Foam Composite Materials Research Articles

Characteristics of natural corn starch/waste paper fiber composite foams treated by organic-inorganic hybrid hydrophobic coating technology

With the growing global awareness of environmental protection, the demand for biodegradable materials to replace traditional plastic foam has become increasingly urgent. Starch-based foam, with its abundant availability, low cost, and biodegradability, has shown great potential as an alternative to plastic foam. However, its inherent high hydrophilicity and relatively low mechanical performance limit its widespread application. The aim of this study is to modify corn starch (NCS) and waste paper fiber (WPF) using citric acid (CA) and stearic acid (SA), and to develop an efficient hydrophobic coating through an organic-inorganic hybrid approach. This successfully resulted in the preparation of hydrophobic corn starch/waste paper fiber composite foam materials. Experimental results showed that the foam materials treated with a palmitic acid (PA)-modified nano-SiO2 coating (MCF@PA) exhibited excellent hydrophobic performance, with a water contact angle reaching as high as 138°, and a significant reduction in moisture absorption to 3.1 %. In water immersion tests, the material maintained buoyancy and shape stability, demonstrating excellent self-cleaning properties. Additionally, the coating significantly enhanced the material's compressive strength, increasing by 90 kPa, while also retaining thermal stability. However, the coating prepared by this method increased the material's hardness and reduced its biodegradability, which poses challenges for environmental sustainability. This study provides a new approach for preparing high-strength foam materials with excellent hydrophobicity and mechanical performance, paving an economical and efficient pathway for industrial production.

Mechanism of airborne sound absorption through triboelectric effect for noise mitigation

Mitigating broadband noise with passive airborne sound absorbers has been a long-lasting challenge, particularly for low-frequency anthropogenic sounds below kilohertz with long wavelengths, which require bulky materials for effective absorption. Here, we propose a strategy that utilizes local triboelectric effect and in-situ electrical energy dissipation mechanism for airborne sound absorption. This approach involves a fundamentally different mechanism that converts airborne sound into electricity for energy dissipation, in contrast to conventional mechano-thermal energy conversion mechanisms. We establish an equivalent acoustic impedance model to provide theoretical analysis of the underlying sound absorption mechanisms, with a theoretical maximum mechano-electro-thermal coupling efficiency approaching 100% under optimal conditions. We design fibrous triboelectric composite foam materials accordingly and show their substantially boosted acoustic absorption performance experimentally, where the adoption of diverse triboelectric material pairs validates that a larger difference in material charge affinities intensifies the local triboelectric effect and results in higher acoustic absorbing performance.

Fabrication of PBAT/lignin composite foam materials with excellent foaming performance and mechanical properties via grafting esterification and twin-screw melting free radical polymerization

As one of the mainstream biodegradable materials, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) foams offer a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic foams, effectively reducing environmental pollution. However, the high cost and poor mechanical performance of PBAT foams impede their practical application. Herein, the glycidyl methacrylate-grafted biomass lignin (GML) was used to produce a PBAT/GML composite foam with good foaming performance and mechanical properties at high lignin-filling amounts by twin-screw melting free radical polymerization and supercritical CO2 foaming process. The compatibility of GML in the PBAT matrix was improved due to the formation of ester bonds in modified lignin, endowing the PBAT/GML (PGML) composite foam with exceptional foaming performance. Additionally, the mechanical properties of PGML composite foam were remarkably enhanced due to the introduction of the abundant aromatic structures of GML and the construction of a stable covalent crosslinking network. The compressive strengths and compression modulus of the PGML foam were improved by 2.53 times and 2.47 times, while its bending strength and bending modulus were improved by 1.27 times and 3.92 times compared to the neat PBAT. This research affords a new strategy for developing low-cost biodegradable biomass PBAT/lignin composite foam materials with good foaming performance and mechanical properties.Graphical abstract

MXene quantum dots modified pitaya peel-based composite phase change material with excellent thermal properties for building energy efficiency applications

