TY - DATA T1 - Morphological, optical and thermal characterisation of aerogel/epoxy composites for thermal insulation applications PY - 2018/08/23 AU - Surya Krishnaswamy AU - Debabrata Bhattacharyya AU - Hrushikesh Abhyankar AU - Veronica Marchante Rodriguez AU - Zhaorong Huang AU - James Brighton UR - https://cord.cranfield.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Morphological_optical_and_thermal_characterisation_of_aerogel_epoxy_composites_for_thermal_insulation_applications/5841843 DO - 10.17862/cranfield.rd.5841843.v1 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354899 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354902 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354905 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354908 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354911 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354914 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354917 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354920 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354923 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354926 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354929 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354932 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354935 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354938 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354941 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354944 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354947 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354950 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354953 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354956 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354959 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354962 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354965 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354968 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354971 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354974 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354977 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354980 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354983 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354986 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354989 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354992 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10355001 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354995 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10354998 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10364037 KW - Aerogel KW - Epoxy KW - Thermal Insulation KW - Damage Coefficient KW - Composite materials KW - Composite and Hybrid Materials KW - Manufacturing Processes and Technologies (excl. Textiles) KW - Polymers and Plastics N2 - The present work explores the possibility of introducing aerogel particles at different stages of the epoxy resin cure to find the most effective method that ensures minimal destruction of the former along with a high degree of mouldability for the composite material. The aerogel particles are added at 0.5 hours, 1 hour and 1.5 hours after the resin and the hardener are mixed together. Additionally, the effect of a wetting agent that improves the interface between the aerogel and the resin is also investigated. The different materials are characterised using optical images and electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to determine the most effective processing route. Additional data is also provided by determining the different material’s optical transmittance and reflective characteristics. From the experimental results, it is seen that the addition of aerogel at the 1 hour mark proves to be the most efficient route to follow. In addition, the wetting agent displays a negligible effect on the samples in the study; hence its usage is advocated. Therefore, the aerogel/epoxy/wetting agent sample with the aerogel added at the 1 hour mark is the most promising material. A 13.3% decrease in thermal conductivity when compared with the pure resin/hardener sample along with the calculated aerogel damage coefficient value of 0.227 (22.7%) confirms its promise and potential for thermal insulation applications. ER -