Mechanical,acoustic, and thermal performances of shear thickening fluid–filled rigid polyurethane foam composites: Effects of content of shear thickening fluid and particle size of silica

Shear thickening fluid (STF) features a rheological property, and rigid polyurethane (PU) foams feature low thermal conductivity and excellent acoustic insulation. In this study, an STF/PU rigid foam composite sandwich structure was designed using different contents (0, 0.5, 1, or 1.5 wt %) of STF that contained 14 nm, 40 nm, or 75 nm silicon dioxide (SiO₂). The effects of STF content and silica size on the cell structure, mechanical performance, acoustic absorption, and thermal performance of the STF/PU foam were explored. The test results show that STF/PU foam exhibited three characteristic acoustic absorption peaks, and the maximum acoustic absorption coefficient reached 0.841. STF addition increased compression, bending strength, and maximum acoustic coefficient, as well as initial mass loss temperature. STF-filled PU foam composites containing 14 nm and 40 nm SiO₂ had a mild rise in thermal insulation. The rigid STF/PU foam composites with a cell structure had the maximum thermal conductivity of 0.22 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and sound absorption coefficient of 0.841, which confirm that they are a good candidate for sound-absorbing energy conservation materials. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47359.     

Development,characterization, and modeling of environmentally friendly open‐cell acoustic foams

This study shows the development of new polymeric open‐cell foams from polypropylene (PP) and polylactide (PLA) resins with a focus on sound absorption properties and modeling of these foams. The objective is to develop new environmentally friendly foams to replace the existing non‐recyclable Polyurethane foams are currently used for sound insulation in industry. Through this research, open‐cell foams of about 90% porosity were fabricated from PP and PLA. These resins were selected since PP is a recyclable thermoplastic polymer, and PLA is a bio‐based thermoplastic polymer made from renewable resources. Polyurethane (PU) foam which is currently used for sound absorption and noise control in industry was compared to the fabricated PP and PLA foams. As the first attempt to fabricate environmentally friendly acoustic foams, the resulting foam structures show improved properties as compared to the existing materials. The average absorption of PP and PLA foams fabricated is in the range of 0.42–0.55 which is comparable or even higher than the average absorption of PU foam. To better understand the effect of structural and material properties on sound absorption and further improve the acoustic performance of bio‐based foams, an analytical model based on Johnson–Champoux–Allard model was used to numerically simulate the acoustic performance of foams under study. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

The study of palm‐oil‐based bio‐polyol on the morphological,acoustic and mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams

The focus of this paper was to explore the acoustic properties of flexible polyurethane (FPU) foam modified by palm‐oil‐based polyol (POP). The presence of POP showed a marked influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of FPU foam. A smaller mean pore diameter can be observed at lower POP content. Indeed, the introduction of POP caused a higher closed pore ratio and an increased air‐flow resistivity, which consequently improved the sound absorption coefficient and transmission loss. In particular, the acoustic performance of the all bio‐based FPU foam was enhanced at low frequency, and the density was lower than that of the reference foam. Additionally, the addition of POP also improved the compressive strength. Conversely, the tensile strength of FPU foam declined with increasing POP content. From this study, the outstanding acoustic ability of bio‐based FPU foam has been proved, with additional advantages of lower density and higher compressive strength. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nanofibers (PU and PAN) and nanoparticles (Nanoclay and MWNTs) simultaneous effects on polyurethane foam sound absorption

In this research, simultaneous effects of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyurethane (PU) nanofibers, multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and nanoclay incorporation on sound absorption behavior of polyurethane foam were studied. The most important parameters such as nanoparticles content, number and mass per unit area of nanofiber layers and foam thickness were chosen and their influences on sound absorption in a wide band of frequencies were investigated. Applying of both nanoparticles gave rise to considerable improvement in PU foam sound absorption, however in case of MWNTs more satisfied results were observed. Sound absorption tests of simultaneous incorporation of MWNTs and nanoclay showed that the optimized result can be obtained at moderate to high MWNTs percents (0.1–0.15 wt.%) and low percents of nanoclay (0.5 wt.%). On the other hand, by adding PAN or PU nanofiber layers within the PU foam structure, superior sound absorption was achieved. Upper sound absorption by increasing the numbers of nanofiber layers was obtained. Incorporation of PAN nanofiber layers showed a better effect at high mass per unit area (5 g/m²), however the higher sound absorption in case of PU nanofiber layers was observed at low mass per unit area (1 g/m²).     