Bio-based materials have attracted much attention because their application in the construction field is conducive to energy saving and emission reduction. In this paper, a bio-based composite phase change material (CPCM) was prepared by utilizing pitaya peel as a bio-based material, MXene quantum dots (MQDs) as a modified material, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a phase change medium. MXene quantum dots dispersed in the pitaya peel-based porous carbon skeleton enhanced the three-dimensional thermal conductivity network of the porous carbon skeleton somewhat improved the thermal conductivity (0.676 W/mK) of the polyethylene glycol/MXene quantum dots-modified pitaya peel-based porous carbon foam (PPF) composite phase change material (PEG/PPF@M). It is worth noting that PEG/PPF@M has excellent thermal stability and its enthalpy is basically unchanged after 100 cycles, which proves the recyclable stability of PEG/PPF@M in practical applications. PEG/PPF@M has great potential for thermal management of buildings and electronic components. Overall, a novel multifunctional CPCM was prepared in this study using a simple process method, which can not only be applied in electronic products to improve the service life of electronic components, but also in the field of construction to realize energy saving and emission reduction, as well as the recycling and reuse of waste.

Fundamental mechanical relations of open-cell metal foam composite materials with reticular porous structure

The compressive behavior is one of the most fundamental mechanical properties for engineering materials. In this paper, the octahedral structure model of porous materials is used to evolve the mechanical analysis model under compressive loading for the porous composite materials, which are resulted from reticular metal foams with pore struts presenting multilayered structure. Starting from this analysis model, some fundamental mechanical relationships, including those of the safe load-bearing and overall strength, have been deduced for these porous composite materials. The compressive strength has been characterized for the porous composite body, corresponding to the overall failure caused by the prior breakage of the strut core and by the prior breakage of the strut shell, respectively. The nickel foam products manufactured on the production line of enterprise were used to make porous composite materials by coating the pore struts with epoxy resin, and the metal foam composite material was obtained with the composite pore-struts of metal/resin multilayered structure. Using this porous composite material for compression experiments, it is found that the experimental data match well with the mathematical relationship from the present theoretical model. The results verify the feasibility of this analysis model and the practicality of the relevant mathematical relationship.

Thermal conductivity enhancement of polyethylene glycol/NF composite as stabilized phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has the advantages of large latent heat of phase transition, a wide range of phase transition, and cheap price, but the application of PEG in the latent thermal energy storage (TES) systems is hindered due to its lower heat transfer rate and leakage. Porous metal foam has excellent thermal conductivity and high strength, which can effectively improve the problems of PEG. In this study, PEG/nickel foam (NF) composite phase change materials (PCM) were prepared by vacuum molten impregnation method using NF as substrate. It was found that PEG had good compatibility with NF, and the highest impregnation rate of PEG6000/NF reached 85.73 %. The thermal conductivity of PEG2000/NF can be increased to 1.58 1.58 W·m−1 K−1, nearly 4 times larger than that of pure PEG. The phase change temperature range of the composite PCM is 51–63 °C, and the phase change enthalpy is 67.8–126.3 J·g−1. Furthermore, the PEG/NF composite demonstrated outstanding photothermal conversion properties and high thermal stability, which can be widely used in the field of building temperature control and device heat dissipation.

Polyethylene glycol/melamine foam composite phase change materials modified by CdS/Ag exhibits high photothermal conversion performance

CdS has been shown to be an excellent photon trap with strong absorption of light at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. The use of CdS for phase change material (PCM) modification can significantly improve its photothermal conversion performance. However, due to the unique energy band structure of CdS, the difficulty in electron conduction leads to poor thermal conductivity. This problem can be improved by introducing high thermal conductivity nanometals for modification, however, the effective combination of CdS and nanometals has been challenging. In this study, a new preparation strategy is demonstrated, in which Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with similar lattice parameters and crystalline coordination to CdS is first introduced on the surface of carbonized melamine foam (CMF), followed by the introduction of CdS NPs. This similar structure helps to form a better interfacial bond between CdS and Ag. The resulting stabilized structure enables the composite phase change material (CPCM) to achieve 96.1 % PEG loading with an ultra-high photothermal conversion efficiency of 94.6 %, thermal conductivity of 0.61 W/m∙K, and excellent antimicrobial activity. This study provides valuable guidance for the engineering design of CPCM with high photothermal conversion performance and suggests its practical application value in seawater evaporation and thermal management of medical devices.

