phenolic composite, the resulting composites exhibit 16.5% lower density (1.32 g/cm3), 58.8% lower thermal conductivity (0.21 W/(m·K), ≥372.7% higher tensile strength (≥182.0 ± 9.6 MPa) and comparable ablation resistance. The present results will further advance the application of phenolic-based composites in more extreme re-entry environments. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy (EP) resin insulations are widely used in electronic devices and power systems. They are gradually finding their way as winding insulation material for medium frequency transformers (MFT) due to their attractive insulating and adhesive properties along with low cost and easy processing. However, their dielectric insulation properties are compromised at high frequencies and high temperatures due to poor thermal properties. In this context, the surface-treated hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) micro fillers and core-shell TiO 2 @SiO 2 nanofillers are doped in epoxy (EP) to enhance their thermal and electrical insulation properties under high frequencies and high temperatures. Results reveal that the thermal conductivity of the EP increases continually, whereas the electrical breakdown strength is reduced above the threshold content of micro/nano fillers. Particularly, the micro h-BN addition is beneficial for thermal conductivity enhancement, whereas the core-shell structure of TiO 2 @SiO 2 improves the electrical insulation properties of the EP. The multi-layer core model is used to explain the dynamics of the fillers. The homogeneous dispersion and optimal content of suitable micro-nano fillers can produce efficient EP composites as the electrical insulation for medium frequency transformers. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highly thermally conductive yet electrically insulating polymeric materials are exhibiting tremendous potential for thermal management materials. However, the practical application of these materials is restrained by the limited thermal conductivity (TC) and deterioration of mechanical properties. In this work, an ultraflexible polyamide-imide (PAI) film with a sandwich-like structure composed with assembled well-oriented functionalized boron nitride nanosheets (FBN) by facile layer-by-layer solution-coating strategy is constructed. The design of the layered structure and highly oriented arrangement of interconnected FBN (Herman's orientation parameter ƒ up to 0.847) endows the obtained PAI composite film with super-flexibility, ultrahigh in-plane thermal conductivity (λ //), superior thermal transfer capability (ΔT max = 24.4 °C) and excellent electrical insulation performance. The PBP composite film reaches an ultrahigh λ // of 45.7 W m−1 K−1 with only 23 wt% FBN loading and exhibits a remarkable TC enhancement factor over 23 because of the more continuous phonon transfer networks that constructed by interconnected well-oriented FBN which could effectively suppress the phonon scattering. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the layered composite film (PB4P) exhibit noteworthy enhancement compared with uniform PBN composite film, in which the tensile strength is increased by 110% and toughness enhancement is 329%. Meaningfully, our fabrication strategy has the advantage of simplicity and adaptability for commercial amplification. The composite film developed in this work provides a promising prospect for the thermal management system of modern power electronic devices. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal insulation materials play an important role in energy conservation and the sustainable development of natural resources. Herein, novel silica composite nanofibers (SiO 2 NFs) with closed cell structure and excellent thermal insulation performance were designed and prepared via electrospinning technique using hollow SiO 2 /TiO 2 spheres (HSTSs) as pore-forming agent and infrared shielding agent. The addition of HSTSs broke the continuity of heat transfer pathways inside the NFs and enhanced the infrared thermal radiation shielding performance of SiO 2 NFs, endowed it with ultra-low thermal conductivity and low infrared transmittance. Meanwhile, the materials exhibited good flexibility, high tensile strength, low density and excellent thermal stability, indicating promising application as insulation materials. This research not only provides a novel strategy to prepare porous nanocomposite fibers for thermal insulation, but also offers a new insight for the development of porous materials with multiple functions. [Display omitted] • A novel strategy for constructing porous thermal insulators is reported. • Hollow SiO 2 /TiO 2 spheres broke the heat transfer pathways of the fiber and enhanced its infrared shielding performance. • The obtained SiO 2 composite nanofibers show great potential as thermal insulators in high-temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightweight and multiscale nanocomposites are considered to be the most promising materials applied in the field of advanced aerospace and modern building industry, owing to their outstanding mechanical, thermal and flame-resistant properties served in high-temperature oxidizing environments. Herein, a novel siliconoxycarbide (SiOC) modified needle quartz fiber felt reinforced phenolic resin nanocomposite (SiQF/PR) with a hierarchical macro-/micro-/nano-scaled structure is reported. The as-prepared highly porous SiQF/PR nanocomposite exhibits a multiscale three-dimensional network and the micro-sized SiOC particles, derived from the hydrolysis of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and dimethyldiethoxysilane (DDS), are uniformly incorporated into the phenolic aerogel. The resultant nanocomposite has a bulk density of 0.30–0.35 g/cm3, and the maximum compressive strength reaches 4.20 MPa and 3.34 MPa in xy and z directions, respectively. Thermal stability and oxidation resistance experiments show that the SiQF/PR multiscale composite has a good ablation and heat insulation performance under oxyacetylene test condition, and the backside temperature of SiQF/PR is only 55.5 °C under 1.8mw/m2 for 120 s, and line ablation rate of SiQF/PR multiscale nanocomposite decreases by 20.1% at 1.8 MW/m2 and 59.5% at 0.4 MW/m2 compared to non-SiOC modified composite. These results indicate that the lightweight SiQF/PR nanocomposite fabricated by this method is very suitable for architectural or aerospace applications as high-performance insulation material. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New organic-inorganic polyurethane-based hybrids with enhanced mechanical properties and thermal insulation properties are reported. Polyurethane-based hybrids are characterized by the intimate interactions of their inorganic and organic co-networks and prepared by sol-gel approach, have exhibited properties exceeding those of polyurethane foams, e.g. enhanced thermal stability, durability and thermal insulating effectiveness. However, mechanical properties have previously been poor. Here, new porous organic-inorganic materials consisting of a polyurethane network modified by in-situ formation of aerogel-like polysiloxane domains, were developed. They exhibit a multiscale-porosity which enhances the insulation, mechanical and thermal properties. The synthesis was performed through a novel stepwise process consisting of: preparation of a siloxane precursor based on methyl-triethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane; functionalization of traditional polyol for polyurethane foams with 3-(triethoxysilanepropyl)isocyanate as coupling agent; use of suitable catalysts and silicone surfactants; and foaming with methylene-di-isocyanate compound. The siloxane precursors and coupling agent led to formation of "aerogel-like" polysiloxane domains within the walls and struts of the polyurethane foams. The synthesis method enabled increased incorporation of the "aerogel-like" polysiloxane structures into the foams, compared to literature, with 20 wt% SiO 2 , reducing thermal conductivity of the hybrid foams 30% compared with pristine polyurethane, in addition to significant improvement in thermal stability and mechanical properties. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]