Properties and mechanism of a novel metallic-hollow-spheres/polyurethane acoustic composite

In this article, 316L stainless steel hollow spheres (316L HS) and polyurethane (PU) resins were used to prepare a novel metallic-hollow-sphere/polyurethane (MHSP) acoustic composite by casting. The acoustic experimental results of this composite revealed that compared to monolithic PU, the sound transmission loss of the composites increased and the maximum sound absorption peak shifted to lower frequency with the change of acoustic impedance and resonance frequency. When the surface of metallic hollow sphere used in MHSP composite was modified by silane coupling agent, the sound insulation and sound absorption performance of MHSP composites were further improved. This is related to the addition of the molecular layer of coupling agent between MHSP matrix. In addition, the addition of silane coupling agent creates PU foaming in matrix, resulting in a large number of pores and gaps that can increase the sound waves energy loss through air friction and heat exchange.     

聚酰亚胺泡沫材料吸声性能对比研究

通过阻抗管法研究了聚酰亚胺(PI)、三聚氰胺(MFF)和聚氨酯(PU)3种泡沫材料对声音的吸收特性。结果表明:与MFF和PU泡沫材料相比,PI泡沫材料具有优异的吸声降噪性能;随着材料密度的增大,3种泡沫的吸声降噪性能都有相应提高。     

Mechanochemical devulcanization of ground tire rubber and its application in acoustic absorbent polyurethane foamed composites

The use of recycled rubber in preparation of acoustic absorbent materials will help to combat the existing environmental problems of both waste disposal and noise pollution. The focus of this work is to investigate the influence of mechanochemical pretreatment of ground tire rubber (GTR) on the acoustic absorption properties of polyurethane (PU)/GTR foamed composites. GTR subjected to pan‐milling could be mechanochemically devulcanized by breaking up the crosslinked structures through inducing fairly strong shearing and compressing forces. The significant increase in sol fraction of GTR confirmed the partial devulcanization during pan‐milling. Moreover, thermal gravimetric analysis indicated that rubber content in the soluble part of GTR was also remarkably increased. The devulcanization increased flexible chains of the GTR particles, which could help to improve damping properties as well as acoustic absorption ability of the PU/GTR foamed composites. Dynamic mechanical analysis and acoustic absorption measurements well confirmed this hypothesis. The loss modulus and sound absorption coefficient of PU/GTR foamed composites were remarkably increased through the mechanochemical pretreatment of GTR. The mechanochemical pretreatment also enhanced foamability of the composites as revealed by cell morphology. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Toward mechanistic understanding the effect of aspect ratio of carbon nanotubes upon different properties of polyurethane/carbon nanotube nanocomposite foam

This study investigated the carbon nanotube's aspect ratio's influence on the nanocomposite foams' cellular structure and mechanical, acoustic absorption characteristics. The free-rising foaming process has been used for producing different flexible polyurethane (PU) foams embedded with other multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT's). Dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis, flow resistivity, and compressive mechanical measurements were achieved on the prepared samples. The acoustic absorption coefficient in a wide range of frequencies was estimated for the prepared PU/CNT foamed nanocomposite samples. Results indicated that by increasing the aspect ratio of MWCNT, the absorption coefficient's peak shifts toward the lower frequencies and improved sound absorption characteristics of PU foam in the low-frequency region. Moreover, the Young modulus of nanocomposite samples increases by increasing the aspect ratio of MWCNT's, whereas the stored strain energy or area under the stress–strain curve increases. Based on the obtained results, it is observed that the acoustic absorption coefficient of produced nanocomposite foams at the frequency of 800 Hz has been reported to have a 70% improvement in 2 cm samples and a 40% improvement in 3 cm samples compared to obtained results from pure PU foam.     

Acoustic characterization of natural areca catechu fiber-reinforced flexible polyurethane foam composites

The development of acoustic absorbers from natural resources is a novel approach in acoustics. In the current study, the effect of unprocessed raw areca fiber (AF) particle reinforcement on the sound absorption (SA) behavior of polyurethane (PU) foam composites is investigated. Influences of fiber weight percentage and graded distribution of fiber with varying fiber weight percentage on the SA coefficient (SAC) of the composite foams are examined through the impedance tube approach. Morphological studies are carried out with the help of FESEM images to investigate the acoustic energy dissipation mechanism of PU foam and its composites. It is found that the SA capability of the composite foam is enhanced by increased fiber weight percentage, graded distribution of fiber wt%, varying sample thickness, and air cavity length. In general, PU-AF composite specimens show a peak SA value of 0.95 around 450 Hz, which is not the case for other natural fiber results available in the literature. Theoretical results predicted using the JCA (Johnson-Champoux Allard) model agree with the experimental results.     