Performance improvement of building-integrated photovoltaic panels using a composite phase change material-carbon foam heat sink: An experimental study

Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels are important for enhancing building self-power generation, promoting sustainable energy practices, and reducing dependence on the grid. Nevertheless, the efficiency and output power of these panels are negatively affected by the temperature increase caused by incident solar radiation. Thus, the present study introduces an innovative paraffin/carbon foam composite phase change material for efficient thermal management of building-integrated photovoltaic panels. Through indoor and outdoor experimental tests, the study evaluated and compared the performance of the proposed system. This system integrates a PV panel with an RT-55 phase change material and carbon foam structure (BIPV-PCM-CF) and was compared to three other cases, including a naturally cooled free PV panel, a building wall integrated PV panel to simulate conventional building-integrated photovoltaic system (BIPV), and a PV panel integrated with only RT-55 paraffin wax as the phase change material (BIPV-PCM). The study found that integrating the PV cell into building walls (BIVP) increased its temperature by 9.61 °C and decreased generated power and efficiency by 5.11 % and 10.95 %, respectively, compared to the free PV panel. On the other hand, the BIPV-PCM panel reduced module temperature by 18.1 °C but could not solidify the needed amount of PCM during the nighttime. The BIPV-PCM-CF panel, which incorporated carbon foam with PCM, outperformed the other systems, producing a cooling performance of 22.94 °C and increasing electricity generation and system efficiency by an average of 12.64 % and 27.35 %, respectively, compared to the free PV panel. These findings highlight effective strategies to promote sustainable energy practices, improve the electric performance of BIPV panels, and reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources in buildings.

Facile Preparation of Lightweight Natural Rubber Nanocomposite Foams with High Wear Resistance.

The light weight and excellent mechanical properties of rubber foam means that it is widely applied in the aerospace, automobile, and military industries. However, its poor wear resistance contributes directly to a short service life and a waste of resources. Therefore, the design and development of high-wear-resistance rubber foam are of great importance. In this work, some nanoclay/rubber composite foams were prepared by blending NR/EPDM with different kinds of nanoclays containing layered double hydroxide (LDH), montmorillonite (MMT), and attapulgite (ATP) to indicate the effects of the kinds of nanoclays on the wear resistance and mechanical properties of nanoclay/rubber composite foams. The kinds of nanoclay/rubber composite foams were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that nanoclay has heterogeneous nucleation in composite foamed materials. The wear resistance of the composite foam materials with added nanoclay was significantly improved, and the MMT of the lamellar structure (increased by 43.35%) and LDH (increased by 38.57%) were significantly higher than the ATP of the rod-like structure (increased by 13.04%). The improvement in the wear resistance of the matrix was even higher. Compared with other foams, the wear resistance of the OMMT-NR/EPDM foam (increased by 58.89%) with a lamellar structure had the best wear resistance. Due to the increase in the lamellar spacing of the modified OMMT, the exfoliation of worn rubber molecular chains has little effect on the adjacent molecular chains, which prevents the occurrence of crimp wear and further improves the wear resistance of composite foaming materials. Therefore, this work lays the foundation for the manufacturing of rubber foams for wear-resistant applications.

Experimental investigation on the stability and heat transfer enhancement of phase change materials composited with nanoparticles and metal foams

Conventional phase change materials (PCMs) possess the challenge of low thermal conductivity, which hinders the energy exchange rate and storage efficiency. PCMs composited nanoparticles and metal foams have been a proven solution to enhance the thermal characteristics of PCMs. In this work, three enhanced PCM composites including nanoparticle/paraffin, metal-foam/paraffin and nanoparticle/metal-foam/paraffin were prepared using fusion blending and vacuum impregnation method. The effects of different nanoparticles with different mass fractions on the stability and heat storage and release characteristics of nanoparticle/paraffin were investigated. Compared with paraffin, the melting time and solidification time of nano-metal/paraffin are reduced by a maximum of 30.18 % and 43.15 %, respectively. In addition, the effect of pore density of metal foam on natural convective heat transfer process was evaluated. The results showed that the stability in descending order is as follows: nano‑aluminum, nano‑copper and nano‑silver. The optimal mass fraction of nanoparticles with good stability was 1.5 wt% (copper), 1.0 wt% (silver), 1.5 wt% (aluminum), respectively. The metal foam makes the internal temperature distribution of PCMs more uniform in the heat transfer process, while inhibiting the convective heat transfer process. With the increase of pore density, the effect on natural convection heat transfer process rises. When the PPI (pores per linear inch) of foamed metal is greater than 40, the natural convection process can be inhibited, obviously. The foam metal has a more significant effect on the heat transfer performance of nanoparticle/metal-foam/paraffin than that of the nanoparticles. The economic benefits of nanoparticle/paraffin, metal-foam/paraffin and nanoparticle and metal foam composite phase change materials are progressively decrease, with MFP being suitable for applications with high economic budgets.

