Surface Evaluation by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy of High Performance Polyimide Foams After Exposure to Oxygen Plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melendez, Orlando; Hampton, Michael D.; Williams, Martha K.; Brown, Sylvia F.; Nelson, Gordon L.; Weiser, Erik S.

2002-01-01

Aromatic polyimides have been attractive in the aerospace and electronics industries for applications such as cryogenic insulation, flame retardant panels and structural subcomponents. Newer to the arena of polyimides is the synthesis of polyimide foams and their applications. In the present work, three different, closely related, polyimide foams developed by NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) are studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) after exposure to radio frequency generated Oxygen Plasma. Although polyimide films exposure to atomic oxygen and plasma have been studied previously and reported, the data relate to films and not foams. Foams have much more surface area and thus present new information to be explored. Understanding degradation mechanisms and properties versus structure, foam versus solid is of interest and fundamental to the application and protection of foams exposed to atomic oxygen in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Simple shearing flow of dry soap foams with TCP structure[Tetrahedrally Close-Packed

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

REINELT,DOUGLAS A.; KRAYNIK,ANDREW M.

2000-02-16

The microrheology of dry soap foams subjected to large, quasistatic, simple shearing deformations is analyzed. Two different monodisperse foams with tetrahedrally close-packed (TCP) structure are examined: Weaire-Phelan (A15) and Friauf-Laves (C15). The elastic-plastic response is evaluated by calculating foam structures that minimize total surface area at each value of strain. The minimal surfaces are computed with the Surface Evolver program developed by Brakke. The foam geometry and macroscopic stress are piecewise continuous functions of strain. The stress scales as T/V{sup 1/3} where T is surface tension and V is cell volume. Each discontinuity corresponds to large changes in foam geometrymore » and topology that restore equilibrium to unstable configurations that violate Plateau's laws. The instabilities occur when the length of an edge on a polyhedral foam cell vanishes. The length can tend to zero smoothly or abruptly with strain. The abrupt case occurs when a small increase in strain changes the energy profile in the neighborhood of a foam structure from a local minimum to a saddle point, which can lead to symmetry-breaking bifurcations. In general, the new foam topology associated with each stable solution branch results from a cascade of local topology changes called T1 transitions. Each T1 cascade produces different cell neighbors, reduces surface energy, and provides an irreversible, film-level mechanism for plastic yield behavior. Stress-strain curves and average stresses are evaluated by examining foam orientations that admit strain-periodic behavior. For some orientations, the deformation cycle includes Kelvin cells instead of the original TCP structure; but the foam does not remain perfectly ordered. Bifurcations during subsequent T1 cascades lead to disorder and can even cause strain localization.« less

Treatment of pressure sores in spina bifida patients with calcium alginate and foam dressings.

PubMed

Ausili, E; Paolucci, V; Triarico, S; Maestrini, C; Murolo, D; Focarelli, B; Rendeli, C

2013-06-01

Prospective study on local treatment of pressure sores using calcium alginate and foam dressings in spina bifida patients. Investigate if this sequential approach is valid and safe for selected patients with neurological impairments. Using European Pressure Ulcer Grading System, after clinical evaluation of local sore, selected patients of Spina Bifida Center of Rome were treated with sequential calcium alginate and foam dressings for 12 weeks. Pressure ulcere surfaces were measured monthly by ulcer tracing. The endpoints were the mean absolute areas surface reduction during every month and number of patients achieving a 50% or more during study. 14 patients (7 males aged 12-24 years) with spina bifida and pressure sores were treated. Mean and standard deviation of mean surface area reduction were 12.5 ± 7.5 cm 2 at start of the study versus 3.7 ± 5.2 cm 2 after 12 weeks, p < 0.001. 75% of the patients reached mean surface area reduction of 50% during trial. Dressing tolerance was good in every patient. Calcium alginate and foam dressings are valid and safe approach in the treatment of pressure sores in selected patients with spina bifida. In fact, they protect the wound and create an environment favorable to healing.

Calcipotriol Plus Betamethasone Dipropionate Aerosol Foam in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis: Sub-Group Analysis of the PSO-ABLE Study.

PubMed

Paul, Carle; Leonardi, Craig; Menter, Alan; Reich, Kristian; Gold, Linda Stein; Warren, Richard B; Møller, Anders; Lebwohl, Mark

2017-06-01

Fixed-combination calcipotriol 50 μg/g plus betamethasone 0.5 mg/g (Cal/BD) aerosol foam is a new topical treatment for psoriasis. Although moderate-to-severe psoriasis is typically treated with systemic/biologic therapies, a topical treatment that is efficacious in these patients may be a significant cost-saving alternative to systemic therapy. The objective of this study was to assess the response to Cal/BD foam and gel in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis enrolled in the phase III, 12-week PSO-ABLE study. Patients eligible for this analysis had moderate-to-severe psoriasis, defined by the 'Rule of Tens': body surface area ≥10% or Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) [excluding head; modified PASI (mPASI)] >10 or Dermatology Life-Quality Index >10. Endpoints included: proportion of patients achieving mPASI75 or mPASI90; change in body surface area; proportion of patients clear/almost clear with a ≥2 grade improvement (i.e., treatment success); change in Dermatology Life-Quality Index. Seventy-seven Cal/BD foam patients and 82 gel patients had moderate-to-severe psoriasis. A greater proportion achieved mPASI75 and mPASI90 with Cal/BD foam than gel at weeks 4, 8, and 12 (57.1 vs. 35.4%; p = 0.006 and 15.6 vs. 12.2% at week 12, respectively); overall reduction in mPASI from baseline to week 12 was 64% with the foam vs. 51% with the gel. Overall reduction in body surface area at week 12 was 50% with the foam and 39% with the gel. Treatment success rates were higher with the Cal/BD foam than the gel at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 (p = 0.0089), and 12, and a greater proportion of foam patients achieved a Dermatology Life-Quality Index score of 0/1 at weeks 4 (p = 0.004), 8, and 12 (p = 0.001). Cal/BD foam can be considered as a treatment option in some patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who are potential candidates for systemic therapy. CLINICALTRIALS. NCT02132936.

Pore-level numerical analysis of the infrared surface temperature of metallic foam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yang; Xia, Xin-Lin; Sun, Chuang; Tan, He-Ping; Wang, Jing

2017-10-01

Open-cell metallic foams are increasingly used in various thermal systems. The temperature distributions are significant for the comprehensive understanding of these foam-based engineering applications. This study aims to numerically investigate the modeling of the infrared surface temperature (IRST) of open-cell metallic foam measured by an infrared camera placed above the sample. Two typical approaches based on Backward Monte Carlo simulation are developed to estimate the IRSTs: the first one, discrete-scale approach (DSA), uses a realistic discrete representation of the foam structure obtained from a computed tomography reconstruction while the second one, continuous-scale approach (CSA), assumes that the foam sample behaves like a continuous homogeneous semi-transparent medium. The radiative properties employed in CSA are directly determined by a ray-tracing process inside the discrete foam representation. The IRSTs for different material properties (material emissivity, specularity parameter) are computed by the two approaches. The results show that local IRSTs can vary according to the local compositions of the foam surface (void and solid). The temperature difference between void and solid areas is gradually attenuated with increasing material emissivity. In addition, the annular void space near to the foam surface behaves like a black cavity for thermal radiation, which is ensued by copious neighboring skeletons. For most of the cases studied, the mean IRSTs computed by the DSA and CSA are close to each other, except when the material emissivity is highly weakened and the sample temperature is extremely high.

A novel approach for improving the drying behavior of sludge by the appropriate foaming pretreatment.

PubMed

Huang, Jing; Yang, Zhao-Hui; Zeng, Guang-Ming; Wang, Hui-Ling; Yan, Jing-Wu; Xu, Hai-Yin; Gou, Cheng-Liu

2015-01-01

Foaming pretreatment has long been recognized to promote drying materials with sticky and viscous behaviors. A novel approach, CaO addition followed by appropriate mechanical whipping, was employed for the foaming of dewatered sludge at a moisture content of 80-85%. In the convective drying, the foamed sludge at 0.70 g/mL had the best drying performance at any given temperature, which saved 35-41% drying time for reaching 20% moisture content compared with the non-foamed sludge. Considering the maximum foaming efficiency, the optimal CaO addition was found at 2.0 wt%. For a better understanding of the foaming mechanisms, the foamability of sludge processed with other pretreatment methods, including NaOH addition (0-3.0 wt%) and heating application (60-120 °C), were investigated while continuously whipping. Their recovered supernatant phases were characterized by pH, surface tension, soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD), protein concentration, polysaccharide concentration and spectra of excitation-emission matrices (EEM). These comparative studies indicated that the sludge foaming was mainly derived from the decreased surface tension by the surfactants and the promoted foam persistence by the protein derived compounds. Further, a comprehensive analysis of the sludge drying characteristics was performed including the surface moisture evaporation, the effective moisture diffusivity and the micromorphology of dried sludge. The results indicated that the drying advantages of foamed sludge were mainly attributed to the larger evaporation surface in a limited drying area and the more active moisture capillary movement through the liquid films, which resulted in longer constant evaporation rate periods and better effective moisture diffusivity, respectively.

Using Aerogel-Based Insulation Material To Prevent Foam Loss on the Liquid-Hydrogen Intertank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Uninsulated areas on cryogenic propellant tanks and feedlines cause moisture in the air to condense or ice to form. Flange joints, bracket supports, expansion bellows, and other cavities are uninsulated by design. These areas cannot be sealed because conventional thermal insulation materials would restrict mechanical articulations. Aerogel-based thermal insulation systems are able to seal critical locations such as the liquid-oxygen (LO2) feedline bellows. A new thermal insulation system was also necessary between the intertank wall, flange, and the liquid-hydrogen (LH2) tank dome, where there is a cavity (or crevice) with an exposed 20-K surface. When nitrogen gas is used for purging within the intertank volume, it condenses on this cold surface. Some solid nitrogen may also form on the colder side of the crevice. Voids or discontinuities within the foam can pressurize and cause areas of foam to weaken and break off, reducing thermal efficiency and creating potentially dangerous debris. To prevent this foam loss, we developed a thermal insulation system using bulk-fill aerogel material and demonstrated it with a one-tenth-scale model of the LH2 intertank flange area

Carbon foams for energy storage devices

DOEpatents

Kaschmitter, James L.; Mayer, Steven T.; Pekala, Richard W.

1996-01-01

A high energy density capacitor incorporating a variety of carbon foam electrodes is described. The foams, derived from the pyrolysis of resorcinol-formaldehyde and related polymers, are high density (0.1 g/cc-1.0 g/cc) electrically conductive and have high surface areas (400 m.sup.2 /g-1000 m.sup.2 /g). Capacitances on the order of several tens of farad per gram of electrode are achieved.

Supercapacitors based on carbon foams

DOEpatents

Kaschmitter, James L.; Mayer, Steven T.; Pekala, Richard W.

1993-01-01

A high energy density capacitor incorporating a variety of carbon foam electrodes is described. The foams, derived from the pyrolysis of resorcinol-formaldehyde and related polymers, are high density (0.1 g/cc-1.0 g/cc) electrically conductive and have high surface areas (400 m.sup.2 /g-1000 m.sup.2 /g). Capacitances on the order of several tens of farad per gram of electrode are achieved.

Investigations on injection molded, glass-fiber reinforced polyamide 6 integral foams using breathing mold technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roch, A.; Kehret, L.; Huber, T.; Henning, F.; Elsner, P.

2015-05-01

Investigations on PA6-GF50 integral foams have been carried out using different material systems: longfiber- and shortfiber-reinforced PA6 as well as unreinforced PA6 as a reference material. Both chemical and physical blowing agents were applied. Breathing mold technology (decompression of the mold) was selected for the foaming process. The integral foam design, which can be conceived as a sandwich structure, helps to save material in the neutral axis area and maintains a distance between load-bearing, unfoamed skin layers. For all test series an initial mold gap of 2.5 mm was chosen and the same amount of material was injected. In order to realize different density reductions, the mold opening stroke was varied. The experiments showed that, at a constant mass per unit area, integral polyamide 6 foams have a significantly higher bending stiffness than compact components, due to their higher area moment of inertia after foaming. At a constant surface weight the bending stiffness in these experiments could be increased by up to 600 %. Both shortfiber- and longfiber-reinforced polyamide 6 showed an increase in energy absorption during foaming.

Simple shearing flow of dry soap foams with tetrahedrally close-packed structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reinelt, Douglas A.; Kraynik, Andrew M.

2000-05-01

The microrheology of dry soap foams subjected to quasistatic, simple shearing flow is analyzed. Two different monodisperse foams with tetrahedrally close-packed (TCP) structure are examined: Weaire-Phelan (A15) and Friauf-Laves (C15). The elastic-plastic response is evaluated by using the Surface Evolver to calculate foam structures that minimize total surface area at each value of strain. The foam geometry and macroscopic stress are piecewise continuous functions of strain. The stress scales as T/V{sup 1/3}, where T is surface tension and V is cell volume. Each discontinuity corresponds to large changes in foam geometry and topology that restore equilibrium to unstable configurations thatmore » violate Plateau's laws. The instabilities occur when the length of an edge on a polyhedral foam cell vanishes. The length can tend to zero smoothly or abruptly with strain. The abrupt case occurs when a small increase in strain changes the energy profile in the neighborhood of a foam structure from a local minimum to a saddle point, which can lead to symmetry-breaking bifurcations. In general, the new structure associated with each stable solution branch results from an avalanche of local topology changes called T1 transitions. Each T1 cascade produces different cell neighbors, reduces surface energy, and provides an irreversible, film-level mechanism for plastic yield behavior. Stress-strain curves and average stresses are evaluated by examining foam orientations that admit strain-periodic behavior. For some orientations, the deformation cycle includes Kelvin cells instead of the original TCP structure; but the foam does not remain perfectly ordered. Bifurcations during subsequent T1 cascades lead to disorder and can even cause strain localization. (c) 2000 Society of Rheology.« less

Preparation of nanoporous metal foam from high nitrogen transition metal complexes

DOEpatents

Tappan, Bryce C.; Huynh, My Hang V.; Hiskey, Michael A.; Son, Steven F.; Oschwald, David M.; Chavez, David E.; Naud, Darren L.

