Open-cell Rigid Polyurethane Foam Research Articles

Thermal Insulation and Sound Absorption Properties of Open-Cell Polyurethane Foams Modified with Bio-Polyol Based on Used Cooking Oil.

The main goal of this work was to evaluate the thermal insulation and sound absorption properties of open-cell rigid polyurethane foams synthesized with different contents of cooking oil-based polyol. The content of the applied bio-polyol as well as flame retardant (triethyl phosphate) in the foam formulation had a significant influence on the cellular structures of the materials. The open-cell polyurethane foams were characterized by apparent densities in the range 16–30 kg/m3. The sound absorption coefficients of the polyurethanes with various contents of bio-polyol were determined using the standing wave method (Kundt’s tube) in the frequency range of 100–6300 Hz. The effect of the content of the bio-polyol and flame retardant on the coefficient of thermal conductivity (at average temperatures of 0, 10 and 20 °C) as well as the compressive strength (at 20 and −10 °C) was analyzed. Different trends were observed in terms of the thermal insulation properties and sound absorption ability of the open-cell polyurethanes due to the addition of bio-polyol. In conclusion, it is necessary to use systems containing both petrochemical and bio-based raw materials.

Preparation of open cell rigid polyurethane foams and modified with organo-kaolin

The open cell rigid polyurethane foam (ORPUF) was prepared by adding chemical cell openers including O-500 and AK-9903. The FTIR results of cell openers and open cell rate of ORPUFs showed that O-500 has more effective cell opening capacity. In the ORPUF foaming formulation using O-500 as cell opener, silane coupling agent (KH-550) modified kaolin (organo-kaolin) was introduced into ORPUF with different weight loadings. The cellular morphology, apparent density, and compressive strength of the foams were tested in order to investigate the effects of organo-kaolin on the open cell rate and compressive property of the foams. The results showed that the open cell rate of ORPUFs slightly increased from 83.9% to 92.9% with the content of organo-kaolin. Meanwhile, compared to neat ORPUF, the compressive strength of foams increased by 72.8% when the content of introduced organo-kaolin was 4 parts per hundred of polyol by mass (php).

Open-Cell Rigid Polyurethane Foams from Peanut Shell-Derived Polyols Prepared under Different Post-Processing Conditions.

Bio-based polyurethane materials with abundant open-cells have wide applications because of their biodegradability for addressing the issue of environmental conservation. In this work, open-cell rigid polyurethane foams (RPUFs) were prepared with bio-based polyols (BBPs) derived from the liquefaction of peanut shells under different post-processing conditions. The influences of the neutralization procedure and filtering operation for BBPs on the foaming behaviors, density, dimensional stability, water absorption, swelling ratio, compressive strength, and microstructure of RPUFs were investigated intensively. The results revealed that a small amount of sulfuric acid in the polyols exhibited a great impact on physical and chemical properties of RPUFs while the filtering operation for those polyols had a slight effect on the above properties. The RPUFs prepared from neutralized BBPs possessed higher water absorption, preferable dimensional stability and compression strength than that fabricated from the non-neutralized BBPs. Moreover, the prepared RPUFs exhibited preferable water absorption of 636–777%, dimensional stability of <0.5%, compressive strength of >200 KPa, lower swelling rate of ca. 1%, as well as uniform cell structure with superior open-cell rate, implying potential applications in floral foam.

12-Hydroxystearic acid의 리튬 염을 셀 개방제로 사용한 개방 셀 구조의 경질우레탄 폼

일반적인 독립 셀 구조의 경질 폴리우레탄 폼을 제조하기 위한 조성비에 12-hydroxystearic acid의 리튬 염(Li-12HSA)을 셀 개방제로 사용하여 개방 셀 구조를 가지는 경질 폴리우레탄 폼을 제조하기 위한 연구를 진행하였다. Li-12HSA는 일반적인 폴리우레탄 폼 조성에 사용되는 실리콘 계면활성제를 기유로 사용하여 합성되었고 기유내에 나노스케일로 잘 분산되도록 하였다. 실험의 결과로서 약 1.0 phr의 Li-12HSA가 사용된 샘플 폼에서 거의 100%의 셀 개방률을 나타내어 Li-12HSA가 적절한 셀 개방제로 사용될 수 있음을 보여주었다. 이는 폼 생성 과정중에서 폴리우레탄의 주사슬에 Li-12HSA가 곁사슬로 형성되어 셀 개방에 크게 영향을 미치기 때문인 것으로 생각되었다. 또한 생성된 개방 셀 구조의 경질 우레탄 폼은 독립셀 구조의 폴리우레탄 폼의 기계적 특성을 크게 저해하지 않으면서도 바람직한 셀 크기, 벌크 밀도, 및 열전도 특성을 가지는 것으로 나타났다.

