SBIR Phase I: Flexible high-temperature foam insulation materials mass produced using low-cost extrusion processing

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是推动用于工业应用(例如管道和其他工艺系统)的完全灵活的高温(在200-400°C范围内运行)绝缘产品的开发。与玻璃纤维和矿棉等当前解决方案相比，拟议的技术提供了性能改进，同时通过更低的制造成本和更容易的安装来降低成本。与建筑保温相比，高温工业保温可以实现更大的节能效果，从而使项目回收期缩短至1-2年。这将降低食品、造纸、化工、炼油和金属等高耗能行业的成本和能源负荷。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将利用纳米材料生产一种新型复合绝缘材料，该材料具有柔性，可在200°C以上提供高性能。无机材料将提高温度耐久性，而高温特种聚合物将实现灵活性。这些材料将使用大量化学发泡工艺(如挤压)进行加工，这些工艺可使用现成的设备进行大规模生产，以解决成本和产能问题。这项工作解决了一个长期存在的行业挑战，即如何大规模生产一种完全灵活的高温绝缘材料，只需一个人就可以使用标准工具和材料轻松安装。一个关键的活动是将孔径减小到空气的平均自由程(~100 nm)以下。这最大限度地减少了所有三种形式的热传递-传导、对流和辐射，最后一种在高温下变得更加突出。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance the development of a fully flexible high-temperature (operating in the 200-400°C range) insulation product for industrial applications (e.g. pipes and other process systems). The proposed technology offers performance improvements compared to current solutions, such as fiberglass and mineral wool, while reducing costs through lower-cost manufacturing and easier installation. High-temperature industrial insulation can achieve significantly greater energy savings versus building insulation, leading to project paybacks as low as 1-2 years. This will reduce costs and energy loads in energy-intensive industries such as food, paper, chemicals, refining and metals.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will utilize nanomaterials to produce a novel composite insulation material that is flexible and delivers high performance above 200°C. The inorganic materials will raise temperature durability while high-temperature specialty polymers will enable flexibility. The materials will be processed using high-volume chemical foaming processes (such as extrusion) scalable into mass production using off-the-shelf equipment, addressing cost and throughput issues. This work addresses a longstanding industry challenge to mass-produce a fully flexible high-temperature insulation material easily installable by a single individual using standard tools and supplies. A key activity is to reduce pore sizes below the mean free path of air (~100 nm). This minimizes all three forms of heat transfer - conduction, convection and radiation, the last of which becomes more prominent at high temperatures.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.