2006-11-28

Nanoporous metal foams are prepared by ignition of high nitrogen transition metal complexes. The ammonium salts of iron(III) tris[bi(tetrazolato)-amine], cobalt(III) tris(bi(tetrazolato)amine), and high nitrogen compounds of copper and silver were prepared as loose powders, pressed into pellets and wafers, and ignited under an inert atmosphere to form nanoporous metal foam monoliths having very high surface area and very low density.

Process for producing carbon foams for energy storage devices

DOEpatents

Kaschmitter, James L.; Mayer, Steven T.; Pekala, Richard W.

1998-01-01

A high energy density capacitor incorporating a variety of carbon foam electrodes is described. The foams, derived from the pyrolysis of resorcinol-formaldehyde and related polymers, are high density (0.1 g/cc-1.0 g/cc) electrically conductive and have high surface areas (400 m.sup.2 /g-1000 m.sup.2 /g). Capacitances on the order of several tens of farad per gram of electrode are achieved.

Carbon foams for energy storage devices

DOEpatents

Kaschmitter, J.L.; Mayer, S.T.; Pekala, R.W.

1996-06-25

A high energy density capacitor incorporating a variety of carbon foam electrodes is described. The foams, derived from the pyrolysis of resorcinol-formaldehyde and related polymers, are high density (0.1 g/cc--1.0 g/cc) electrically conductive and have high surface areas (400 m{sup 2}/g-1000 m{sup 2}/g). Capacitances on the order of several tens of farad per gram of electrode are achieved. 9 figs.

Supercapacitors based on carbon foams

DOEpatents

Kaschmitter, J.L.; Mayer, S.T.; Pekala, R.W.

1993-11-09

A high energy density capacitor incorporating a variety of carbon foam electrodes is described. The foams, derived from the pyrolysis of resorcinol-formaldehyde and related polymers, are high density (0.1 g/cc-1.0 g/cc) electrically conductive and have high surface areas (400 m[sup 2]/g-1000 m[sup 2]/g). Capacitances on the order of several tens of farad per gram of electrode are achieved. 9 figures.

KSC-07pd0886

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-13

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Mike Ravenscroft, with United Space Alliance, points to some of the foam repair done on the external tank of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Holes filled with foam are sanded flush with the adjacent area. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch now is targeted for June 8. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Hail damage on Atlantis' external tank is inspected

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-13

In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Mike Ravenscroft, with United Space Alliance, points to some of the foam repair done on the external tank of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Holes filled with foam are sanded flush with the adjacent area. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch now is targeted for June 8.

Characterization of boron coated vitreous carbon foam for neutron detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavelle, C. M.; Deacon, Ryan M.; Hussey, Daniel S.; Coplan, Michael; Clark, Charles W.

2013-11-01

Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) foams coated with 3-11 μm thick layers of boron carbide (B4C) are experimentally characterized for use as an active material for neutron detection. The potential advantage of this material over thin films is that it can be fabricated in any shape and its porous structure may enhance the emission surface area for ionizing charged particles following thermal neutron capture. A coated foam is also advantageous because the neutron-absorbing material is only on the surface, which is more efficient for α particle emission on a per captured neutron basis. Measurements of the B4C layer thickness of an RVC coated foam, and determination of its elemental composition, are performed using scanning electron microscopy. Neutron transmission measurements using neutron radiography are presented and α particle emission from the coated foam in response to a moderated 252Cf thermal neutron source is demonstrated.

Porous NiTi for bone implants: a review.

PubMed

Bansiddhi, A; Sargeant, T D; Stupp, S I; Dunand, D C

2008-07-01

NiTi foams are unique among biocompatible porous metals because of their high recovery strain (due to the shape-memory or superelastic effects) and their low stiffness facilitating integration with bone structures. To optimize NiTi foams for bone implant applications, two key areas are under active study: synthesis of foams with optimal architectures, microstructure and mechanical properties; and tailoring of biological interactions through modifications of pore surfaces. This article reviews recent research on NiTi foams for bone replacement, focusing on three specific topics: (i) surface modifications designed to create bio-inert porous NiTi surfaces with low Ni release and corrosion, as well as bioactive surfaces to enhance and accelerate biological activity; (ii) in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility studies to confirm the long-term safety of porous NiTi implants; and (iii) biological evaluations for specific applications, such as in intervertebral fusion devices and bone tissue scaffolds. Possible future directions for bio-performance and processing studies are discussed that could lead to optimized porous NiTi implants.

Porous NiTi for bone implants: A review

PubMed Central

Bansiddhi, A.; Sargeant, T.D.; Stupp, S.I.; Dunand, D.C.

2011-01-01

NiTi foams are unique among biocompatible porous metals because of their high recovery strain (due to the shape-memory or superelastic effects) and their low stiffness facilitating integration with bone structures. To optimize NiTi foams for bone implant applications, two key areas are under active study: synthesis of foams with optimal architectures, microstructure and mechanical properties; and tailoring of biological interactions through modifications of pore surfaces. This article reviews recent research on NiTi foams for bone replacement, focusing on three specific topics: (i) surface modifications designed to create bio-inert porous NiTi surfaces with low Ni release and corrosion, as well as bioactive surfaces to enhance and accelerate biological activity; (ii) In vitro and in vivo biocompatibility studies to confirm the long-term safety of porous NiTi implants; and (iii) biological evaluations for specific applications, such as in intervertebral fusion devices and bone tissue scaffolds. Possible future directions for bio-performance and processing studies are discussed that could lead to optimized porous NiTi implants. PMID:18348912

Rigid polyurethane and kenaf core composite foams

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rigid polyurethane foams are valuable in many construction applications. Kenaf is a bast fiber plant where the surface stem skin provides bast fibers whose strength-to-weight ratio competes with glass fiber. The higher volume product of the kenaf core is an under-investigated area in composite appli...

Ultralight anisotropic foams from layered aligned carbon nanotube sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faraji, Shaghayegh; L. Stano, Kelly; Yildiz, Ozkan; Li, Ang; Zhu, Yuntian; Bradford, Philip D.

2015-10-01

In this work, we present large scale, ultralight aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) structures which have densities an order of magnitude lower than CNT arrays, have tunable properties and exhibit resiliency after compression. By stacking aligned sheets of carbon nanotubes and then infiltrating with a pyrolytic carbon (PyC), resilient foam-like materials were produced that exhibited complete recovery from 90% compressive strain. With density as low as 3.8 mg cm-3, the foam structure is over 500 times less dense than bulk graphite. Microscopy revealed that PyC coated the junctions among CNTs, and also increased CNT surface roughness. These changes in the morphology explain the transition from inelastic behavior to foam-like recovery of the layered CNT sheet structure. Mechanical and thermal properties of the foams were tuned for different applications through variation of PyC deposition duration while dynamic mechanical analysis showed no change in mechanical properties over a large temperature range. Observation of a large and linear electrical resistance change during compression of the aligned CNT/carbon (ACNT/C) foams makes strain/pressure sensors a relevant application. The foams have high oil absorption capacities, up to 275 times their own weight, which suggests they may be useful in water treatment and oil spill cleanup. Finally, the ACNT/C foam's high porosity, surface area and stability allow for demonstration of the foams as catalyst support structures.In this work, we present large scale, ultralight aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) structures which have densities an order of magnitude lower than CNT arrays, have tunable properties and exhibit resiliency after compression. By stacking aligned sheets of carbon nanotubes and then infiltrating with a pyrolytic carbon (PyC), resilient foam-like materials were produced that exhibited complete recovery from 90% compressive strain. With density as low as 3.8 mg cm-3, the foam structure is over 500 times less dense than bulk graphite. Microscopy revealed that PyC coated the junctions among CNTs, and also increased CNT surface roughness. These changes in the morphology explain the transition from inelastic behavior to foam-like recovery of the layered CNT sheet structure. Mechanical and thermal properties of the foams were tuned for different applications through variation of PyC deposition duration while dynamic mechanical analysis showed no change in mechanical properties over a large temperature range. Observation of a large and linear electrical resistance change during compression of the aligned CNT/carbon (ACNT/C) foams makes strain/pressure sensors a relevant application. The foams have high oil absorption capacities, up to 275 times their own weight, which suggests they may be useful in water treatment and oil spill cleanup. Finally, the ACNT/C foam's high porosity, surface area and stability allow for demonstration of the foams as catalyst support structures. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03899e

Magnetically driven floating foams for the removal of oil contaminants from water.

PubMed

Calcagnile, Paola; Fragouli, Despina; Bayer, Ilker S; Anyfantis, George C; Martiradonna, Luigi; Cozzoli, P Davide; Cingolani, Roberto; Athanassiou, Athanassia

2012-06-26

In this study, we present a novel composite material based on commercially available polyurethane foams functionalized with colloidal superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and submicrometer polytetrafluoroethylene particles, which can efficiently separate oil from water. Untreated foam surfaces are inherently hydrophobic and oleophobic, but they can be rendered water-repellent and oil-absorbing by a solvent-free, electrostatic polytetrafluoroethylene particle deposition technique. It was found that combined functionalization of the polytetrafluoroethylene-treated foam surfaces with colloidal iron oxide nanoparticles significantly increases the speed of oil absorption. Detailed microscopic and wettability studies reveal that the combined effects of the surface morphology and of the chemistry of the functionalized foams greatly affect the oil-absorption dynamics. In particular, nanoparticle capping molecules are found to play a major role in this mechanism. In addition to the water-repellent and oil-absorbing capabilities, the functionalized foams exhibit also magnetic responsivity. Finally, due to their light weight, they float easily on water. Hence, by simply moving them around oil-polluted waters using a magnet, they can absorb the floating oil from the polluted regions, thereby purifying the water underneath. This low-cost process can easily be scaled up to clean large-area oil spills in water.

Polymer-Derived Silicoboron Carbonitride Foams for CO2 Capture: From Design to Application as Scaffolds for the in Situ Growth of Metal-Organic Frameworks.

PubMed

Sandra, Fabien; Depardieu, Martin; Mouline, Zineb; Vignoles, Gérard L; Iwamoto, Yuji; Miele, Philippe; Backov, Rénal; Bernard, Samuel

2016-06-06

A template-assisted polymer-derived ceramic route is investigated for preparing a series of silicoboron carbonitride (Si/B/C/N) foams with a hierarchical pore size distribution and tailorable interconnected porosity. A boron-modified polycarbosilazane was selected to impregnate monolithic silica and carbonaceous templates and form after pyrolysis and template removal Si/B/C/N foams. By changing the hard template nature and controlling the quantity of polymer to be impregnated, controlled micropore/macropore distributions with mesoscopic cell windows are generated. Specific surface areas from 29 to 239 m(2)  g(-1) and porosities from 51 to 77 % are achieved. These foams combine a low density with a thermal insulation and a relatively good thermostructural stability. Their particular structure allowed the in situ growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) directly within the open-cell structure. MOFs offered a microporosity feature to the resulting Si/B/C/N@MOF composite foams that allowed increasing the specific surface area to provide CO2 uptake of 2.2 %. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Process for producing carbon foams for energy storage devices

DOEpatents

Kaschmitter, J.L.; Mayer, S.T.; Pekala, R.W.

1998-08-04

A high energy density capacitor incorporating a variety of carbon foam electrodes is described. The foams, derived from the pyrolysis of resorcinol-formaldehyde and related polymers, are high density (0.1 g/cc--1.0 g/cc) electrically conductive and have high surface areas (400 m{sup 2}/g--1,000 m{sup 2}/g). Capacitances on the order of several tens of farad per gram of electrode are achieved. 9 figs.

Synthesis, Surface Parameters, and Biodegradability of Water-soluble Surfactants for Various Applications.

PubMed

El-Sayed, Refat; Alotaibi, Hawazin H; Elhady, Heba A

2018-01-01

The synthesis of water-soluble heterocyclic compounds was verified on the basis of nonionic surfactants for use as surface-active agents. Surface characteristics such as surface and interfacial tensions, cloud point, wetting time, emulsion stability, foaming height and foaming stability were measured for these surface factors in aqueous solutions. In addition, the critical micelle concentration (CMC), the surface pressure at CMC (π cmc ), the effectiveness of surface tension reduction (pC 20 ), the maximum surface concentration (Γ ma. ) and the minimum area/molecule at the aqueous solution/air interface (A min ) were calculated. Moreover, the biodegradability for these nonionic surfactants has been investigated. Furthermore, the antimicrobial evaluation has been evaluated with some surfactants that have demonstrated a potent cytotoxicity as antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer. These surfactants have a good water solubility, low toxicity, environmentally friendly environment, high foam, good emulsifier and easy production that will be used them in various fields such as medical drugs, insecticides, detergents, emulsifiers, cosmetics, inks clothing, leather industry and oil recovery.

Cyclic deformation of bidisperse two-dimensional foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fátima Vaz, M.; Cox, S. J.; Teixeira, P. I. C.

2011-12-01

In-plane deformation of foams was studied experimentally by subjecting bidisperse foams to cycles of traction and compression at a prescribed rate. Each foam contained bubbles of two sizes with given area ratio and one of three initial arrangements: sorted perpendicular to the axis of deformation (iso-strain), sorted parallel to the axis of deformation (iso-stress), or randomly mixed. Image analysis was used to measure the characteristics of the foams, including the number of edges separating small from large bubbles N sl , the perimeter (surface energy), the distribution of the number of sides of the bubbles, and the topological disorder μ2(N). Foams that were initially mixed were found to remain mixed after the deformation. The response of sorted foams, however, depended on the initial geometry, including the area fraction of small bubbles and the total number of bubbles. For a given experiment we found that (i) the perimeter of a sorted foam varied little; (ii) each foam tended towards a mixed state, measured through the saturation of N sl ; and (iii) the topological disorder μ2(N) increased up to an "equilibrium" value. The results of different experiments showed that (i) the change in disorder, ? decreased with the area fraction of small bubbles under iso-strain, but was independent of it under iso-stress; and (ii) ? increased with ? under iso-strain, but was again independent of it under iso-stress. We offer explanations for these effects in terms of elementary topological processes induced by the deformations that occur at the bubble scale.