Experimental study on the thermal response of a metal foam dual phase change unit thermal storage tank

Adding fins or metal foam to phase change units can effectively enhance the heat storage efficiency of thermal energy storage (TES) tanks, thereby improving the reliability of TES tanks in coordinating renewable energy supply and demand. In this study, an experimental TES tank platform was designed and constructed to investigate how the addition of straight fins, metal foam, and straight fin/metal foam composite materials to paraffin affects the temperature response during the heat storage process. High-temperature water was selected as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and injected from the top into the TES tank at the same paraffin fill level, and T-type thermocouples were arranged along the central axis of the phase change unit. TES tanks filled with either pure paraffin or composite phase change materials were tested by varying the HTF inlet temperature and velocity, and temperature response data were captured and recorded using a KEYSIGHT DAQ970A data logger. The results indicated that increasing the HTF inlet temperature significantly enhanced the heat storage rate while increasing the HTF inlet velocity had varying effects on different phase change units. A comprehensive analysis suggested that an inlet velocity of 1.3 m3/h (from a range of 0.8–1.8 m3/h) was reasonable. The addition of enhancement measures improved the temperature drift phenomena and effectively increased the temperature response rates and distribution uniformity. Moreover, the straight fin/metal foam composite material exhibited the best performance.

The effect of flame treatment on the compressive strength of composite sandwich panels made of pure epoxy resin H‐shaped structures and hollow glass bead/epoxy resin composite material

AbstractAt present, syntactic foam composites (HGB/EP) made of epoxy resin (EP) and hollow glass beads (HGBs) have received extensive attention in the research field of lightweight materials because of their high compression strength‐to‐density ratio. However, the deep‐sea environment has put forward higher requirements for the compressive properties of materials. The traditional sandwich structure with HGB/EP as the core has gradually failed to meet the requirements for the mechanical properties of equipment deeper in the ocean. This paper proposes a sandwich structure comprising a pure EP H‐shaped structural component as the rigid skeleton and an HGB/EP syntactic foam composite as the lightweight filling component. The pure EP H‐shaped structural component was subjected to flame treatment using a butane flame jet at different distances. The compression resistance of the resulting sandwich structure was tested, and the results showed varying degrees of improvement in compressive strength after flame treatment. The effects of flame treatment on the surface adhesion performance of the pure EP were characterized using compression‐shear tests, optical microscopy, contact angle tests, infrared spectroscopy, and flame temperature tests. The results demonstrated that flame treatment at a distance of 0 cm significantly increased the oxygen‐containing functional groups on the surface of the pure EP, improved the wettability of the pure EP surface, increased the adhesive strength between the pure EP H‐shaped structural component and HGB/EP, and enhanced the compressive strength of the sandwich structure. The shear strength of the shear test specimens improved by 33.0%, while the compressive strength of the sandwich structure specimens increased by 17.5%.Highlights The sandwich structure composed of pure epoxy resin H‐shaped structure and foam composite material was prepared. The distance of flame treatment affects the surface chemical groups of epoxy resin. Flame treatment significantly improved the surface wettability of epoxy resin.

Water-dispersible X-ray scintillators enabling coating and blending with polymer materials for multiple applications

Developing X-ray scintillators that are water-dispersible, compatible with polymeric matrices, and processable to flexible substrates is an important challenge. Herein, Tb3+-doped Na5Lu9F32 is introduced as an X-ray scintillating material with steady-state X-ray light yields of 15,800 photons MeV−1, which is generated as nanocrystals on halloysite nanotubes. The obtained product exhibits good water-dispersibility and highly sensitive luminescence to X-rays. It is deposited onto a polyurethane foam to afford a composite foam material with dose-dependent radioluminescence. Moreover, the product is dispersed into polymer matrixes in aqueous solution to prepare rigid or flexible scintillator screen for X-ray imaging. As a third example, it is incorporated multilayer hydrogels for information camouflage and multilevel encryption. Encrypted information can be recognized only by X-ray irradiation, while the false information is read out under UV light. Altogether, we demonstrate that the water-dispersible scintillators are highly promising for aqueous processing of radioluminescent, X-ray imaging, and information encrypting materials.

