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Porous high-entropy ceramics are a new alternative material for thermal insulation. Their better stability and low thermal conductivity are due to lattice distortion and unique pore structures. In this work, rare-earth-zirconate ((La0.25Eu0.25Gd0.25Yb0.25)2(Zr0.75Ce0.25)2O7) porous high-entropy ceramics were fabricated by a tert-butyl alcohol (TBA)-based gel-casting method. The regulation of pore structures was realized through changing different initial solid loadings. The XRD, HRTEM, and SAED results showed that the porous high-entropy ceramics had a single fluorite phase without impurity phases, exhibiting high porosity (67.1–81.5%), relatively high compressive strength (1.02–6.45 MPa) and low thermal conductivity (0.0642–0.1213 W/(m·K)) at room temperature. Porous high-entropy ceramics with 81.5% porosity demonstrated excellent thermal properties, showing a thermal conductivity of 0.0642 W/(m·K) at room temperature and 0.1467 W/(m·K) at 1200 °C. The unique pore structure with a micron size contributed to their excellent thermal insulating performance. The present work provides the prospect that rare-earth-zirconate porous high-entropy ceramics with tailored pore structures are expected to be thermal insulation materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for high temperature-resistant heat insulation materials for hypersonic vehicles, carbon foam has been studied extensively, and its mechanical and thermal properties have been fully researched, but the oxidation behavior of carbon foams during service and the change in their properties after oxidation are rarely studied. This paper studied the relationship between both mechanical and thermal properties and oxidation degree of two kinds of foams, coal-based carbon foam and antioxidant coal-based carbon foam with chemical vapor deposition of SiC particles. The variation trend for the two kinds of foam was the same. When the oxidation degree was less than 15%, the compression modulus and strength weakened with the increase in weight loss rate, but the thermal conductivity decreased with the increase in weight loss rate, which was a favorable influence for the thermal protection system. The mechanical and thermal properties had a linear relationship with the weight loss rate, but the slope was different between 0% to 10% and 10% to 15%. The microscopic mechanism of these changes was also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a growing demand for more effective thermal insulation materials with the best performance properties. This research paper presents the investigation results on the influence of two types of filler on the structure and properties of rigid polyurethane foam composites. Fly ash as a product of coal combustion in power plants and microspheres of 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.%, were used as rigid polyurethane foams modifiers. The results of thermal analysis, mechanical properties testing, and cellular structure investigation performed for polyurethane composites show that the addition of fly ash, up to 10 wt.%, significantly improved the majority of the tested parameters. The use of up to 20 wt.% of microspheres improves the mechanical and thermal properties and thermal stability of rigid polyurethane foams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the suitability of natural raw materials with various modifications of SiO2—granite sawing waste (quartz) and opoka (a mixture of cristobalite, tridymite, quartz, and an amorphous part)—for the 1.13 nm tobermorite and xonotlite synthesis is examined, and their specific surface area, pore diameter and volume, and the predominant pores are determined. Hydrothermal syntheses were carried out at 200 °C for 12 and 72 h from mixtures with a molar ratio of CaO/SiO2 = 1.0. X-ray diffraction analysis, simultaneous thermal analysis, and scanning electronic microscopy were used, which showed that in the lime–calcined opoka mixture the formation of crystalline calcium silicate hydrates takes place much faster than in the lime–granite sawing waste mixture. The high reactivity of amorphous SiO2 results in the rapid formation of 1.13 nm tobermorite and xonotlite (12 h). According to Brunauer, Emmet and Taller (BET) analysis data, this product features a specific surface area of ~68 m2/g, a total pore volume of 245 × 10−3 cm3/g, and has dominating 1–2.5 nm and 5–20 nm diameter pores. This porosity of the material should provide good thermal insulation properties of the products made from it as no air convection occurs in the fine pores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]