The Effect of Electrical Stimulation Combined with Foam Dressing on Ulcer Healing in Rats with Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Yu, Ki-Pi; Yoo, Seol Bong; Yang, Seok Jeong; Yoon, Yong-Soon

2015-11-01

To evaluate the effect of electrical stimulation (ES) combined with foam dressing on wound healing in rats with spinal cord injury. Complete spinal cord injury was induced in 49 male Sprague-Dawley rats at the T11-L1 level, after which a pressure ulcer was induced on the left thigh. The newly invented surface electrode, which was fitted with foam inside, was applied to the ulcers. Rats were divided into 2 groups as follows: the ES group, which received foam dressings and ES (2 Hz and 200-microsecond duration, 15 mA) for 4 times a day, 30 minutes each, for 3 weeks; and the control group, which received the foam dressings without ES. The ulcer area was measured by taking a photograph daily from day 0 to day 21. Histopathologic and immune-histochemical evaluations were performed on day 1 and days 7, 14, and 21. The area of the ulcers of the ES group was smaller than that of the control group after day 14 (P < .05). In the ES group, the vascularity was significantly greater on day 14 and more decreased on day 21 compared with day 7 than that in the control group (P < .05). In the ES group, the area of positive reaction to anti-α-SMA antibody was increased compared with the control group on days 7 and 14 and decreased on day 21 (P > .05). Electrical stimulation combined with foam dressing by means of newly invented surface electrodes facilitates and accelerates the wound-healing process.

Histological evaluation of capsules formed by silicon implants coated with polyurethane foam and with a textured surface in rats.

PubMed

Silva, Eduardo Nascimento; Ribas-Filho, Jurandir Marcondes; Czeczko, Nicolau Gregori; Pachnicki, Jan Pawel Andrade; Netto, Mário Rodrigues Montemor; Lipinski, Leandro Cavalcante; Noronha, Lucia de; Colman, Joelmir; Zeni, João Otavio; Carvalho, Caroline Aragão de

2016-12-01

To assess the capsules formed by silicone implants coated with polyurethane foam and with a textured surface. Sixty-four Wistar albinus rats were divided into two groups of 32 each using polyurethane foam and textured surface. The capsules around the implants were analyzed for 30, 50, 70 and 90 days. Were analyzed the following parameters: foreign body reaction, granulation tissue, presence of myofibroblasts, neoangiogenesis, presence of synovial metaplasia, capsular thickness, total area and collagen percentage of type I and III, in capsules formed around silicone implants in both groups. The foreign body reaction was only present in the four polyurethane subgroups. The formation of granulation tissue and the presence of myofibroblasts were higher in the four polyurethane subgroups. Regarding to neoangiogenesis and synovial metaplasia, there was no statistical difference between the groups. Polyurethane group presented (all subgroups) a greater capsule thickness, a smaller total area and collagen percentage of type I and a higher percentage area of type III, with statistical difference. The use of polyurethane-coated implants should be stimulated by the long-term results in a more stable capsule and a lower incidence of capsular contracture, despite developing a more intense and delayed inflammatory reaction in relation to implants with textured surface.

Thermal-hydraulic performance of metal foam heat exchangers under dry operating conditions

DOE PAGES

Nawaz, Kashif; Bock, Jessica; Jacobi, Anthony M.

2017-03-14

High porosity metal foams with novel thermal, mechanical, electrical, and acoustic properties are being more widely adopted for application. Due to their large surface-area-to-volume ratio and complex structure which induces better fluid mixing, boundary layer restarting and wake destruction, they hold promise for heat transfer applications. In this study, the thermal-hydraulic performance of open-cell aluminum metal foam heat exchanger has been evaluated. The impact of flow conditions and metal foam geometry on the heat transfer coefficient and gradient have been investigated. Metal foam heat exchanger with same geometry (face area, flow depth and fin dimensions) consisting of four different typemore » of metal foams have been built for the study. Experiments are conducted in a closed-loop wind tunnel at different flow rate under dry operating condition. Metal foams with a smaller pore size (40 PPI) have a larger heat transfer coefficient compared to foams with a larger pore size (5 PPI). However, foams with larger pores result in relatively smaller pressure gradients. Current thermal-hydraulic modeling practices have been reviewed and potential issues have been identified. Permeability and inertia coefficients are determined and compared to data reported in open literature. Finally, on the basis of the new experimental results, correlations are developed relating the foam characteristics and flow conditions through the friction factor f and the Colburn j factor.« less

Thermal-hydraulic performance of metal foam heat exchangers under dry operating conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nawaz, Kashif; Bock, Jessica; Jacobi, Anthony M.

High porosity metal foams with novel thermal, mechanical, electrical, and acoustic properties are being more widely adopted for application. Due to their large surface-area-to-volume ratio and complex structure which induces better fluid mixing, boundary layer restarting and wake destruction, they hold promise for heat transfer applications. In this study, the thermal-hydraulic performance of open-cell aluminum metal foam heat exchanger has been evaluated. The impact of flow conditions and metal foam geometry on the heat transfer coefficient and gradient have been investigated. Metal foam heat exchanger with same geometry (face area, flow depth and fin dimensions) consisting of four different typemore » of metal foams have been built for the study. Experiments are conducted in a closed-loop wind tunnel at different flow rate under dry operating condition. Metal foams with a smaller pore size (40 PPI) have a larger heat transfer coefficient compared to foams with a larger pore size (5 PPI). However, foams with larger pores result in relatively smaller pressure gradients. Current thermal-hydraulic modeling practices have been reviewed and potential issues have been identified. Permeability and inertia coefficients are determined and compared to data reported in open literature. Finally, on the basis of the new experimental results, correlations are developed relating the foam characteristics and flow conditions through the friction factor f and the Colburn j factor.« less

Ectopic bone formation by marrow stromal osteoblast transplantation using poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) foams implanted into the rat mesentery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ishaug-Riley, S. L.; Crane, G. M.; Gurlek, A.; Miller, M. J.; Yasko, A. W.; Yaszemski, M. J.; Mikos, A. G.; McIntire, L. V. (Principal Investigator)

1997-01-01

Porous biodegradable poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) foams were seeded with rat marrow stromal cells and implanted into the rat mesentery to investigate in vivo bone formation at an ectopic site. Cells were seeded at a density of 6.83 x 10(5) cells/cm2 onto polymer foams having pore sizes ranging from either 150 to 300 to 710 microns and cultured for 7 days in vitro prior to implantation. The polymer/cell constructs were harvested after 1, 7, 28, or 49 days in vivo and processed for histology and gel permeation chromatography. Visual observation of hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections and von Kossa-stained sections revealed the formation of mineralized bonelike tissue in the constructs within 7 days postimplantation. Ingrowth of vascular tissue was also found adjacent to the islands of bone, supplying the necessary metabolic requirements to the newly formed tissue. Mineralization and bone tissue formation were investigated by histomorphometry. The average penetration depth of mineralized tissue in the construct ranged from 190 +/- 50 microns for foams with 500-710-microns pores to 370 +/- 160 microns for foams with 150-300-microns pores after 49 days in vivo. The mineralized bone volume per surface area and total bone volume per surface area had maximal values of 0.28 +/- 0.21 mm (500-710-microns pore size, day 28) and 0.038 +/- 0.024 mm (150-300-microns, day 28), respectively. As much as 11% of the foam volume penetrated by bone tissue was filled with mineralized tissue. No significant trends over time were observed for any of the measured values (penetration depth, bone volume/surface area, or percent mineralized bone volume). These results suggest the feasibility of bone formation by osteoblast transplantation in an orthotopic site where not only bone formation from transplanted cells but also ingrowth from adjacent bone may occur.

Pitch-based carbon foam and composites and use thereof

DOEpatents

Klett, James W.; Burchell, Timothy D.; Choudhury, Ashok

2006-07-04

A thermally conductive carbon foam is provided, normally having a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/mK. The carbon foam usually has a specific thermal conductivity, defined as the thermal conductivity divided by the density, of at least about 75 Wcm.sup.3/m.degree. Kgm. The foam also has a high specific surface area, typically at least about 6,000 m.sup.2/m.sup.3. The foam is characterized by an x-ray diffraction pattern having "doublet" 100 and 101 peaks characterized by a relative peak split factor no greater than about 0.470. The foam is graphitic and exhibits substantially isotropic thermal conductivity. The foam comprises substantially ellipsoidal pores and the mean pore diameter of such pores is preferably no greater than about 340 microns. Other materials, such as phase change materials, can be impregnated in the pores in order to impart beneficial thermal properties to the foam. Heat exchange devices and evaporatively cooled heat sinks utilizing the foams are also disclosed.

Pitch-based carbon foam and composites and uses thereof

DOEpatents

Klett, James W.; Burchell, Timothy D.; Choudhury, Ashok

2004-01-06

A thermally conductive carbon foam is provided, normally having a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/m.multidot.K. The carbon foam usually has a specific thermal conductivity, defined as the thermal conductivity divided by the density, of at least about 75 W.multidot.cm.sup.3 /m.multidot..degree.K.multidot.gm. The foam also has a high specific surface area, typically at least about 6,000 m.sup.2 /m.sup.3. The foam is characterized by an x-ray diffraction pattern having "doublet" 100 and 101 peaks characterized by a relative peak split factor no greater than about 0.470. The foam is graphitic and exhibits substantially isotropic thermal conductivity. The foam comprises substantially ellipsoidal pores and the mean pore diameter of such pores is preferably no greater than about 340 microns. Other materials, such as phase change materials, can be impregnated in the pores in order to impart beneficial thermal properties to the foam. Heat exchange devices and evaporatively cooled heat sinks utilizing the foams are also disclosed.

Ultralight anisotropic foams from layered aligned carbon nanotube sheets.

PubMed

Faraji, Shaghayegh; Stano, Kelly L; Yildiz, Ozkan; Li, Ang; Zhu, Yuntian; Bradford, Philip D

2015-10-28

In this work, we present large scale, ultralight aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) structures which have densities an order of magnitude lower than CNT arrays, have tunable properties and exhibit resiliency after compression. By stacking aligned sheets of carbon nanotubes and then infiltrating with a pyrolytic carbon (PyC), resilient foam-like materials were produced that exhibited complete recovery from 90% compressive strain. With density as low as 3.8 mg cm(-3), the foam structure is over 500 times less dense than bulk graphite. Microscopy revealed that PyC coated the junctions among CNTs, and also increased CNT surface roughness. These changes in the morphology explain the transition from inelastic behavior to foam-like recovery of the layered CNT sheet structure. Mechanical and thermal properties of the foams were tuned for different applications through variation of PyC deposition duration while dynamic mechanical analysis showed no change in mechanical properties over a large temperature range. Observation of a large and linear electrical resistance change during compression of the aligned CNT/carbon (ACNT/C) foams makes strain/pressure sensors a relevant application. The foams have high oil absorption capacities, up to 275 times their own weight, which suggests they may be useful in water treatment and oil spill cleanup. Finally, the ACNT/C foam's high porosity, surface area and stability allow for demonstration of the foams as catalyst support structures.

Design and milling manufacture of polyurethane custom contoured cushions for wheelchair users.

PubMed

da Silva, Fabio Pinto; Beretta, Elisa Marangon; Prestes, Rafael Cavalli; Kindlein Junior, Wilson

2011-01-01

The design of custom contoured cushions manufactured in flexible polyurethane foams is an option to improve positioning and comfort for people with disabilities that spend most of the day seated in the same position. These surfaces increase the contact area between the seat and the user. This fact contributes to minimise the local pressures that can generate problems like decubitus ulcers. The present research aims at establishing development routes for custom cushion production to wheelchair users. This study also contributes to the investigation of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining of flexible polyurethane foams. The proposed route to obtain the customised seat began with acquiring the user's contour in adequate posture through plaster cast. To collect the surface geometry, the cast was three-dimensionally scanned and manipulated in CAD/CAM software. CNC milling parameters such as tools, spindle speeds and feed rates to machine flexible polyurethane foams were tested. These parameters were analysed regarding the surface quality. The best parameters were then tested in a customised seat. The possible dimensional changes generated during foam cutting were analysed through 3D scanning. Also, the customised seat pressure and temperature distribution was tested. The best parameters found for foams with a density of 50kg/cm(3) were high spindle speeds (24000 rpm) and feed rates between 2400-4000mm/min. Those parameters did not generate significant deformities in the machined cushions. The custom contoured cushion satisfactorily increased the contact area between wheelchair and user, as it distributed pressure and heat evenly. Through this study it was possible to define routes for the development and manufacturing of customised seats using direct CNC milling in flexible polyurethane foams. It also showed that custom contoured cushions efficiently distribute pressure and temperature, which is believed to minimise tissue lesions such as pressure ulcers.

Structure and coarsening at the surface of a dry three-dimensional aqueous foam.

PubMed

Roth, A E; Chen, B G; Durian, D J

2013-12-01

We utilize total-internal reflection to isolate the two-dimensional surface foam formed at the planar boundary of a three-dimensional sample. The resulting images of surface Plateau borders are consistent with Plateau's laws for a truly two-dimensional foam. Samples are allowed to coarsen into a self-similar scaling state where statistical distributions appear independent of time, except for an overall scale factor. There we find that statistical measures of side number distributions, size-topology correlations, and bubble shapes are all very similar to those for two-dimensional foams. However, the size number distribution is slightly broader, and the shapes are slightly more elongated. A more obvious difference is that T2 processes now include the creation of surface bubbles, due to rearrangement in the bulk, and von Neumann's law is dramatically violated for individual bubbles. But nevertheless, our most striking finding is that von Neumann's law appears to holds on average, namely, the average rate of area change for surface bubbles appears to be proportional to the number of sides minus six, but with individual bubbles showing a wide distribution of deviations from this average behavior.

A Course in Colloid and Surface Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scamehorn, John F.

1984-01-01

Describes a course for chemical engineers, chemists, and petroleum engineers that focuses on colloid and surface science. Major topic areas in the course include capillarity, surface thermodynamics, adsorption contact angle, micelle formation, solubilization in micelles, emulsions, foams, and applications. (JN)

Influence of both cutaneous input from the foot soles and visual information on the control of postural stability in dyslexic children.

