SBIR Phase I: Inorganic Phase Change Materials Embedded in Closed-Cell Foams

SBIR 第一阶段：嵌入闭孔泡沫中的无机相变材料

• 批准号: 1549136
• 负责人: Changqiong Zhu
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: CoolComposites
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1549136&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Inorganic; Change; Materials

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will result in the development of an additive for spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation that absorbs heat on warm days, reducing cooling needs and lowering construction and operational energy costs. The additive consists of cheap raw materials, and the company is designing a synthesis process that will minimize production complexity and costs. The resulting insulation additive composite will perform up to 40% more effectively than existing SPF. Thus, in hot climates, the amount of insulation needed can be reduced, resulting in zero-day payback for customers. This upends the current economics of PCM products, which ordinarily require a substantial upfront investment and a long payback period. Furthermore, the adoption of these additives will lower the electricity needed to cool the building, shrinking its environmental footprint. In addition, the composite will be applied during construction in the same way as SPF, reducing barriers to adoption. The total North American market for insulation is $11 billion per year. SPF makes up 9%, or $990 million, of this market, and is growing by 5% per year.The intellectual merit of this project lies in the use of inexpensive inorganic phase-change materials (PCMs) in the insulation additive, and the drop-in nature of the additive. Most PCM-enhanced building materials on the market use organic PCMs, which although easy to process, are expensive and flammable. In addition, the application of these materials is incompatible with existing construction processes. In contrast, the product to be developed in this effort uses cheaper inorganic PCMs that are flame retardant, and the additive will be easily applied during construction as a composite with SPF insulation. Inorganic PCMs usually suffer from a lack of thermal reversibility, meaning that they cannot cycle daily and would not be useful as a building material. However, we have developed an innovative processing method that creates small particles that are thermally reversible. The company's current research focuses on mixing the additive into polyurethane foam in a drop-in process, using the hydrophobic foam as protection for the additive from leakage and atmospheric water vapor that may degrade the additive. By working with spray foam manufacturers, the team will adjust properties of the additive to ensure compatibility with SPF and its precursors, and a long lifespan for the resulting composite.

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种用于喷涂聚氨酯泡沫（SPF）绝缘材料的添加剂，该添加剂可在温暖的日子吸收热量，减少冷却需求并降低建筑和运营能源成本。该添加剂由廉价的原材料组成，该公司正在设计一种合成工艺，以最大限度地降低生产复杂性和成本。由此产生的绝缘添加剂复合材料将比现有的SPF更有效地执行高达40%。因此，在炎热的气候中，可以减少所需的绝缘量，从而为客户带来零日回报。这颠覆了PCM产品目前的经济性，PCM产品通常需要大量的前期投资和较长的投资回收期。此外，采用这些添加剂将降低冷却建筑物所需的电力，从而减少其对环境的影响。 此外，该复合材料将在施工期间以与SPF相同的方式应用，减少采用障碍。 北美的绝缘市场总额为每年110亿美元。 SPF占该市场的9%，即9.9亿美元，并以每年5%的速度增长。该项目的智力价值在于在绝缘添加剂中使用廉价的无机相变材料（PCM），以及添加剂的直接性质。市场上大多数PCM增强的建筑材料使用有机PCM，虽然易于加工，但价格昂贵且易燃。此外，这些材料的应用与现有的施工工艺不兼容。相比之下，此次开发的产品使用更便宜的无机PCM，具有阻燃性，并且添加剂可以在施工过程中作为具有SPF隔热层的复合材料轻松应用。无机PCM通常缺乏热可逆性，这意味着它们不能每天循环，并且不能用作建筑材料。然而，我们已经开发出一种创新的加工方法，可以产生热可逆的小颗粒。该公司目前的研究重点是将添加剂混合到聚氨酯泡沫中，使用疏水性泡沫作为保护添加剂免受泄漏和可能使添加剂降解的大气水蒸气的影响。通过与喷雾泡沫制造商合作，该团队将调整添加剂的特性，以确保与SPF及其前体的兼容性，以及所得复合材料的长寿命。