Advanced Drone Surveillance System for Traffic Management

The growing need for sustainable and efficient construction practices has spurred a surge in the development of advanced building materials. Lightweight wall panels have emerged as a promising solution to address the challenges of traditional construction methods. This abstract delves into the design, composition, and benefits of lightweight wall panels, highlighting their contributions to sustainability, energy efficiency, and ease of installation. The lightweight wall panel comprises a combination of materials such as foam cores, composite materials, and reinforcements, carefully engineered to optimize strength while significantly reducing overall weight. This innovative construction material offers various advantages over conventional walls, including enhanced thermal and acoustic insulation properties, increased structural integrity, and improved resistance to fire and moisture. Furthermore, the streamlined manufacturing process of lightweight wall panels minimizes waste generation and reduces the carbon footprint associated with transportation and installation. These panels also facilitate quicker construction timelines, enabling cost-effectiveness and increased flexibility in building design. This abstract discusses the diverse applications of lightweight wall panels across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, emphasizing their adaptability and versatility in meeting diverse construction requirements. Additionally, it explores ongoing research and developments in the field, aiming to further enhance the performance and sustainability aspects of these panels.

Innovative strategy for controlling resonant frequencies of syntactic polymer foams regulating by hollow microspheres

This study aims to precisely control the resonant frequency of synthetic composite foam materials with fixed dimensions. By incorporating rigid hollow glass microspheres XLD3000(XLD) and flexible hollow polymer microspheres MFL-81GCA(MFL) into the base resin (EP), we prepared synthetic composite foams containing different volume fractions of hollow microspheres (EP-XLD and EP-MFL). We conducted tests and analyses on the density, mechanical properties, resonant frequency, and microstructure of the EP-XLD and EP-MFL systems. Results indicate that as the volume fraction of hollow microspheres increases, the flexural specific modulus of the EP-XLD and EP-MFL systems, respectively, exhibits a linear increase and decrease, and the resonant frequency shifts linearly towards higher and lower frequencies. This trend aligns with theoretical predictions, affirming that the material’s resonant frequency is closely related to its flexural modulus. This research not only deepens the understanding of the control mechanisms for the resonant frequency of synthetic composite foams but also proposes an innovative material design strategy with broad application potential, particularly in the fields of acoustics, damping, and structural materials, where it promises to significantly enhance material performance and meet specific engineering needs.

MXene/PDMS composite foam with regulatable cell structures for improved EMI shielding performance

AbstractThe construction of conductive network and the design of material structure are the key points of polymer‐based shielding materials. Herein, we reported a MXene/PDMS composite foam material with adjustable cell structure and high efficiency electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Few‐layered MXene is used as a conductive filler to construct three‐dimensional conductive networks by in situ chemical etching. Meanwhile, a series of polystyrene microspheres with different sizes were prepared by applying suspension polymerization method as templates to introduce different cell sizes and densities for PDMS‐based materials. The density and EMI shielding performance of composites can be improved by adjusting the cell structure. Compared with the unfoamed MXene/PDMS composites, the composite foam in this work not only reduces the material density greatly but also improves the microwave absorption performance with smaller cell size. This method provides a simple and effective guide for changing material density and absorbing mechanism by introducing cell structure into polymer‐based materials in the future.

Study on the influential effect of different CaCO3 particle sizes on the internal pore structure of starch/fiber foaming composite materials

Starch/fiber foaming material is an ideal alternative to non-degradable cushioned packaging products. There still needs to be an improvement in the performance of such materials, which affects their promotion and application. The pore structure significantly impacts the performance of starch/fiber foam composite materials, so adjusting the internal pore structure of foam materials is also an important method to improve the performance of foam materials. In this study, the CaCO3 with particle sizes of 50 µm,5 µm, 500 nm, and 50 nm were separately mixed into the slurry as nucleating agents and composite materials were prepared through a hot pressing process to control the pore structure by adding nucleating agents of different particle sizes. Observing through Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM), the internal pore size of the composite material with 50 µm particle size CaCO3 is about 800 µm. The composite material made of CaCO3 with a particle size of 50 nm has a pore size of only 333 µm. It has decreased by 58% compared to the composite material with 800 µm CaCO3. The results indicate that as the size of CaCO3 particles decreases, the composite material exhibits more uniform and dense vesicles, and its water resistance, thermal stability, and corrosion resistance have also improved to a certain extent.The material made by adding the smallest particle size CaCO3 has a minimum degradation rate of about 10.5% in 30 days, and the buffering efficiency is highest when the stress is greater than 2 MPa, reaching about 22%.