PubMed

Goulème, Nathalie; Villeneuve, Philippe; Gérard, Christophe-Loïc; Bucci, Maria Pia

2017-07-01

Dyslexic children show impaired in postural stability. The aim of our study was to test the influence of foot soles and visual information on the postural control of dyslexic children, compared to non-dyslexic children. Postural stability was evaluated with TechnoConcept ® platform in twenty-four dyslexic children (mean age: 9.3±0.29years) and in twenty-four non-dyslexic children, gender- and age-matched, in two postural conditions (with and without foam: a 4-mm foam was put under their feet or not) and in two visual conditions (eyes open and eyes closed). We measured the surface area, the length and the mean velocity of the center of pressure (CoP). Moreover, we calculated the Romberg Quotient (RQ). Our results showed that the surface area, length and mean velocity of the CoP were significantly greater in the dyslexic children compared to the non-dyslexic children, particularly with foam and eyes closed. Furthermore, the RQ was significantly smaller in the dyslexic children and significantly greater without foam than with foam. All these findings suggest that dyslexic children are not able to compensate with other available inputs when sensorial inputs are less informative (with foam, or eyes closed), which results in poor postural stability. We suggest that the impairment of the cerebellar integration of all the sensorial inputs is responsible for the postural deficits observed in dyslexic children. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Layered manganese oxides-decorated and nickel foam-supported carbon nanotubes as advanced binder-free supercapacitor electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ming; Mi, Rui; Liu, Hao; Li, Fei; Zhao, Xiao Li; Zhang, Wei; He, Shi Xuan; Zhang, Yu Xin

2014-12-01

Three-dimensional carbon nanotubes@MnO2 core-shell nanostructures grown on Ni foam for binder-free capacitor electrodes have been fabricated by a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition process and a facile hydrothermal approach. Ultrathin layered MnO2 nanosheets are uniformly coated on the surface of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs), directly grown on Ni foam. This unique well-designed binder-free electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance (325.5 F g-1 at a current density of 0.3 A g-1), good rate capability (70.7% retention), and excellent cycling stability (90.5% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles), due to the high conductivity of the close contact between CNTs and Ni foam, as well as the moderate specific surface area of the CNTs@MnO2 core-shell nanostructures. The developed synthetic strategy may provide design guidelines for constructing advanced binder-free supercapacitors electrode.

INVESTIGATION OF TITANIUM BONDED GRAPHITE FOAM COMPOSITES FOR MICRO ELECTRONIC MECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS) APPLICATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Menchhofer, Paul A.

PiMEMS Inc. (Santa Barbara, CA) in collaboration with ORNL investigated the use of Titanium Bonded Graphite Foam Composites (TBGC) for thermal mitigation in Micro Electronic Mechanical Systems (MEMS) applications. Also considered were potentially new additive manufacturing routes to producing novel high surface area micro features and diverse shaped heat transfer components for numerous lightweight MEMs applications.

Three dimensional carbon-bubble foams with hierarchical pores for ultra-long cycling life supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wang, Bowen; Zhang, Weigang; Wang, Lei; Wei, Jiake; Bai, Xuedong; Liu, Jingyue; Zhang, Guanhua; Duan, Huigao

2018-07-06

Design and synthesis of integrated, interconnected porous structures are critical to the development of high-performance supercapacitors. We develop a novel and facile synthesis technic to construct three-dimensional carbon-bubble foams with hierarchical pores geometry. The carbon-bubble foams are fabricated by conformally coating, via catalytic decomposition of ethanol, a layer of carbon coating onto the surfaces of pre-formed ZnO foams and then the removal of the ZnO template by a reduction-evaporation process. Both the wall thickness and the pore size can be well tuned by adjusting the catalytic decomposition time and temperature. The as-synthesized carbon-bubble foams electrode retains 90.3% of the initial capacitance even after 70 000 continuous cycles under a high current density of 20 A g -1 , demonstrating excellent long-time electrochemical and cycling stability. The symmetric device displays rate capability retention of 81.8% with the current density increasing from 0.4 to 20 A g -1 . These achieved electrochemical performances originate from the unique structural design of the carbon-bubble foams, which provide not only abundant transport channels for electron and ion but also high active surface area accessible by the electrolyte ions.

Three dimensional carbon-bubble foams with hierarchical pores for ultra-long cycling life supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bowen; Zhang, Weigang; Wang, Lei; Wei, Jiake; Bai, Xuedong; Liu, Jingyue; Zhang, Guanhua; Duan, Huigao

2018-07-01

Design and synthesis of integrated, interconnected porous structures are critical to the development of high-performance supercapacitors. We develop a novel and facile synthesis technic to construct three-dimensional carbon-bubble foams with hierarchical pores geometry. The carbon-bubble foams are fabricated by conformally coating, via catalytic decomposition of ethanol, a layer of carbon coating onto the surfaces of pre-formed ZnO foams and then the removal of the ZnO template by a reduction-evaporation process. Both the wall thickness and the pore size can be well tuned by adjusting the catalytic decomposition time and temperature. The as-synthesized carbon-bubble foams electrode retains 90.3% of the initial capacitance even after 70 000 continuous cycles under a high current density of 20 A g‑1, demonstrating excellent long-time electrochemical and cycling stability. The symmetric device displays rate capability retention of 81.8% with the current density increasing from 0.4 to 20 A g‑1. These achieved electrochemical performances originate from the unique structural design of the carbon-bubble foams, which provide not only abundant transport channels for electron and ion but also high active surface area accessible by the electrolyte ions.

Centrifugation-Assisted Fog-Collecting Abilities of Metal-Foam Structures with Different Surface Wettabilities.

PubMed

Ji, Keju; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Jia; Meng, Guiyun; Ding, Yafei; Dai, Zhendong

2016-04-20

The collection of water from fog is a simple and sustainable means of obtaining freshwater for human and animal consumption. Herein, we address the use of metal foam in fog collection and present a novel fog-collecting device fabricated from copper foam. This device, which can also be used in other liquid-gas separation applications, is a 3D extension of biologically inspired 1D and 2D materials. The network structure of the 3D material effectively increased the contact area and interaction time of the skeleton structure and fog compared to those of traditional 2D fog-collecting materials. The main aspects investigated in this study were the influences of the inertial centrifugal force generated by rotating the metal-foam samples and the use of samples with different surface wettabilities on the fog-collecting performance. Superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic samples were found to have higher collection efficiencies at low and high rotational speeds, respectively, and a maximum efficiency of 86% was achieved for superhydrophobic copper foam (20 pores per inch) rotated at 1500 rpm.

Method and apparatus for producing a carbon based foam article having a desired thermal-conductivity gradient

DOEpatents

Klett, James W [Knoxville, TN; Cameron, Christopher Stan [Sanford, NC

2010-03-02

A carbon based foam article is made by heating the surface of a carbon foam block to a temperature above its graphitizing temperature, which is the temperature sufficient to graphitize the carbon foam. In one embodiment, the surface is heated with infrared pulses until heat is transferred from the surface into the core of the foam article such that the graphitizing temperature penetrates into the core to a desired depth below the surface. The graphitizing temperature is maintained for a time sufficient to substantially entirely graphitize the portion of the foam article from the surface to the desired depth below the surface. Thus, the foam article is an integral monolithic material that has a desired conductivity gradient with a relatively high thermal conductivity in the portion of the core that was graphitized and a relatively low thermal conductivity in the remaining portion of the foam article.

General introduction: Liquid and solid (materials, main properties and applications …)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zabler, Simon

2014-10-01

A general introduction about the diversity of foam structures is given with focus onto the structural, mechanical and dynamical properties at hand. Two classes of materials are addressed: liquid and semi-solid foams, on the one hand, solid foams, on the other hand. The latter can be subdivided into metallic, ceramic and organic foams, depending on the nature of the solid skeleton that supports the overall cell structure. Solid foams generally stem from the concept of mechanical light-weight structures, but they can just as well be employed for their large surface area as well as for their acoustic and thermal properties. Modern biomaterials use tailored ceramic or organo-ceramic foams as bone scaffolds, whereas hierarchically micro- and nanoporous structures are being used by chemistry to control catalytic reactions. Future materials design and development is going to rely increasingly on natural and synthetic foam structures and properties, be it food, thermal insulators or car frames, thus giving a promising outlook onto the foam research and development that is about to come. xml:lang="fr"

Geometric modeling of Plateau borders using the orthographic projection method for closed cell rigid polyurethane foam thermal conductivity prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jie; Wu, Tao; Peng, Chuang; Adegbite, Stephen

2017-09-01

The geometric Plateau border model for closed cell polyurethane foam was developed based on volume integrations of approximated 3D four-cusp hypocycloid structure. The tetrahedral structure of convex struts was orthogonally projected into 2D three-cusp deltoid with three central cylinders. The idealized single unit strut was modeled by superposition. The volume of each component was calculated by geometric analyses. The strut solid fraction f s and foam porosity coefficient δ were calculated based on representative elementary volume of Kelvin and Weaire-Phelan structures. The specific surface area Sv derived respectively from packing structures and deltoid approximation model were put into contrast against strut dimensional ratio ɛ. The characteristic foam parameters obtained from this semi-empirical model were further employed to predict foam thermal conductivity.

The effect of Tai Chi exercises on postural stability and control in older patients with knee osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Ghandali, Elham; Moghadam, Saeed Talebian; Hadian, Mohammad Reza; Olyaei, Gholamreza; Jalaie, Shohreh; Sajjadi, Elaheh

2017-07-01

A few studies have examined the effect of Tai Chi on balance in elder patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this study was to determine the balance measures in elder patients with knee OA after Tai Chi exercises. For this purpose 14 females and 6 males with knee OA were chosen. Area and mean velocity of the center of pressure movements (CoP) were measured by force plate in standing positions (on foam and rigid surfaces). The measurements of area and mean velocity of CoP were performed before and after 60 min of Tai Chi sessions (twice a week for 8 weeks). The results showed that the area of CoP in standing position on rigid surface was significantly decreased (P < 0.01) after Tai Chi exercises. Furthermore, the mean velocity of CoP was significantly decreased after Tai Chi exercises on both rigid and foam surfaces (P < 0.001). Our study also indicated that changes in surfaces (rigid and foam) would cause significant differences regarding the area of CoP in standing positions. However, similar findings were not found regarding the mean velocity of CoP. Considering the effects of Tai Chi on mean velocity of CoP, it might be concluded that motor control and postural stability improvements have occurred. Therefore, based on these results, Tai Chi exercises could be recommended for elder patients with knee OA as part of their rehabilitation and physical therapy protocols. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Morphing Carbon Nanotube Microstructures

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-20

most fibrous nanoscale aerogels and foams, having n=2-3, which is attributed to 2 low connectivity between the constituent struts 7. When comparing...CNTs incidentally resembles the Young’s moduli of isotropic CNT foams 30, CNT aerogels 31, and Si aerogels 32 which scale as ~ρ3, and commonly...characteristics of ultrahigh surface area single-walled carbon nanotube aerogels . Adv. Funct. Mater. 23, 377-383 (2013). 8. R. M. German, Sintering

The relative energy of fcc and hcp foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whyte, D.; Weaire, D.; Drenckhan, W.; Hutzler, S.

2015-06-01

The energies of face-centred cubic (fcc) and hexagonal close-packed (hcp) monodisperse foams, associated with their total surface area, are equal in the wet and dry limits, in the usual model. We prove that for all intermediate values of liquid fraction, hcp has lower energy. Energy considerations are thus not sufficient to explain the observed preference for crystallization into fcc over hcp in experiments using monodisperse bubbles.

Pu Anion Exchange Process Intensification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor-Pashow, Kathryn M. L.

This research is focused on improving the efficiency of the anion exchange process for purifying plutonium. While initially focused on plutonium, the technology could also be applied to other ion-exchange processes. Work in FY17 focused on the improvement and optimization of porous foam columns that were initially developed in FY16. These foam columns were surface functionalized with poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVP) to provide the Pu specific anion-exchange sites. Two different polymerization methods were explored for maximizing the surface functionalization with the PVP. The open-celled polymeric foams have large open pores and large surface areas available for sorption. The fluid passes through themore » large open pores of this material, allowing convection to be the dominant mechanism by which mass transport takes place. These materials generally have very low densities, open-celled structures with high cell interconnectivity, small cell sizes, uniform cell size distributions, and high structural integrity. These porous foam columns provide advantages over the typical porous resin beads by eliminating the slow diffusion through resin beads, making the anion-exchange sites easily accessible on the foam surfaces. The best performing samples exceeded the Pu capacity of the commercially available resin, and also offered the advantage of sharper elution profiles, resulting in a more concentrated product, with less loss of material to the dilute heads and tails cuts. An alternate approach to improving the efficiency of this process was also explored through the development of a microchannel array system for performing the anion exchange.« less

Characterization of Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System (TPS) Materials for Return-to-Flight following the Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wingard, Doug

2006-01-01

During the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation, it was determined that a large chunk of polyurethane insulating foam (= 1.67 lbs) on the External Tank (ET) came loose during Columbia's ascent on 2-1-03. The foam piece struck some of the protective Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of Columbia's left wing in the mid-wing area. This impact damaged Columbia to the extent that upon re-entry to Earth, superheGed air approaching 3,000 F caused the vehicle to break up, killing all seven astronauts on board. A paper after the Columbia Accident Investigation highlighted thermal analysis testing performed on External Tank TPS materials (1). These materials included BX-250 (now BX-265) rigid polyurethane foam and SLA-561 Super Lightweight Ablator (highly-filled silicone rubber). The large chunk of foam from Columbia originated fiom the left bipod ramp of the ET. The foam in this ramp area was hand-sprayed over the SLA material and various fittings, allowed to dry, and manually shaved into a ramp shape. In Return-to-Flight (RTF) efforts following Columbia, the decision was made to remove the foam in the bipod ramp areas. During RTF efforts, further thermal analysis testing was performed on BX-265 foam by DSC and DMA. Flat panels of foam about 2-in. thick were sprayed on ET tank material (aluminum alloys). The DSC testing showed that foam material very close to the metal substrate cured more slowly than bulk foam material. All of the foam used on the ET is considered fully cured about 21 days after it is sprayed. The RTF culminated in the successful launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on 7-26-05. Although the flight was a success, there was another serious incident of foam loss fiom the ET during Shuttle ascent. This time, a rather large chunk of BX-265 foam (= 0.9 lbs) came loose from the liquid hydrogen (LH2) PAL ramp, although the foam did not strike the Shuttle Orbiter containing the crew. DMA testing was performed on foam samples taken fiom a simulated PAL ramp panel. It was found that the smooth rind on the foam facing the cable tray did significantly affect the properties of foam at the PAL ramp surface. The smooth rind increased the storage modulus E' of the foam as much as 20- 40% over a temperature range of -145 to 95 C. Because of foam loss fiom the PAL ramp, future Shuttle flights were grounded indefinitely to allow further testing to better understand foam properties. The decision was also made to remove foam from the LH2 PAL, ramp. Other RTF efforts prior to the launch of Discovery included

Nucleation and Growth of Porous MnO2 Coatings Prepared on Nickel Foam and Evaluation of Their Electrochemical Performance

PubMed Central

Huang, Wenxin; Li, Jun; Xu, Yunhe

2018-01-01

Porous MnO2 was uniformly electrodeposited on nickel foam in MnSO4 solution, which was applied as the electrode of supercapacitors. The nucleation/growth mechanisms of porous MnO2 were investigated firstly. Then two kinds of electrochemical measuring technologies, corresponding to the cycle voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge, were adopted to assess the electrochemical performance of MnO2 electrodes. The results demonstrated that the deposition of MnO2 on nickel foam included four stages. Prior to the deposition, an extremely short incubation period of about 2 s was observed (the first stage). Then the exposed nickel foam was instantly covered by a large number of MnO2 crystal nuclei and crystal nuclei connected with each other in a very short time of about 3 s (the second stage). Nucleation predominated in the second stage. The sharply rise of current was caused by the increase in substrate surface area which due to nucleation of MnO2. Grain boundaries grew preferentially due to their high energy, accompanied with a honeycomb-like structure with the higher surface area was formed. However, accompanied with the electrochemical reactions gradually diffusion-controlled, the current presented the decline trend with increasing the time (the third stage). When the electrochemical reactions were completely diffusion-controlled, the porous MnO2 coating with an approximately constant surface area was formed (the fourth stage). MnO2 coatings deposited for different time (30, 60, 120, 300 s) exhibited a similar specific capacitance (CV: about 224 F/g; galvanostatic charge-discharge: about 264 F/g). Comparatively speaking, the value of MnO2 deposited for 600 s was highest (CV: 270 F/g; galvanostatic charge-discharge: 400 F/g). PMID:29724063

Nucleation and Growth of Porous MnO₂ Coatings Prepared on Nickel Foam and Evaluation of Their Electrochemical Performance.