Enhancement of Dimensional Stability of Compressed Open Cell Rigid Polyurethane Foams by Thermo-Mechanical Treatment

【Thermo-mechanical treatment process of a compressed open-cell rigid polyurethane foam (OC-RPUF), which was fabricated for the vacuum insulation panel (VIP), was studied to obtain an optimum condition for the dimensional stability by the relaxation of compressive stress. Thermo-mechanical deformation of the sample OC-RPUF was shown to occur from about $120^{\circ}C$ . Yield stress of 0.36 MPa was shown at about 10% yield strain. And, densification of the foam started to occur from 75% compressive strain and could be continued up to max. 90%. Compression set of the sample restored after initial compression to 90% at room temperature was ca. 82%. Though the expansion occurred to about twice of the originally compressed thickness in case of temperature rise to $130^{\circ}C$ , it could be overcome and the dimensional stability could be maintained if the constant load of 0.3 MPa was applied. As the result, a thermo-mechanical treatment process, i.e, annealing process at temperature of $130{\sim}140^{\circ}C$ for about 20 min as is the maximum compressed state at room temperature, should be required for dimensional stability as an optimum condition for the use of VIP core material.】

Research on Open-Cell Rigid Polyurethane Foam as Vacuum Insulated Panel Core

Open-cell rigid polyurethane foam was taken as core material of the vacuum insulated panel, and the effects of open-cell ratio, density, cell-diameter and intensity on adiabatic performance of the vacuum insulated panel were simply discussed. The effect of vacuum degree on it is also discussed. The pre-treated craft of vacuum insulated panel manufacture is introduced too. If the open-cell rigid polyurethane foam was taken as the core-material and pretreated craft was carried, the vacuum insulated panel’s thermal conductivity can be less than 10mW/(m•K).

Correlation of pull-out strength of cement-augmented pedicle screws with CT-volumetric measurement of cement

Cement augmentation of pedicle screws increases fixation strength in an osteoporotic spine. This study was designed to determine the cement distribution and the correlation between the pull-out strength of the augmented screw and the cement volume within polyurethane (PU) foam. Twenty-eight cannulated pedicle screws (6×45 mm) (Peter Brehm, Erlangen, Germany) with four holes at the distal end of the screw were augmented with the acrylic Stabilit ER Bone Cement Vertebral Augmentation System (DFine Inc., San Jose, CA, USA) and implanted into open-cell rigid PU foam (Pacific Research Laboratories, Vashon Island, WA, USA) with a density of 0.12 g/cm3, resembling severe osteoporosis. Volumetric measurement of the cement with consideration of the distribution around the screws was done with multislice computed tomography scan (Somatom Definition, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). Pull-out strength was tested with a servohydraulic system (MTS System Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN, USA), and nonaugmented screws served as control. Pearson's correlation coefficient with significance level α=0.05 and one-way analysis of variance test were used. We found a high (r=0.88) and significant (p<0.01) correlation between the cement volume and the pull-out strength, which increased by more than 5-fold with a volume of 3 ml. The correlation appeared linear at least up to 4 ml cement volume and failure always occurred at the cement-bone interface. The cement distribution was symmetric and circular around the most proximal hole, with a distance of 14 mm from the tip, and nearly 90% of the cement was found 6 mm distal and cranial to it. The 95% confidence interval for the relative amount of cement was 37%-41% within 2 mm of the most proximal hole. Compared with the control, a cement volume between 2.0 and 3.0 ml increased the pull-out strength significantly and is relevant for clinical purposes, whereas a volume of 0.5 ml did not. A cement volume beyond 3.0 ml should further increase the pull-out strength because the correlation was linear at least up to 4.0 ml, but the possibility of in vivo cement leakage with increasing volume has to be considered. Pressure-controlled cement application might be a tool to avoid this complication. The cement almost completely penetrated the most proximal perforation.

