Aero-gel
| Lightest Material in world | Aerogel (Lighter Than Air )| Aerogel Insulation |
Air-gel cover | Amazing material
Aerogel,
Latest Automobile Technology, Latest Automotive Technology, Material Science
&
Metallurgy
Air-gel or
Aerogel is a very special foam type which is almost 99.8% air.Nicknamed as :
~frozen
smoke,
~solid smoke
or
~blue smoke
(due to its translucent nature and
the way
light scatters in the material);
however, it
feels like exploded polystyrene (Styrofoam) When touched.
It (Aerogel) is a low density solid state
material
originated from gel in which the liquid Particals of the gel has been replaced
with gas. As a result is an extremely low density solid with many remarkable
properties(most notably its effectiveness as a thermal insulator).
Aero-gels
are solid, but could be less denser then air. Insted of their sparse(unusual)
molecular structure aerogels are quit strong.
Firstly invented by Samuel
Stephens Kistler, in 1930's ,but initially it was very brittle and
couldn't be shaped as desired.
Aerogels were highly
expensive and challanging to manufacture, and
are difficult to handle as well.
Now a team of
scientists has found a way to make it more
flexible ( so that it does not break as easily as before).
This discovery opens a lot of ways in which it can
be used to solve bigger problems of material science.
Properties:
1. Extremely low density
2. Very good thermal insulator
3. High specific surface area
4. Lowest dielectric constant
Manufacturing:
Aerogels a formed by a process known as
supercritical drying, in which the liquid from
the gel base is removed and is replaced by a gas,
leaving a solid structure.
It is prepared just like gelatine by mixing a liquid
silicon compound and a fast-evaporating liquid
solvent, forming a gel that is then dried in an
instrument similar to a pressure cooker.
The mixture thickens, and then careful heating
and depressurizing produce a glassy sponge of
silicon.
Metal
air-gel Properties:
1. High specific surface area (100-500m2/g)
2. Electrically conductive!
3. Enhanced catalytic activity
4. Surprisingly capable thermal insulator
Best when
use as
1. collision material,
2. damping material,
3. acoustic
absorption material ,
4. thermal insulation material,
5. structural support and
6. surface chemistry agent.
Other
properties such as;
1. Highest porosity: perhaps
only material
that can have porosity over 0.95
times the total surface area, and a very
wide pores size distributions, ranging from
Angstroms (10-10 meter) to microns (10-6
meter).
2. Very high surface area:
Some Aerogels may have, surface area of one ounce equal to a
football field (over 3000 sq.meter for each gram).
3. Versatile compositions: Aerogels can be made
By using a wide range of chemical compositions.
4. Functional properties by
design: Combinations
of the features can lead the materials with useful
properties such as:
adsorbents,
catalysts,
insulators,
semiconductors,
piezoelectric,
dielectric,
ferroelectric,
diffusion controllers,
electric conductors,
electric insulators,
and optical features.
5. Can hold
(theoretically) 500 to 4,000 times its
weight in applied
Types of Aerogels and their remark able facts
1. Silica aerogel :
• It is most common type of aero-gel and the most extensivly
studied & used. It is a silica-based substance (derived from silica gel).
• The world’s lowest-density solid material is a silica-nano
foam (having 1 mg/cm3 density) that is the
evacuated version of the record-aerogel of 1.9mg/cm3.
Note: The density of air is 1.2 mg/cm3.
•Silica aerogel is
strongly absorbent of infrared-radiation.
It allows the construction of
materials that let light into buildings but trap heat for
solar heating.
•It has remarkable thermal insulative properties,
having an extremely low thermal
conductivity: from 0.03 W/m·K to 0.004
W/m·K(that correspond to R-values of 14 to
105 for 3.5 inch thickness. For comparison,
typical wall insulation is 13 for 3.5 inch
thickness). Its melting point is 1,473 K (1,200
°C & 2,192 °F).
•Silica aerogel do also holds 15 entries in Guinness
World Records for material properties,
that also include's best insulator and lowest-density
solid.
2. Carbon:
•Carbon aerogels are composed of particles of sizes in the
nano-metre range, bonded covalently together. They have high porosity (about
50%, with pores dia. under 100 nanommetet) and surface areas ranging in between
400–1000 m²/g. They are generally manufactured as composite paper: non-woven
paper made of carbon fibres, (impregnated with resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogel,
and pyrolyzed).
• On basis of the density, carbon aerogels may show
electrically conductive nature , (making composite aerogel paper useful for
electrodes in capacitors or deionization electrodes). Due to their extremely
high surface area, carbon aerogels can be used to create super capacitors,
who's value may varies in the ranging up to thousands of farads ( based on a
capacitance of 104 F/g and 77 F/ cm³).
•Carbon aerogels are also extremely "black" in the
infrared spectrum range, reflecting only about 0.3% of radiation between 250 nm
and 14.3 µm wave length, making them efficient for solar energy collectors.
Recent Development:
NASA’s Glenn Research Centre developed a new polymer Aerogel
which is strong, flexible, &
robust against folding, creasing, crushing &
being stepped on to . These aerogels are among one of the
the least dense solids, possess compressive
specific strength similar to that of aerospace grade
graphite composite material, and provide's smallest
thermal conductivity for any solid compound.
The new aerogels are made up to 500 times stronger
than their silica counterparts compound . A thick piece of
it can
actually support the weight of a normal car.
Silica aerogels would crush to powder if placed
under a tier of such a car.
As seen above, the same is
not truth for the new polymer aerogels,
Applications:
*Military aeroplane and helicopter engines heat sinker
*hot water pipes insulation
*Fire retardant
*Oven (regular, pizza, etc.)
*Grill
* Furnace
*Blacksmith forge
*In automobiles
1. Air intake
2. Engine
3. Exhaust
4. Manifolds
*Winter Clothing
*In Home
1. Furnace
2. Grill
3. Kitchen
1. Oven
2. Pot holders
3. Pots and pans
4. Coolers and refrigerator’s
4. Pipes & air ducts
5. Walls & Roof
6. Windows
* Pulling water out of materials
*shock absorption
*Sound insulation