PubMed

Huang, Wenxin; Li, Jun; Xu, Yunhe

2018-05-02

Porous MnO₂ was uniformly electrodeposited on nickel foam in MnSO₄ solution, which was applied as the electrode of supercapacitors. The nucleation/growth mechanisms of porous MnO₂ were investigated firstly. Then two kinds of electrochemical measuring technologies, corresponding to the cycle voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge, were adopted to assess the electrochemical performance of MnO₂ electrodes. The results demonstrated that the deposition of MnO₂ on nickel foam included four stages. Prior to the deposition, an extremely short incubation period of about 2 s was observed (the first stage). Then the exposed nickel foam was instantly covered by a large number of MnO₂ crystal nuclei and crystal nuclei connected with each other in a very short time of about 3 s (the second stage). Nucleation predominated in the second stage. The sharply rise of current was caused by the increase in substrate surface area which due to nucleation of MnO₂. Grain boundaries grew preferentially due to their high energy, accompanied with a honeycomb-like structure with the higher surface area was formed. However, accompanied with the electrochemical reactions gradually diffusion-controlled, the current presented the decline trend with increasing the time (the third stage). When the electrochemical reactions were completely diffusion-controlled, the porous MnO₂ coating with an approximately constant surface area was formed (the fourth stage). MnO₂ coatings deposited for different time (30, 60, 120, 300 s) exhibited a similar specific capacitance (CV: about 224 F/g; galvanostatic charge-discharge: about 264 F/g). Comparatively speaking, the value of MnO₂ deposited for 600 s was highest (CV: 270 F/g; galvanostatic charge-discharge: 400 F/g).

Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion on surface-treated open-cell Ti6Al4V foams.

PubMed

Türkan, Uğur; Güden, Mustafa; Sudağıdan, Mert

2016-06-01

The effect of alkali and nitric acid surface treatments on the adhesion of Staphylococcus epidermidis to the surface of 60% porous open-cell Ti6Al4V foam was investigated. The resultant surface roughness of foam particles was determined from the ground flat surfaces of thin foam specimens. Alkali treatment formed a porous, rough Na2Ti5O11 surface layer on Ti6Al4V particles, while nitric acid treatment increased the number of undulations on foam flat and particle surfaces, leading to the development of finer surface topographical features. Both surface treatments increased the nanometric-scale surface roughness of particles and the number of bacteria adhering to the surface, while the adhesion was found to be significantly higher in alkali-treated foam sample. The significant increase in the number of bacterial attachment on the alkali-treated sample was attributed to the formation of a highly porous and nanorough Na2Ti5O11 surface layer.

High power density microbial fuel cell with flexible 3D graphene-nickel foam as anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hanyu; Wang, Gongming; Ling, Yichuan; Qian, Fang; Song, Yang; Lu, Xihong; Chen, Shaowei; Tong, Yexiang; Li, Yat

2013-10-01

The structure and electrical conductivity of anode play a significant role in the power generation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, we developed a three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide-nickel (denoted as rGO-Ni) foam as an anode for MFC through controlled deposition of rGO sheets onto the nickel foam substrate. The loading amount of rGO sheets and electrode surface area can be controlled by the number of rGO loading cycles. 3D rGO-Ni foam anode provides not only a large accessible surface area for microbial colonization and electron mediators, but also a uniform macro-porous scaffold for effective mass diffusion of the culture medium. Significantly, at a steady state of the power generation, the MFC device with flexible rGO-Ni electrodes produced an optimal volumetric power density of 661 W m-3 calculated based on the volume of anode material, or 27 W m-3 based on the volume of the anode chamber. These values are substantially higher than that of plain nickel foam, and other conventional carbon based electrodes (e.g., carbon cloth, carbon felt, and carbon paper) measured in the same conditions. To our knowledge, this is the highest volumetric power density reported for mL-scale MFC device with a pure strain of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. We also demonstrated that the MFC device can be operated effectively in a batch-mode at least for a week. These new 3D rGO-Ni electrodes show great promise for improving the power generation of MFC devices.The structure and electrical conductivity of anode play a significant role in the power generation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, we developed a three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide-nickel (denoted as rGO-Ni) foam as an anode for MFC through controlled deposition of rGO sheets onto the nickel foam substrate. The loading amount of rGO sheets and electrode surface area can be controlled by the number of rGO loading cycles. 3D rGO-Ni foam anode provides not only a large accessible surface area for microbial colonization and electron mediators, but also a uniform macro-porous scaffold for effective mass diffusion of the culture medium. Significantly, at a steady state of the power generation, the MFC device with flexible rGO-Ni electrodes produced an optimal volumetric power density of 661 W m-3 calculated based on the volume of anode material, or 27 W m-3 based on the volume of the anode chamber. These values are substantially higher than that of plain nickel foam, and other conventional carbon based electrodes (e.g., carbon cloth, carbon felt, and carbon paper) measured in the same conditions. To our knowledge, this is the highest volumetric power density reported for mL-scale MFC device with a pure strain of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. We also demonstrated that the MFC device can be operated effectively in a batch-mode at least for a week. These new 3D rGO-Ni electrodes show great promise for improving the power generation of MFC devices. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03487a

Microplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Xiamen coastal areas: Implications for anthropogenic impacts.

PubMed

Tang, Guowen; Liu, Mengyang; Zhou, Qian; He, Haixia; Chen, Kai; Zhang, Haibo; Hu, Jiahui; Huang, Qinghui; Luo, Yongming; Ke, Hongwei; Chen, Bin; Xu, Xiangrong; Cai, Minggang

2018-09-01

Microplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated to study the influence of human activities and to find their possible relationship on the coastal environments, where the coastal areas around Xiamen are undergoing intensive processes of industrialization and urbanization in the southeast China. The abundance of microplastics in Xiamen coastal areas was 103 to 2017particles/m 3 in surface seawater and 76 to 333 particles/kg in sediments. Concentrations of dissolved PAHs varied from 18.1 to 248ng/L in surface seawater. The abundances of microplastics from the Western Harbor in surface seawater and sediments were higher than those from other areas. Foams were dominated in surface seawater samples, however, no foams were found in sediments samples. The microscope selection and FTIR analysis suggested that polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were dominant microplastics. The cluster analysis results demonstrated that fibers and granules had the similar sources, and films had considerably correlation with all types of PAHs (3 or 4-ring PAHs and alkylated PAHs). Plastic film mulch from agriculture practice might be a potential source of microplastics in study areas. Results of our study support that river runoff, watershed area, population and urbanization rate influence the distribution of microplastics in estuarine surface water, and the prevalence of microplastic pollution calls for monitoring microplastics at a national scale. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of cell-size on the energy absorption features of closed-cell aluminium foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nammi, S. K.; Edwards, G.; Shirvani, H.

2016-11-01

The effect of cell-size on the compressive response and energy absorption features of closed-cell aluminium (Al) foam were investigated by finite element method. Micromechanical models were constructed with a repeating unit-cell (RUC) which was sectioned from tetrakaidecahedra structure. Using this RUC, three Al foam models with different cell-sizes (large, medium and small) and all of same density, were built. These three different cell-size pieces of foam occupy the same volume and their domains contained 8, 27 and 64 RUCs respectively. However, the smaller cell-size foam has larger surface area to volume ratio compared to other two. Mechanical behaviour was modelled under uniaxial loading. All three aggregates (3D arrays of RUCs) of different cell-sizes showed an elastic region at the initial stage, then followed by a plateau, and finally, a densification region. The smaller cell size foam exhibited a higher peak-stress and a greater densification strain comparing other two cell-sizes investigated. It was demonstrated that energy absorption capabilities of smaller cell-size foams was higher compared to the larger cell-sizes examined.

Catalytic Combustion of Ethanol and Butanol

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

demonstrated 75% conversion of ethanol. I then selected a more active rhodium -coated alumina foam with a larger surface area and attained 100...catalysts composed of thermally stabilized, ion-exchanged zeolite, palladium on stabilized alumina, and catalysts doped with cerium (Ce) and nickel...platinum mesh weighed about 0.50 g and was roughly 0.5 mm thick. The rhodium (Rh)/aluminum oxide (Al2O3) foam contained 0.061 g of Rh and was prepared

Macro-cellular silica foams: synthesis during the natural creaming process of an oil-in-water emulsion.

PubMed

Sen, T; Tiddy, G J T; Casci, J L; Anderson, M W

2003-09-07

The room-temperature synthesis of a macro-mesoporous silica material during the natural creaming process of an oil-in-water emulsion is reported. The material has 3-dimensional interconnected macropores with a strut-like structure similar to meso-cellular silica foams with mesoporous walls of worm-hole structure. The material has very high surface area (approximately 800 m2 g(-1)) with narrow mesopore size distribution.

Removing adsorbed heavy metal ions from sand surfaces via applying interfacial properties of rhamnolipid.

PubMed

Haryanto, Bode; Chang, Chien-Hsiang

2015-01-01

In this study, the interfacial properties of biosurfactant rhamnolipid were investigated and were applied to remove adsorbed heavy metal ions from sand surfaces with flushing operations. The surface tension-lowering activity, micelle charge characteristic, and foaming ability of rhamnolipid were identified first. For rhamnolipid in water, the negatively charged characteristic of micelles or aggregates was confirmed and the foaming ability at concentrations higher than 40 mg/L was evaluated. By using the rhamnolipid solutions in a batch washing approach, the potential of applying the interfacial properties of rhamnolipid to remove adsorbed copper ions from sand surfaces was then demonstrated. In rhamnolipid solution flushing operations for sand-packed medium, higher efficiency was found for the removal of adsorbed copper ions with residual type than with inner-sphere interaction type, implying the important role of interaction type between the copper ion and the sand surface in the removal efficiency. In addition, the channeling effect of rhamnolipid solution flow in the sand-packed medium was clearly observed in the solution flushing operations and was responsible for the low removal efficiency with low contact areas between solution and sand. By using rhamnolipid solution with foam to flush the sand-packed medium, one could find that the channeling effect of the solution flow was reduced and became less pronounced with the increase in the rhamnolipid concentration, or with the enhanced foaming ability. With the reduced channeling effect in the flushing operations, the removal efficiency for adsorbed copper ions was significantly improved. The results suggested that the foam-enhanced rhamnolipid solution flushing operation was efficient in terms of surfactant usage and operation time.

Microwave-assisted synthesis of simonkolleite nanoplatelets on nickel foam-graphene with enhanced surface area for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Khamlich, S; Mokrani, T; Dhlamini, M S; Mothudi, B M; Maaza, M

2016-01-01

Simonkolleite (Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O) nanoplatelets has been deposited on nickel foam-supported graphene by using an efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The three-dimensional (3D) porous microstructure of the as-fabricated nickel foam-graphene/simonkolleite (NiF-G/SimonK) composite is beneficial to electrolyte penetration and ions exchange, whereas graphene provide improved electronic conductivity. Structural and morphological characterizations confirmed the presence of highly crystalline hexagonal-shaped nanoplatelets of simonkolleite. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) of the NiF-G/SimonK composite revealed that the SimonK nanoplatelets were evenly distributed on the surface of NiF-G and interlaced with each other, resulting in a higher specific surface area of 35.69 m(2) g(-1) compared to SimonK deposited directly on NiF 17.2 m(2) g(-1). Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the NiF-G/SimonK composite exhibit a high specific capacitance of 836 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1), and excellent rate capability and cycling stability with capacitance retention of 92% after 5000 charge/discharge cycles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conductive polymer foam surface improves the performance of a capacitive EEG electrode.

PubMed

Baek, Hyun Jae; Lee, Hong Ji; Lim, Yong Gyu; Park, Kwang Suk

2012-12-01

In this paper, a new conductive polymer foam-surfaced electrode was proposed for use as a capacitive EEG electrode for nonintrusive EEG measurements in out-of-hospital environments. The current capacitive electrode has a rigid surface that produces an undefined contact area due to its stiffness, which renders it unable to conform to head curvature and locally isolates hairs between the electrode surface and scalp skin, making EEG measurement through hair difficult. In order to overcome this issue, a conductive polymer foam was applied to the capacitive electrode surface to provide a cushioning effect. This enabled EEG measurement through hair without any conductive contact with bare scalp skin. Experimental results showed that the new electrode provided lower electrode-skin impedance and higher voltage gains, signal-to-noise ratios, signal-to-error ratios, and correlation coefficients between EEGs measured by capacitive and conventional resistive methods compared to a conventional capacitive electrode. In addition, the new electrode could measure EEG signals, while the conventional capacitive electrode could not. We expect that the new electrode presented here can be easily installed in a hat or helmet to create a nonintrusive wearable EEG apparatus that does not make users look strange for real-world EEG applications.