Polyurethane/poly(vinylidene fluoride)/MWCNT composite foam for broadband airborne sound absorption

A polyurethane/poly(vinylidene fluoride)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PU/PVDF/MWCNT) (83/15/2) composite foam was designed and fabricated. The foam exhibited high airborne sound absorption performance in a wide-frequency range. The sound absorption coefficient reached the value of 0.85 at 1 kHz, which is a significant improvement over PU foam. It was found that PVDF formed a separate immiscible phase and part of it was crystallized in a polar phase in the PU scaffold in the PU/PVDF/MWCNT composite, which could benefit the sound absorption performance by introducing interfacial damping and local piezoelectric damping effects. The introduction of the conductive MWCNT filament in the composite foam further improved sound absorption, possibly by facilitating the dissipation of the electrical charges generated from local piezoelectric effect and enhancing both the interfacial damping effect and local piezoelectric damping effect. With PU as the main ingredient, the fabrication scalability of the foam can be improved with significantly reduced material and production cost in comparison with PVDF foam. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47868.     

磁场取向镀镍碳纳米管/聚氨酯复合泡沫材料的制备及性能

在磁场作用下通过一步法原位聚合制备了磁场取向镀镍多壁碳纳米管/聚氨酯复合泡沫材料.通过透射电镜、扫描电镜等表征了泡沫材料的结构,并测试了材料的压缩性能和吸声性能.结果表明:镀镍碳纳米管可使聚氨酯泡沫材料的泡孔更均匀.在磁场作用下,镀镍碳纳米管取向能显著提高材料的压缩强度,当碳纳米管的质量分数为1.0%时,其压缩强度为纯PU泡沫材料的3倍.同时,取向镀镍碳纳米管/PU复合泡沫材料的吸声性能也得到了进一步提高.     

Mechanical and acoustic performance of compression‐molded open‐cell polypropylene foams

Open‐cell materials are lightweight and multifunctional capable of absorbing acoustic energy and supporting mechanical load. The acoustic and mechanical performance of open‐cell materials can be optimized through processing. In this article, the relationships between processing parameters and acoustic and mechanical performance are shown for polypropylene (PP) foams. PP foam samples are fabricated using a combined compression molding and particulate leaching process. The results from a parametric study showed that both salt size and salt to polymer ratio affect the acoustic and mechanical performance of open‐cell PP foams. As salt size increases, cell size increased and cell density decreased. The salt to polymer ratio had opposite affect on cell density, and increasing the salt to polymer mass ratio increased the open‐cell content. The airflow resistivity decreased significantly by increasing the cell size, which means that foam samples with smaller cell size have better sound absorption. When foam samples were thin, smaller cell sizes produced better sound absorption; however, as thickness of the sample increases, medium cell size offered the best acoustic performance. The compressive strength of the foams was increased by increasing the relative density. Acoustic performance results from the parametric study were compared to the Johnson‐Allard model with good agreement. Finally, optimal cellular morphologies for acoustic absorption and mechanical performance were identified. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Optimization of acoustic performances of a new tung oleic acid-based composite polyurethane foam

Bio-based polyurethane (PU) foam, different from traditional PU foam, is a new green environmental acoustic material. It can be used in the field of automobiles. In this work, a new tung oleic acid-based composite PU (TOAPU) foam was prepared using tung oleic acid-based polyol and polyether polyols 3630. It is important to optimize the formulation of TOAPU foam for better acoustic performance. The effect of each component on the acoustic performance of TOAPU is ordered by screening test. A1, silicone, and A33, the three components that have the greatest impact on the acoustic performance of TOAPU, are used as variables. The response surface method is used to create the model of the effects of different components on the acoustic properties of TOAPU. The model was optimized by using nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II method. The optimized acoustic performance property of TOAPU foams was synthesized by adding 0.27 g of A1, 1.03 g of A33, and 2.81 g of silicone oil. The experimental results show that the mean sound absorption coefficient and transmission loss can reach 0.515 and 21.389 dB. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47861.     

Improvement of the acoustic and mechanical properties of sponge ethylene propylene diene rubber/carbon nanotube composites crosslinked by subsequent sulfur and electron beam irradiation

In this research, sponge ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) nanocomposites based on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) and foaming agent azodicarbonamide (AZD) were successfully fabricated as potential acoustic-absorbing foams. Two crosslinking systems were utilized for stabilizing the foam structure and improving its properties by subsequent sulfur and electron beam irradiation at 50 kGy as a fixed dose. The impacts of the concentration of AZD, f-MWCNTs and crosslinking systems on acoustic and physico-mechanical properties were investigated. The results manifested that the optimum foaming content was 3 phr. The acoustic data exhibited satisfactory enhancement in the sound absorption coefficient (α) for irradiated foam nanocomposites compared to unirradiated nanocomposites. This was attributed to the barrier effect of f-MWCNTs in reducing the pore size of the foam, leading to an increase in the tortuous path in the foam matrix that stifled the sound waves from transferring into the bulk. Likewise, the compression properties were also improved. However, tensile stress and strain at break values for irradiated foams relatively decreased. The data obtained revealed an excellent possibility of using these EPDM foam nanocomposites for potential applications such as acoustic panels and airborne sound insulation. © 2022 Society of Industrial Chemistry.     