The Effects of Cortical Bone Thickness and Trabecular Bone Strength on Noninvasive Measures of the Implant Primary Stability Using Synthetic Bone Models

This study investigated how the primary stability of a dental implant as measured by the insertion torque value (ITV), Periotest value (PTV), and implant stability quotient (ISQ) is affected by varying thicknesses of cortical bone and strengths of trabecular bone using synthetic bone models. Four synthetic cortical shells (with thicknesses of 0, 1, 2, and 3 mm) were attached to four cellular rigid polyurethane foams (with elastic moduli of 137, 47.5, 23, and 12.4 MPa) and one open-cell rigid polyurethane foam which mimic the osteoporotic bone (with an elastic modulus 6.5 MPa), to represent the jawbones with various cortical bone thicknesses and strengths of trabecular bone. A total of 60 bone specimens accompanied with implants was examined by a torque meter, Osstell resonance frequency analyzer, and Periotest electronic device. All data were statistically analyzed by two-way analysis of variance. In addition, second-order nonlinear regression was utilized to assess the correlations of the primary implant stability with the four cortex thicknesses and five strengths of trabecular bone. ITV, ISQ, and PTV differed significantly (p < .05) and were strongly correlated with the thickness of cortical bone (R(2) > 0.9) and the elastic modulus of trabecular bone (R(2) = 0.74-0.99). The initial stability at the time of implant placement is influenced by both the cortical bone thickness and the strength of trabecular bone; however, these factors are mostly nonlinearly correlated with ITV, PTV, and ISQ. Using ITV and PTV seems more suitable for identifying the primary implant stability in osteoporotic bone with a thin cortex.

Measurement and Prediction of Thermal Conductivity of Open Cell Rigid Polyurethane Foam

The objectives of this research are to develop, for water-blown open cell rigid polyurethane foam, a theoretical model based on Maxwell’s equation (taking into account conduction in the solid and gas phases), and to establish Rosseland’s diffusion equation (taking into account radiation across the cell-gas spaces, but excluding convection) to predict the thermal conductivity of the polyurethane foam. The physical properties performances of the open cell rigid PU foam were experimentally investigated. The mean deviations of thermal conductivities data between the theoretical calculations of this model, compared with experiment data obtained from the ASTM C518 method, are within 3% to 8% within the mean temperatures from 4°C to 32°C, respectively.

An Energy-Efficiency, Performance Study of, Vacuum Insulation Panels

Vacuum insulation panel (VIP) consists of the core materials that were encapsulated at low pressure in a very thin, low gas permeability and low conducting barrier. The paper presented herein focuses on a unique panel design based on the evacuated 100% open cell rigid polyurethane foam with getters encapsulated in laminated films under various conditions and the application of VIPs. A series of studies of the effect of the batch manufacture efficiency and the thermal conductivity performance of the VIPs was discussed. In this study, several pieces of VIPs were installed on the walls of a refrigerator, show-case and refrigerator vehicle cabinet to evaluate the energy efficiency by measuring the heat loss. Heat loss from a cabinet located in an environmental room was measured by a reversed heat leak method under testing conditions. The results show heat loss energy efficiency improving over 25% for mounting the VIPs on the refrigerator and the reverse heat leak is improved by 8.0% and 28.9% for the refrigerator vehicle cabinet and showcase, respectively

Development of Vacuum Insulation Panel Systems

Rigid polyurethane foam is one of the most effective practical thermal insulation materials used in applications ranging from buildings to the domestic refrigerator. However, owing to the need to eliminate the CFC blowing agents that are hazardous to the environment, an advanced insulation must be developed. One of the most effective forms of thermal insulation, as employed in the walls of the refrigerator, is the vacuum insulation panel (VIP). VIP insulation consists of the core materials that are encapsulated at low pressure in a very thin, low gas permeability and low conducting barrier. This paper focuses on a unique panel design based on the evacuated, 100% open cell rigid polyurethane foam with getters encapsulated in laminated films under various conditions. A series of studies of the effect-factors of the batch manufacture efficiency and the thermal conductivity performance of the VIPs are discussed. Those effect-parameters are rigid polyurethane foams cell size, drying pretreatment, evacuation pressure, with or without getters and encapsulation barrier.