KSC-07pd0928

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-25

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, workers check foam repairs on Atlantis' external tank. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch now is targeted for June 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Micro- and macromechanical effects on the wound bed of negative pressure wound therapy using gauze and foam.

PubMed

Borgquist, Ola; Gustafsson, Lotta; Ingemansson, Richard; Malmsjö, Malin

2010-06-01

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) results in 2 types of tissue deformation, macrodeformation (ie, wound contraction) and microdeformation (ie, the interaction of tissue and dressing on a microscopic level). These effects have been delineated for one type of wound filler, foam, but not for gauze. The mechanical deformation initiates a signaling cascade which ultimately leads to wound healing. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of gauze and foam on macro- and microdeformation during treatment with negative pressure. An in vivo porcine peripheral wound model was used. NPWT was applied for 72 hours at 0, -75, and -125 mm Hg, using either foam or gauze as wound filler. The mechanical effects of NPWT were examined by measuring the wound surface area reduction and by histologic analysis of the wound bed tissue. Similar degrees of wound contraction (macrodeformation) were seen during NPWT regardless if foam or gauze was used. After negative pressure had been discontinued, the wound stayed contracted. There was no difference in wound contraction between -75 and -125 mm Hg. Biopsies of the wound bed revealed a repeating pattern of wound surface undulations and small tissue blebs ("tissue mushrooms") were pulled into the pores of the foam dressing and the spaces between the threads in the gauze dressing (microdeformation). This pattern was obvious in wounds treated both with foam and gauze, at atmospheric pressure (0 mm Hg) as well as at subatmospheric pressures (-75 and -125 mm Hg). The degrees of micro- and macrodeformation of the wound bed are similar after NPWT regardless if foam or gauze is used as wound filler.

Improvement of stability of polidocanol foam for nonsurgical permanent contraception.

PubMed

Guo, Jian Xin; Lucchesi, Lisa; Gregory, Kenton W

2015-08-01

Polidocanol foam (PF), used clinically as a venous sclerosant, has recently been studied as a safe and inexpensive means for permanent contraception. Delivering the sclerosant to the fallopian tubes as a foam rather than a liquid increases the surface areas and thus enhances the desired epithelial disrupting activity of the agent. However, the foam is inherently unstable and degrades with time. Therefore, increasing foam stability and thus duration of the agent exposure time could increase epithelial effect while allowing reduction in agent concentration and potential toxicity. We studied methods to improve foam properties that might improve safety and efficacy of PF for intrauterine application. Several types of microporous filters adapted to a syringe-based foaming device were used to study the effect of pore structures on the formation of PF. The foam drainage time and bubble size were characterized. The addition of benzalkonium chloride (BZK) to polidocanol was also investigated for its effects on foam characteristics. A syringe-based foaming device adapted with an inline filter produced smaller bubble PF with a longer foam drainage time. PF generated with a circular pore filter lasts longer than with a noncircular pore filter. The addition of 0.01% of BZK also improved the stability of PF. The stability of PF is affected by the pore characteristics of the filter used for foam generation and enhanced by the presence of a small amount of BZK. The improved foam, if shown to be efficacious in animal models of contraception, could lead to a safe, simple and inexpensive method alternative to surgical contraception. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KSC-07pd0927

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-25

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, foam repairs on Atlantis' external tank include sanding and inspection, as seen here. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch now is targeted for June 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-07pd0929

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-25

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, a worker carefully sands foam repairs on Atlantis' external tank. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch now is targeted for June 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Synthesis carbon foams prepared from gelatin (CFG) for cadmium ion adsorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulfa, M.; Ulfa, D. K.

2018-01-01

In this paper, carbon foam from gelatin (CFG) was synthesized by acid-catalyzed carbonization of gelatin solution on mild condition by the simple method. Gelatin (Ge) were used as sacrificial template and source of carbon. Sulphuric acid was used as acid catalyst. Carbon foam CFG sample were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), nitrogen adsorption desorption and FTIR for knowing textural and structural properties of the sample. Carbon foam CFG sample demonstrated macro pipes-channel like with pore size that varies between 30-40 μ and surface area m 60-100 m2g-1. The carbon foams CFG sample were tested by using adsorption process for obtained their performance for decreasing Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The adsorption capacities for cadmium was 46.7 mg/g obtained by using adsorbent dose 50 mg, initial concentration 50 ppm, contact time, 3 h; room temperature, stirring rate 150 rpm) which reached equilibrium at 55 min. Adsorption process fits using using Lagergren and Ho and McKay equation and measuring data

Foam pad of appropriate thickness can improve diagnostic value of foam posturography in detecting postural instability.

PubMed

Liu, Bo; Leng, Yangming; Zhou, Renhong; Liu, Jingjing; Liu, Dongdong; Liu, Jia; Zhang, Su-Lin; Kong, Wei-Jia

2018-04-01

The present study investigated the effect of foam thickness on postural stability in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH) during foam posturography. Static and foam posturography were performed in 33 patients (UVH group) and 30 healthy subjects (control group) with eyes open (EO) and closed (EC) on firm surface and on 1-5 foam pad(s). Sway velocity (SV) of center of pressure, standing time before falling (STBF) and falls reaction were recorded and analyzed. (1) SVs had an increasing tendency in both groups as the foam pads were added under EO and EC conditions. (2) STBFs, only in UVH group with EC, decreased with foam thickness increasing. (3) Significant differences in SV were found between the control and UVH group with EO (except for standing on firm surface, on 1 and 2 foam pad(s)) and with EC (all surface conditions). (4) Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the SV could better reflect the difference in postural stability between the two groups while standing on the 4 foam pads with EC. Our study showed that diagnostic value of foam posturography in detecting postural instability might be enhanced by using foam pad of right thickness.

Polymer-Reinforced, Non-Brittle, Lightweight Cryogenic Insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hess, David M.

2013-01-01

The primary application for cryogenic insulating foams will be fuel tank applications for fueling systems. It is crucial for this insulation to be incorporated into systems that survive vacuum and terrestrial environments. It is hypothesized that by forming an open-cell silica-reinforced polymer structure, the foam structures will exhibit the necessary strength to maintain shape. This will, in turn, maintain the insulating capabilities of the foam insulation. Besides mechanical stability in the form of crush resistance, it is important for these insulating materials to exhibit water penetration resistance. Hydrocarbon-terminated foam surfaces were implemented to impart hydrophobic functionality that apparently limits moisture penetration through the foam. During the freezing process, water accumulates on the surfaces of the foams. However, when hydrocarbon-terminated surfaces are present, water apparently beads and forms crystals, leading to less apparent accumulation. The object of this work is to develop inexpensive structural cryogenic insulation foam that has increased impact resistance for launch and ground-based cryogenic systems. Two parallel approaches will be pursued: a silica-polymer co-foaming technique and a post foam coating technique. Insulation characteristics, flexibility, and water uptake can be fine-tuned through the manipulation of the polyurethane foam scaffold. Silicate coatings for polyurethane foams and aerogel-impregnated polyurethane foams have been developed and tested. A highly porous aerogel-like material may be fabricated using a co-foam and coated foam techniques, and can insulate at liquid temperatures using the composite foam

Effect of osteoblastic culture conditions on the structure of poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) foam scaffolds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, A. S.; Zhu, G.; Morris, G. E.; Meszlenyi, R. K.; Mikos, A. G.; McIntire, L. V. (Principal Investigator)

1999-01-01

Poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) foams are an osteoconductive support that holds promise for the development of bone tissue in vitro and implantation into orthopedic defects. Because it is desirable that foams maintain their shape and size, we examined a variety of foams cultured in vitro with osteoblastic cells. Foams were prepared with different porosities and pore sizes by the method of solvent casting/porogen leaching using 80, 85, and 90 wt% NaCl sieved with particle sizes of 150-300 and 300-500 microm and characterized by mercury intrusion porosimetry. Foams seeded with cells were found to have volumes after 7 days in static culture that decreased with increasing porosity: the least porous exhibited no change in volume while the most porous foams decreased by 39 +/- 10%. In addition, a correlation was observed between decreasing foam volume after 7 days in culture and decreasing internal surface area of the foams prior to seeding. Furthermore, foams prepared with the 300-500 microm porogen had lower porosities, greater mean wall thicknesses between adjacent pores, and larger volumes after 7 days in culture than those prepared with the smaller porogen. Two culture conditions for maintaining cells, static and agitated (in a rotary vessel), were found to have similar influences on foam size, cell density, and osteoblastic function for 7 and 14 days in culture. Finally, we examined unseeded foams in aqueous solutions of pH 3.0, 5.0, and 7.4 and found no significant decrease in foam size with degradation. This study demonstrates that adherent osteoblastic cells may collapse very porous PLGA foams prepared by solvent casting/particulate leaching: a potentially undesirable property for repair of orthopedic defects.

Nanosized LiFePO4-decorated emulsion-templated carbon foam for 3D micro batteries: a study of structure and electrochemical performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asfaw, Habtom D.; Roberts, Matthew R.; Tai, Cheuk-Wai; Younesi, Reza; Valvo, Mario; Nyholm, Leif; Edström, Kristina

2014-07-01

In this article, we report a novel 3D composite cathode fabricated from LiFePO4 nanoparticles deposited conformally on emulsion-templated carbon foam by a sol-gel method. The carbon foam is synthesized via a facile and scalable method which involves the carbonization of a high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE) polymer template. Various techniques (XRD, SEM, TEM and electrochemical methods) are used to fully characterize the porous electrode and confirm the distribution and morphology of the cathode active material. The major benefits of the carbon foam used in our work are closely connected with its high surface area and the plenty of space suitable for sequential coating with battery components. After coating with a cathode material (LiFePO4 nanoparticles), the 3D electrode presents a hierarchically structured electrode in which a porous layer of the cathode material is deposited on the rigid and bicontinuous carbon foam. The composite electrodes exhibit impressive cyclability and rate performance at different current densities affirming their importance as viable power sources in miniature devices. Footprint area capacities of 1.72 mA h cm-2 at 0.1 mA cm-2 (lowest rate) and 1.1 mA h cm-2 at 6 mA cm-2 (highest rate) are obtained when the cells are cycled in the range 2.8 to 4.0 V vs. lithium.In this article, we report a novel 3D composite cathode fabricated from LiFePO4 nanoparticles deposited conformally on emulsion-templated carbon foam by a sol-gel method. The carbon foam is synthesized via a facile and scalable method which involves the carbonization of a high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE) polymer template. Various techniques (XRD, SEM, TEM and electrochemical methods) are used to fully characterize the porous electrode and confirm the distribution and morphology of the cathode active material. The major benefits of the carbon foam used in our work are closely connected with its high surface area and the plenty of space suitable for sequential coating with battery components. After coating with a cathode material (LiFePO4 nanoparticles), the 3D electrode presents a hierarchically structured electrode in which a porous layer of the cathode material is deposited on the rigid and bicontinuous carbon foam. The composite electrodes exhibit impressive cyclability and rate performance at different current densities affirming their importance as viable power sources in miniature devices. Footprint area capacities of 1.72 mA h cm-2 at 0.1 mA cm-2 (lowest rate) and 1.1 mA h cm-2 at 6 mA cm-2 (highest rate) are obtained when the cells are cycled in the range 2.8 to 4.0 V vs. lithium. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01682c

30 CFR 57.22218 - Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... materials may be used in face areas. (b) Exposed surfaces on the intake side of stoppings constructed of... construction shall be solid. (c) Exposed surfaces on the fresh air side of seals constructed of combustible... other coatings with equivalent fire resistance. Stoppings constructed to phenolic foam blocks at least...

30 CFR 57.22218 - Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... materials may be used in face areas. (b) Exposed surfaces on the intake side of stoppings constructed of... construction shall be solid. (c) Exposed surfaces on the fresh air side of seals constructed of combustible... other coatings with equivalent fire resistance. Stoppings constructed to phenolic foam blocks at least...

30 CFR 57.22218 - Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... materials may be used in face areas. (b) Exposed surfaces on the intake side of stoppings constructed of... construction shall be solid. (c) Exposed surfaces on the fresh air side of seals constructed of combustible... other coatings with equivalent fire resistance. Stoppings constructed to phenolic foam blocks at least...

Magnetic nanoparticles entrapped in siliceous mesocellular foam: a new catalyst support.

PubMed

Lee, Su Seong; Riduan, Siti Nurhanna; Erathodiyil, Nandanan; Lim, Jaehong; Cheong, Jian Liang; Cha, Junhoe; Han, Yu; Ying, Jackie Y

2012-06-11

γ-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles were formed inside the cage-like pores of mesocellular foam (MCF). These magnetic nanoparticles showed a uniform size distribution that could be easily controlled by the MCF pore size, as well as by the hydrocarbon chain length used for MCF surface modification. Throughout the entrapment process, the pore structure and surface area of the MCF remained intact. The resulting magnetic MCF facilitated the immobilization of biocatalysts, homogeneous catalysts, and nanoclusters. Moreover, the MCF allowed for facile catalyst recovery by using a simple magnet. The supported catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic efficiencies that were comparable to their homogeneous counterparts. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Prevention of pressure ulcers in the intensive care unit: a randomized trial of 2 viscoelastic foam support surfaces.

PubMed

Ozyurek, Pakize; Yavuz, Meryem

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare whether differences exist between 2 viscoelastic foam support surfaces in the development of new pressure ulcers. There is evidence to support the use of viscoelastic foam over standard hospital foam to reduce pressure. A comparative effectiveness study was done to compare 2 viscoelastic foam support surfaces. A randomized controlled trial was carried out. The study was performed in 2 intensive care units between October 1, 2008, and January 4, 2010. Patients (n = 105) admitted to intensive care unit were randomly assigned to viscoelastic foam 1 (n = 53) or viscoelastic foam 2 support surface (n = 52). In total, 42.8% of all patients developed a new pressure ulcer of stage 1 or worse. By stages, pressure ulcer incidence was 28.6%, 13.3%, and 1.0% for stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively. There was no significant difference in pressure ulcer incidence between the viscoelastic foam 1 and 2 groups (X2 = 0.07, df = 1, P > .05). No difference was found between 2 different viscoelastic foam surfaces in the prevention of pressure ulcers in patients treated in intensive care. Pressure ulcer incidence in critically ill patients remains high. Nurses must compare current products for effectiveness and develop innovative systems, processes, or devices to deliver best practices.