Preparation and characterization of water‐absorbing polyurethane foam composites with microsized sodium polyacrylate particles

This article introduces the preparation of rigid polyurethane foam (PUF) and studies the effect of various mass percentages of sodium polyacrylate (PAAS, microsized) on PUF hydrophilicity. The characterization of PUF (with 0–5.5 wt % PAAS) was conducted via scanning electron microscopy, contact angle analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and pore size distribution. All modified foams showed an improvement in their water sorption and water maintenance capacities, and the PU foam content of 5.5 wt % PAAS showed a water absorption of 891%, and the water retention performance was 408% (96 h) compared to the pure PU foam. Through contact angle measurements, the relationship between the hydrophilicity of the modified foams and PAAS content was investigated. The compression strength of the samples was also tested. When the PAAS is 2.6 wt %, the compression strength of the composites decreased about 50% compared with the pure PU foam. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46702.     

聚氨酯填充型泡沫混凝土复合材料的性能研究

将不同掺量聚氨酯(PU)加入泡沫混凝土(FC),研究聚氨酯填充型泡沫混凝土(FC/PU)复合材料的性能。结果表明:随着PU掺量的增加,FC/PU复合材料的导热系数不断降低,阻燃性能变差。PU掺量为0~4%时,随着PU掺量的增加,FC/PU复合材料的浆体黏度逐渐降低,气孔特性变好,抗压强度不断增大。PU掺量超过4%时,FC/PU复合材料黏度开始增大,气孔特性变差,抗压强度逐渐降低。PU掺量为4%时,FC/PU复合材料的综合性能最优,与未掺入PU相比,黏度降低62.7%,气孔特性较好,抗压强度提高75.0%,导热系数降低18.7%,阻燃性能仍能达到A1级。     

Sound absorption characteristics of polymer microparticles

A sound absorption material composed of polymer microparticles and polyurethane (PU) foam with certain geometry cavum has been developed. Its sound‐absorbing characteristic was investigated in the impedance tube, according to transfer function method. Measurements show that polymer microparticles have remarkable effect on the absorption performance of the composite material because of their microstructures and features. Several models established for acoustic properties have been adopted to fit the experimental data. The results show that these models fail to predict accurately the acoustic properties of the materials. The sound energy attenuation in polymer microparticles material may most likely consist of two parts, viscous attenuation of air inside the pores and the friction energy caused by the oscillation of polymer particles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2673–2679, 2006     

橡胶改性PP阻燃泡沫材料吸声性能的研究

研究了ＥＰＲ改性ＰＰ阻燃泡沫材料的吸声特性，探讨了ＥＰＲ、交联剂、发泡剂用量及泡沫材料厚度和材料背后空腔厚度对其吸声性能的影响。结果表明，当交联剂用量为０６７份时，泡沫材料最大吸声系数为０９４；随着泡沫材料厚度和背后空腔厚度的增大，吸声性能有所提高，且最大吸声系数特征频率向低频区域移动。     

Studies of acoustical absorption of flexible polyurethane foam

It was confirmed that one of the principal factors which influences the acoustical absorption of flexible polyurethane foam is flow resistance of foam. Normal polyester-based flexible polyurethane foam itself has an adequate value of flow resistance and shows fairly good sound absorption. Acoustical absorption of normal polyether-based flexible polyurethane foam, which generally has lower flow resistance, can be improved by using some expedients such as setting up a certain skin layer on the foam surface so that the flow resistance of the foam can be increased. Surface treatment of foam such as gluing film, heat melting, spraying, or heat adhesion with film can not only improve sound absorption and mechanical properties of polyether-based flexible polyurethane foam, but also improve the hydrolysis resistance of polyester-based flexible polyurethane foam. Inserting some metal foil or plastic film between flexible polyurethane foams can change the sound absorption behavior according to the position of the foil or the film in the foam. The effects of foam thickness, existence of air layer behind foam, and foam profiling on acoustic absorption were also investigated.     

PU/EP型水声吸声材料动态模量和声学参数的实验研究

采用聚氨酯(PU)和环氧树脂(EP)及云母填料合成了PU/EP二元IPN水声吸声材料,对该材料的动态模量和声速进行了测量,研究了EP含量和云母填料及含量对材料动态模量及声速的影响,并对材料的吸声性能进行了分析。结果表明,材料弹性模量越大,材料中声波传播速度就越大;随着填料含量的增加,声速的下降幅度增大。并用直观的物理量表征了抽象的声学量,为指导水声材料的设计提供了基础。