Thermal and Wettability Properties of Nanoclay-Filled Epoxy-Based Foam Composite as Lightweight Material

Abstract Epoxy-based foam composite (EBFC) materials have received considerable attention recently because of their wide range of applications in the aerospace and marine industries. EBFC materials made from hybrid fillers are materials generated to have improved thermal properties. This work focuses on improving the thermal properties and wettability of EBFC materials with hybridized fillers by infusing hollow glass microspheres (HGM) and clay. The HGM content varied between 1 weight percent (wt.%) and 5 wt.% in foam composite materials while clay content varied between 1 wt.% and 5 wt.% in each of the HGM-filled series of foam composite materials. These foam composite materials were fabricated using a conventional resin casting method. The thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, coefficient of thermal expansion, as well as specific heat capacity, water contact angles, and percentage of water absorption of hybrid-filled foam composite materials were investigated and compared with neat epoxy and epoxy foam materials. It was found that hybrid-filled foam composite materials exhibited improved thermal properties over neat epoxy material because of good chemical reactions and excellent interfacial adhesion between the fillers and matrix. These improved thermal properties may suggest that this material may be suitable for application in industries where lightweight materials with good thermal properties are required. This reveals a new area in foam composite manufacturing research by enhancing thermal properties with hybrid fillers.

Thermal Insulation Properties and Simulation Analysis of Foam Concrete Regulated by Mechanical and Chemical Foaming.

To address, mitigate, or prevent thermal environmental issues arising from the heat dissipation of high-temperature surrounding rocks in deep hot tunnels, a research proposal is put forward based on previous studies and the team's initial experiments. The proposal involves using mechanical and chemical foaming to enhance the thermal insulation properties of foamed concrete, and this will be tested through engineering verification. Different proportions of cementitious materials, latex powder, polypropylene fiber, and self-made composite foam materials were designed using an orthogonal approach for testing the macroperformance and microstructure of foamed concrete. The pore structure of foamed concrete was quantitatively analyzed by Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software, and a fitting expression was established between thermal conductivity and the number of pores (1-2 mm). Characteristics of heat transfer inside the foam concrete were simulated and analyzed using COMSOL software, and the transmission path of heat streamline was found to be ″concave-convex form″, illustrating the blocking effect of foam concrete on heat. A thermal insulation engineering model was created using Fluent software to investigate the effects of thermal insulation layer thickness, water gushing heat release, seasonal factors, and other working conditions on the airflow temperature in the roadway before and after the application of foam concrete. The simulation results demonstrate that foam concrete can effectively reduce the airflow temperature in the roadway and weaken the surrounding rock heat dissipation. Additionally, it is found that the decreasing rate of heat dissipation of surrounding rock increases with the increase of insulation layer thickness, proving the engineering applicability of foam concrete for roadway insulation. The research results provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for heat damage control of deep mining roadway.

Tensile strength and toughness of carbon nanotube-graphene foam composite materials and the corresponding microscopic influence mechanism

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-graphene foam (GF) composites (CGFCs) have garnered considerable attention due to their unique properties. However, the factors and mechanisms influencing their tensile strength and toughness remain unclear. Here, the influence of graphene stiffness, CNT length, and CNT number on the tensile strength and toughness of pure GF and CGFC was investigated using coarse-grained molecular dynamics. It shows that CGFC exhibits improved strength (66.5 MPa) and toughness (34.4 MJ/m3) compared to pure GF (18.0 MPa and 11.2 MJ/m3) due to enhanced interconnectivity among graphene flakes through additional graphene-CNT-graphene contacts. Notably, the effect of graphene stiffness on the tensile properties reveals an interesting observation: lower stiffness of the graphene correlates with higher strength and toughness of the foam. This phenomenon arises from the increased deformability of softer graphene, promoting the formation of more graphene-graphene and graphene-CNT-graphene contacts. As a result, the interconnectivity is significantly enhanced, leading to improved strength and toughness. Furthermore, greater CNT length and number contribute to the increased strength and toughness. This effect can predominantly be attributed to the growing number of graphene-CNT-graphene contacts, which enhances the connectivity between graphene. These insights inform the design of high-strength and tough materials using CNTs and graphene.