Synthesis of nanostructured/macroscopic low-density copper foams based on metal-coated polymer core–shell particles [Templated synthesis of nanowalled low-density copper foams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Sung Ho; Bazin, Nick; Shaw, Jessica I.

A robust, millimeter-sized low-density Cu foam with ~90% (v/v) porosity, ~30 nm thick walls, and ~1 μm diameter spherical pores is prepared by the slip-casting of metal-coated polymer core–shell particles followed by a thermal removal of the polymer. In this paper, we report our key findings that enable the development of the low-density Cu foams. First, we need to synthesize polystyrene (PS) particles coated with a very thin Cu layer (in the range of tens of nanometers). A simple reduction in the amount of Cu deposited onto the PS was not sufficient to form such a low-density Cu foams duemore » to issues related to foam collapse and densification upon the subsequent polymer removal step. Precise control over the morphology of the Cu coating on the particles is essential for the synthesis of a lower density of foams. Second, improving the dispersion of PS–Cu particles in a suspension used for the casting as well as careful optimization of a baking condition minimize the formation of irregular large voids, leading to Cu foams with a more uniform packing and a better connectivity of neighboring Cu hollow shells. Finally, we analyzed mechanical properties of the Cu foams with a depth-sensing indentation test. The uniform Cu foams show a significant improvement in mechanical properties (~1.5× modulus and ~3× hardness) compared to those of uncontrolled foam samples with a similar foam density but irregular large voids. As a result, higher surface areas and a good electric conductivity of the Cu foams present a great potential to future applications.« less

Synthesis of nanostructured/macroscopic low-density copper foams based on metal-coated polymer core–shell particles [Templated synthesis of nanowalled low-density copper foams

DOE PAGES

Kim, Sung Ho; Bazin, Nick; Shaw, Jessica I.; ...

2016-12-06

A robust, millimeter-sized low-density Cu foam with ~90% (v/v) porosity, ~30 nm thick walls, and ~1 μm diameter spherical pores is prepared by the slip-casting of metal-coated polymer core–shell particles followed by a thermal removal of the polymer. In this paper, we report our key findings that enable the development of the low-density Cu foams. First, we need to synthesize polystyrene (PS) particles coated with a very thin Cu layer (in the range of tens of nanometers). A simple reduction in the amount of Cu deposited onto the PS was not sufficient to form such a low-density Cu foams duemore » to issues related to foam collapse and densification upon the subsequent polymer removal step. Precise control over the morphology of the Cu coating on the particles is essential for the synthesis of a lower density of foams. Second, improving the dispersion of PS–Cu particles in a suspension used for the casting as well as careful optimization of a baking condition minimize the formation of irregular large voids, leading to Cu foams with a more uniform packing and a better connectivity of neighboring Cu hollow shells. Finally, we analyzed mechanical properties of the Cu foams with a depth-sensing indentation test. The uniform Cu foams show a significant improvement in mechanical properties (~1.5× modulus and ~3× hardness) compared to those of uncontrolled foam samples with a similar foam density but irregular large voids. As a result, higher surface areas and a good electric conductivity of the Cu foams present a great potential to future applications.« less

Foaming Index of CaO-SiO2-FeO-MgO Slag System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Youngjoo; Min, Dong Joon

A study on the effect of FeO and MgO content on foaming index in EAF slag system was carried out. The height of the slag foam was measured by electric probe maintaining steady state in gas formation and escape. Foaming index, which is the measurement of gas capturing potential of the slag, is calculated from the foam height and gas flow rate. Viscosity and surface tension, which are the key properties for the foaming index, are calculated by Urbain's model and additive method, respectively. Dimensional analysis also performed to determine the dominancy of properties and resulted that the important factor was a ratio between viscosity and surface tension. The effect of each component on the viscosity, surface tension and foaming index of the slag is evaluated to be in strong relationship.

Foam Core Particleboards with Intumescent FRT Veneer: Cone Calorimeter Testing With Varying Adhesives, Surface Layer Thicknesses, and Processing Conditions

Treesearch

Mark A. Dietenberger; Johannes Welling; Ali Shalbafan

2014-01-01

Intumescent FRT Veneers adhered to the surface of foam core particleboard to provide adequate fire protection were evaluated by means of cone calorimeter tests (ASTM E1354). The foam core particleboards were prepared with variations in surface layer treatment, adhesives, surface layer thicknesses, and processing conditions. Ignitability, heat release rate profile, peak...

Ni foam assisted synthesis of high quality hexagonal boron nitride with large domain size and controllable thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ying, Hao; Li, Xiuting; Li, Deshuai; Huang, Mingqiang; Wan, Wen; Yao, Qian; Chen, Xiangping; Wang, Zhiwei; Wu, Yanqing; Wang, Le; Chen, Shanshan

2018-04-01

The scalable synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is of great interest for its numerous applications in novel electronic devices. Highly-crystalline h-BN films, with single-crystal sizes up to hundreds of microns, are demonstrated via a novel Ni foam assisted technique reported here for the first time. The nucleation density of h-BN domains can be significantly reduced due to the high boron solubility, as well as the large specific surface area of the Ni foam. The crystalline structure of the h-BN domains is found to be well aligned with, and therefore strongly dependent upon, the underlying Pt lattice orientation. Growth-time dependent experiments confirm the presence of a surface mediated self-limiting growth mechanism for monolayer h-BN on the Pt substrate. However, utilizing remote catalysis from the Ni foam, bilayer h-BN films can be synthesized breaking the self-limiting effect. This work provides further understanding of the mechanisms involved in the growth of h-BN and proposes a facile synthesis technique that may be applied to further applications in which control over the crystal alignment, and the numbers of layers is crucial.

Foam morphology, frustration and topological defects in a Negatively curved Hele-Shaw geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mughal, Adil; Schroeder-Turk, Gerd; Evans, Myfanwy

2014-03-01

We present preliminary simulations of foams and single bubbles confined in a narrow gap between parallel surfaces. Unlike previous work, in which the bounding surfaces are flat (the so called Hele-Shaw geometry), we consider surfaces with non-vanishing Gaussian curvature. We demonstrate that the curvature of the bounding surfaces induce a geometric frustration in the preferred order of the foam. This frustration can be relieved by the introduction of topological defects (disclinations, dislocations and complex scar arrangements). We give a detailed analysis of these defects for foams confined in curved Hele-Shaw cells and compare our results with exotic honeycombs, built by bees on surfaces of varying Gaussian curvature. Our simulations, while encompassing surfaces of constant Gaussian curvature (such as the sphere and the cylinder), focus on surfaces with negative Gaussian curvature and in particular triply periodic minimal surfaces (such as the Schwarz P-surface and the Schoen's Gyroid surface). We use the results from a sphere-packing algorithm to generate a Voronoi partition that forms the basis of a Surface Evolver simulation, which yields a realistic foam morphology.

Wall slipping behavior of foam with nanoparticle-armored bubbles and its flow resistance factor in cracks.

PubMed

Lv, Qichao; Li, Zhaomin; Li, Binfei; Husein, Maen; Shi, Dashan; Zhang, Chao; Zhou, Tongke

2017-07-11

In this work, wall slipping behavior of foam with nanoparticle-armored bubbles was first studied in a capillary tube and the novel multiphase foam was characterized by a slipping law. A crack model with a cuboid geometry was then used to compare with the foam slipping results from the capillary tube and also to evaluate the flow resistance factor of the foam. The results showed that the slipping friction force F FR in the capillary tube significantly increased by addition of modified SiO 2 nanoparticles, and an appropriate power law exponents by fitting F FR vs. Capillary number, Ca, was 1/2. The modified nanoparticles at the surface were bridged together and formed a dense particle "armor" surrounding the bubble, and the interconnected structures of the "armor" with strong steric integrity made the surface solid-like, which was in agreement with the slip regime associated with rigid surface. Moreover, as confirmed by 3D microscopy, the roughness of the bubble surface increased with nanoparticle concentration, which in turn increased the slipping friction force. Compared with pure SDBS foam, SDBS/SiO 2 foam shows excellent stability and high flow resistance in visual crack. The resistance factor of SiO 2 /SDBS foam increased as the wall surface roughness increased in core cracks.

Preparation of Three-Dimensional Graphene Foams Using Powder Metallurgy Templates.

PubMed

Sha, Junwei; Gao, Caitian; Lee, Seoung-Ki; Li, Yilun; Zhao, Naiqin; Tour, James M

2016-01-26

A simple and scalable method which combines traditional powder metallurgy and chemical vapor deposition is developed for the synthesis of mesoporous free-standing 3D graphene foams. The powder metallurgy templates for 3D graphene foams (PMT-GFs) consist of particle-like carbon shells which are connected by multilayered graphene that shows high specific surface area (1080 m(2) g(-1)), good crystallization, good electrical conductivity (13.8 S cm(-1)), and a mechanically robust structure. The PMT-GFs did not break under direct flushing with DI water, and they were able to recover after being compressed. These properties indicate promising applications of PMT-GFs for fields requiring 3D carbon frameworks such as in energy-based electrodes and mechanical dampening.

Treated and Untreated foam core particleboards with intumescent veneer

Treesearch

Mark A. Dietenberger; Ali Shalbafan; Johannes Welling; Charles Boardman

2013-01-01

The effectiveness of treatments for the surface layer of novel foam core particleboards was evaluated by means of Cone calorimeter tests, Foam cote particleboards with variations of surface layer treatment, adhesives, and surface layer thicknesses under similar processing conditions were used to produce the test specimen for the Cone calorimeter tests. Ignitability,...

Cone Calorimeter Analysis of FRT Intumescent and Untreated Foam Core Particleboards

Treesearch

Mark A. Dietenberger; Ali Shalbafan; Johannes Welling; Charles Boardman

2012-01-01

The effectiveness of treatments of the surface layer of novel foam core particleboards were evaluated by means of Cone calorimeter tests. Foam core particleboards with variations of surface layer treatment, adhesives and surface layer thicknesses under similar processing conditions were used to produce the test specimen for the Cone calorimeter tests. Ignitability,...

Evaluation of Foaming Performance of Bitumen Modified with the Addition of Surface Active Agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chomicz-Kowalska, Anna; Mrugała, Justyna; Maciejewski, Krzysztof

2017-10-01

The article presents the analysis of the performance of foamed bitumen modified using surface active agents. Although, bitumen foaming permits production of asphalt concrete and other asphalt mix types without using chemical additives in significantly reduced temperatures, the decrease in processing temperatures still impacts the adhesion performance and bitumen coating of aggregates in final mixes. Therefore, in some cases it may be feasible to incorporate adhesion promoters and surface active agents into warm and half-warm mixes with foamed bitumen to increase their service life and resilience. Because of the various nature of the available surface active agents, varying bitumen compatibility and their possible impact on the rheological properties of bitumen, the introduction of surface active agents may significantly alter the bitumen foaming performance. The tests included basic performance tests of bitumen before and after foaming. The two tested bitumen were designated as 35/50 and 50/70 penetration grade binders, which were modified with a surface active agent widely used for improving mixture workability, compactibility and adhesion in a wide range of asphalt mixes and techniques, specifically Warm Mix Asphalt. Alongside to the reference unmodified bitumen, binders with 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% surface active agent concentration were tested. The analysis has shown a positive influence of the modifier on the foaming performance of both of the base bitumen increasing their maximum expansion ratio and bitumen foam halflife. In the investigations, it was found that the improvement was dependent on the bitumen type and modifier content. The improved expansion ratio and foam half-life has a positive impact on the aggregate coating and adhesion, which together with the adhesion promoting action of the modifier will have a combined positive effect on the quality of produced final asphalt mixes.

40 CFR 63.8830 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication... chemical substance that is applied for the purpose of bonding foam to foam, foam to fabric, or foam to any... means the process of bonding flexible foam to one or more layers of material by heating the foam surface...

40 CFR 63.8830 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication... chemical substance that is applied for the purpose of bonding foam to foam, foam to fabric, or foam to any... means the process of bonding flexible foam to one or more layers of material by heating the foam surface...

40 CFR 63.8830 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication... chemical substance that is applied for the purpose of bonding foam to foam, foam to fabric, or foam to any... means the process of bonding flexible foam to one or more layers of material by heating the foam surface...

40 CFR 63.8830 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication... chemical substance that is applied for the purpose of bonding foam to foam, foam to fabric, or foam to any... means the process of bonding flexible foam to one or more layers of material by heating the foam surface...

40 CFR 63.8830 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication... chemical substance that is applied for the purpose of bonding foam to foam, foam to fabric, or foam to any... means the process of bonding flexible foam to one or more layers of material by heating the foam surface...

The decolouration of methyl orange using aluminum foam, ultrasound and direct electric current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, C. M.; Huang, X. Y.; Zhang, H. Y.; Dai, J. D.; Ning, C. C.

2018-01-01

The decolouration of methyl orange (MO) using aluminum (Al) foam, ultrasound and direct electric current (DC) is investigated. The decolouration rate (DR) of MO using only Al foam is low because there is a passivation oxide layer on the Al foam surface. Due to the low utilization of ultrasound in MO water solution medium, the DR of MO using only ultrasonic irradiation is also poor. The DR of MO is greatly increased when Al foam, ultrasonic irradiation and DC are used together. There is good synergistic effect between Al foam, ultrasound and DC in decolouration of MO. This enhancement of DR may be related to the cavitation, cleaning of Al foam surface and water electrolysis. Due to the surface charge on wire carrying stationary current, Al foam with DC acts like a serious anodes and cathodes and makes water electrolysis giving hydrogen gas to cleavage azo bond. The DC applied on Al foam is beneficial for reductive decolouration of MO. Our results show that DC is a new way for the reductive decolouration MO in water.

Biodegradable poly (lactic acid)/Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) composite microcellular foam: Effect of nanofillers on foam cellular morphology, thermal and wettability behavior.

PubMed

Borkotoky, Shasanka Sekhar; Dhar, Prodyut; Katiyar, Vimal

2018-01-01

This article addresses the elegant and green approach for fabrication of bio-based poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/cellulose nanocrystal (CNCs) bionanocomposite foam (PLA/CNC) with cellular morphology and hydrophobic surface behavior. Highly porous (porosity >80%) structure is obtained with interconnected pores and the effect of CNCs in the cell density (N f ) and cell size of foams are thoroughly investigated by morphological analysis. The thermo-mechanical investigations are performed for the foam samples and almost ∼1.7 and ∼2.2 fold increase in storage modulus is observed for the compressive and tensile mode respectively. PLA/CNC based bionanocomposite foams displayed similar thermal stability as base PLA foam. Detailed investigations of decomposition behavior are studied by using hyphenated thermogravimetric analysis-fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR) system. Almost ∼13% increment is observed in crystallinity at highest loading of CNCs compared to neat counterpart. To investigate the splitting and spreading phenomenon of the wettability of the samples, linear model is used to find the Young's contact angle and contact angle hysteresis (CAH). Besides, ∼6.1 folds reduction in the density of PLA and the nanocomposite foams compared to PLA carries much significance in specialized application areas where weight is an important concern. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of Defoamers for Confinenment Foam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffman, D M; Mitchell, A R

Aqueous foam concentrate (AFC) 380 foam was developed by Sandia National Laboratory as a blast mitigation foam for unexploded ordnance (UXO) and its ''engineered foam structure'' is reported to be able to ''envelop chemical or biological aerosols'' [1]. It is similar to commercial fire-fighting foams, consisting mostly of water with small amounts of two alcohols, an ether and surfactant. It also contains xanthan gum, probably, to strengthen the foam film and delay drainage. The concentrate is normally diluted in a 6:94 ratio with water for foaming applications. The diluted solution is normally foamed with air to an expansion factor ofmore » about 100 (density 0.01 g/cc), which is called ''dry'' foam. Higher density foam (0.18 > {rho} > 0.03 g/cc) was discovered which had quite different characteristics from ''dry'' foam and was called ''wet'' foam. Some characterization of these foams has also been carried out, but the major effort described in this document is the evaluation, at the small and medium scale, of chemical, mechanical and thermal approaches to defoaming AFC 380 foam. Several chemical approaches to defoaming were evaluated including oxidation and precipitation of the xanthan, use of commercial oil-emulsion or suspension defoamers, pH modification, and cation exchange with the surfactant. Of these the commercial defoamers were most effective. Two mechanical approaches to defoaming were evaluated: pressure and foam rupture with very fine particles. Pressure and vacuum techniques were considered too difficult for field applications but high surface area silica particles worked very well on dry foam. Finally simple thermal techniques were evaluated. An order-disorder transition occurs in xanthan solutions at about 60 C, which may be responsible for the effectiveness of hot air as a defoamer. During defoaming of 55 gallons of foam with hot air, after about 70% of the AFC 380 foam had been defoamed, the effectiveness of hot air was dramatically reduced. Approximately 15 gal of residual foam containing mostly small bubbles was resistant to further defoaming by methods that had been effective on the original, dry foam. In this paper the residual foam is referred to as ''wet'' and the original foam is referred to as ''dry''. Methods for generating ''wet'' foam in small to moderate quantities for defoaming experiments have been developed. Methods for defoaming wet foam are currently under study.« less

Forming foam structures with carbon foam substrates

DOEpatents

Landingham, Richard L.; Satcher, Jr., Joe H.; Coronado, Paul R.; Baumann, Theodore F.

2012-11-06

The invention provides foams of desired cell sizes formed from metal or ceramic materials that coat the surfaces of carbon foams which are subsequently removed. For example, metal is located over a sol-gel foam monolith. The metal is melted to produce a metal/sol-gel composition. The sol-gel foam monolith is removed, leaving a metal foam.

Border-crossing model for the diffusive coarsening of two-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional wet foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimming, C. D.; Durian, D. J.

2017-09-01

For dry foams, the transport of gas from small high-pressure bubbles to large low-pressure bubbles is dominated by diffusion across the thin soap films separating neighboring bubbles. For wetter foams, the film areas become smaller as the Plateau borders and vertices inflate with liquid. So-called "border-blocking" models can explain some features of wet-foam coarsening based on the presumption that the inflated borders totally block the gas flux; however, this approximation dramatically fails in the wet or unjamming limit where the bubbles become close-packed spheres and coarsening proceeds even though there are no films. Here, we account for the ever-present border-crossing flux by a new length scale defined by the average gradient of gas concentration inside the borders. We compute that it is proportional to the geometric average of film and border thicknesses, and we verify this scaling by numerical solution of the diffusion equation. We similarly consider transport across inflated vertices and surface Plateau borders in quasi-two-dimensional foams. And we show how the d A /d t =K0(n -6 ) von Neumann law is modified by the appearance of terms that depend on bubble size and shape as well as the concentration gradient length scales. Finally, we use the modified von Neumann law to compute the growth rate of the average bubble area, which is not constant.

Efficacy of liquid and foam decontamination technologies for chemical warfare agents on indoor surfaces.

PubMed

Love, Adam H; Bailey, Christopher G; Hanna, M Leslie; Hok, Saphon; Vu, Alex K; Reutter, Dennis J; Raber, Ellen

2011-11-30

Bench-scale testing was used to evaluate the efficacy of four decontamination formulations on typical indoor surfaces following exposure to the liquid chemical warfare agents sarin (GB), soman (GD), sulfur mustard (HD), and VX. Residual surface contamination on coupons was periodically measured for up to 24h after applying one of four selected decontamination technologies [0.5% bleach solution with trisodium phosphate, Allen Vanguard Surface Decontamination Foam (SDF™), U.S. military Decon Green™, and Modec Inc. and EnviroFoam Technologies Sandia Decontamination Foam (DF-200)]. All decontamination technologies tested, except for the bleach solution, performed well on nonporous and nonpermeable glass and stainless-steel surfaces. However, chemical agent residual contamination typically remained on porous and permeable surfaces, especially for the more persistent agents, HD and VX. Solvent-based Decon Green™ performed better than aqueous-based bleach or foams on polymeric surfaces, possibly because the solvent is able to penetrate the polymer matrix. Bleach and foams out-performed Decon Green for penetrating the highly polar concrete surface. Results suggest that the different characteristics needed for an ideal and universal decontamination technology may be incompatible in a single formulation and a strategy for decontaminating a complex facility will require a range of technologies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fiber glass prevents cracking of polyurethane foam insulation on cryogenic vessels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forge, D. A.

1968-01-01

Fiber glass material, placed between polyurethane foam insulation and the outer surfaces of cryogenic vessels, retains its resilience at cryogenic temperatures and provides an expansion layer between the metal surfaces and the polyurethane foam, preventing cracking of the latter.

Polyurethane Masks Large Areas in Electroplating

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beasley, J. L.

1985-01-01

Polyurethane foam provides effective mask in electroplating of copper or nickel. Thin layer of Turco maskant painted on area to be masked: Layer ensures polyurethane foam removed easily after served its purpose. Component A, isocyanate, and component B, polyol, mixed together and brushed or sprayed on mask area. Mixture reacts, yielding polyurethane foam. Foam prevents deposition of nickel or copper on covered area. New method saves time, increases productivity and uses less material than older procedures.

Toluene diisocyanate emission to air and migration to a surface from a flexible polyurethane foam.

PubMed

Vangronsveld, Erik; Berckmans, Steven; Spence, Mark

2013-06-01

Flexible polyurethane foam (FPF) is produced from the reaction of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polyols. Because of the potential for respiratory sensitization following exposure to TDI, concerns have been raised about potential consumer exposure to TDI from residual 'free TDI' in FPF products. Limited and conflicting results exist in the literature concerning the presence of unreacted TDI remaining in FPF as determined by various solvent extraction and analysis techniques. Because residual TDI results are most often intended for application in assessment of potential human exposure to TDI from FPF products, testing techniques that more accurately simulated human contact with foam were designed. To represent inhalation exposure to TDI from polyurethane foam, a test that measured the emission of TDI to air was conducted. For simulation of human dermal exposure to TDI from polyurethane foam, a migration test technique was designed. Emission of TDI to air was determined for a representative FPF using three different emission test cells. Two were commercially available cells that employ air flow over the surface of the foam [the Field and Laboratory Emission Cell (FLEC®) and the Micro-Chamber/Thermal Extraction™ cell]. The third emission test cell was of a custom design and features air flow through the foam sample rather than over the foam surface. Emitted TDI in the air of the test cells was trapped using glass fiber filters coated with 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-piperazine (MP), a commonly used derivatizing agent for diisocyanates. The filters were subsequently desorbed and analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Measurement of TDI migration from representative foam was accomplished by placing glass fiber filters coated with MP on the outer surfaces of a foam disk and then compressing the filters against the disk using a clamping apparatus for periods of 8 and 24 h. The sample filters were subsequently desorbed and analyzed in the same manner as for the emission tests. Although the foam tested had detectable levels of solvent-extractable TDI (56ng TDI g(-1) foam for the foam used in emissions tests; 240-2800ng TDI g(-1) foam for the foam used in migration tests), no TDI was detected in any of the emission or migration tests. Method detection limits (MDLs) for the emissions tests ranged from 0.03 to 0.5ng TDI g(-1) foam (0.002-0.04ng TDI cm(-2) of foam surface), whereas those for the migration tests were 0.73ng TDI g(-1) foam (0.16ng TDI cm(-2) of foam surface). Of the three emission test methods used, the FLEC® had the lowest relative MDLs (by a factor of 3-10) by virtue of its high chamber loading factor. In addition, the FLEC® cell offers well-established conformity with emission testing standard methods.

Area 2. Use Of Engineered Nanoparticle-Stabilized CO 2 Foams To Improve Volumetric Sweep Of CO 2 EOR Processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DiCarlo, David; Huh, Chun; Johnston, Keith P.

2015-01-31

The goal of this project was to develop a new CO 2 injection enhanced oil recovery (CO 2-EOR) process using engineered nanoparticles with optimized surface coatings that has better volumetric sweep efficiency and a wider application range than conventional CO 2-EOR processes. The main objectives of this project were to (1) identify the characteristics of the optimal nanoparticles that generate extremely stable CO 2 foams in situ in reservoir regions without oil; (2) develop a novel method of mobility control using “self-guiding” foams with smart nanoparticles; and (3) extend the applicability of the new method to reservoirs having a widemore » range of salinity, temperatures, and heterogeneity. Concurrent with our experimental effort to understand the foam generation and transport processes and foam-induced mobility reduction, we also developed mathematical models to explain the underlying processes and mechanisms that govern the fate of nanoparticle-stabilized CO 2 foams in porous media and applied these models to (1) simulate the results of foam generation and transport experiments conducted in beadpack and sandstone core systems, (2) analyze CO 2 injection data received from a field operator, and (3) aid with the design of a foam injection pilot test. Our simulator is applicable to near-injection well field-scale foam injection problems and accounts for the effects due to layered heterogeneity in permeability field, foam stabilizing agents effects, oil presence, and shear-thinning on the generation and transport of nanoparticle-stabilized C/W foams. This report presents the details of our experimental and numerical modeling work and outlines the highlights of our findings.« less

Calcipotriol Plus Betamethasone Dipropionate Aerosol Foam is Effective, Independent of Body Mass Index and the Extent and Severity of Psoriasis.

PubMed

Stein Gold, Linda; Villumsen, John; Rosen, Monika

2016-12-01

Good treatment adherence is important in the effective management of psoriasis and is related to both the frequency of applications and the amount of product used versus the recommended dose. The efficacy and safety of fixed combination calcipotriol 50 µg/g (Cal) and betamethasone 0.5 mg/g as dipropionate (BD) in the treatment of psoriasis is well established; an aerosol foam formulation has been developed to enhance adherence. This subanalysis from the Phase III PSO-FAST study evaluates the amount of Cal/BD foam used during treatment and the association between the extent and severity of baseline disease. Patients (≥18 years) with mild-to-severe body psoriasis were randomized 3:1 to once-daily Cal/BD foam or vehicle. The amount of Cal/BD foam and vehicle used over the 4-week study period was evaluated according to three baseline disease assessments: extent of body surface area (BSA) affected by psoriasis, physician's global assessment of disease severity (PGA) and modified psoriasis area and severity index (mPASI). Treatment success and mPASI75 rates were assessed according to body mass index (BMI) and body weight. 323 patients were randomized to Cal/BD foam and 103 to vehicle. At week 4, the mean total amount of Cal/BD foam used was 120.8 g (n = 293), which was similar to the amount of vehicle used (128.9 g; n = 98). The total amount of Cal/BD foam used at week 4 was greater with increasing BSA and increasing severity of baseline PGA and mPASI. Throughout the study, 93.1% of patients in the Cal/BD foam group and 99.0% of patients in the vehicle group missed ≤10% of treatment applications. Treatment success and mPASI75 rates were generally similar when stratified according to BMI and body weight. This subanalysis demonstrates that Cal/BD aerosol foam is used appropriately and is effective for the treatment of psoriasis, independent of BMI and the extent or severity of disease. NCT01866163. LEO Pharma A/S.

Modification and investigation of silica particles as a foam stabilizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qian; Zhou, Hua-lei; Song, Ying-xiao; Chang, Zhi-dong; Li, Wen-jun

2017-02-01

As a solid foam stabilizer, spherical silica particles with diameters ranging from 150 to 190 nm were prepared via an improved Stöber method and were subsequently modified using three different silane coupling agents to attain the optimum surface hydrophobicity of the particles. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and the measured contact angles were used to characterize the surface properties of the prepared particles. The foam stability was investigated by the foam drainage half-life and the expansion viscoelastic modulus of the liquid film. The results demonstrate that all of the modified silica nanoparticles effectively improve the foam stability. The surface hydrophobicity of the modified particles is found to be a key factor influencing the foam stability. The optimum contact angle of the particles lies in the approximate range from 50° to 55°. The modifier molecular structure used can also influence the stabilizing foam property of the solid particles. The foam system stabilized by (CH3)2SiCl2-modified silica particles exhibits the highest stability; its drainage half-life at maximum increases by 27% compared to that of the blank foam system and is substantially greater than those of the foam systems stabilized by KH570- and KH550-modified particles.

Study of the blue-green laser scattering from the rough sea surface with foams by the improved two-scale method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiangzhen; Qi, Xiao; Han, Xiang'e.

2015-10-01

The characteristics of laser scattering from sea surface have a great influence on application performance, from submarine communication, laser detection to laser diffusion communication. Foams will appear when the wind speed exceeds a certain value, so the foam can be seen everywhere in the upper layer of the ocean. Aiming at the volume-surface composite model of rough sea surface with foam layer driven by wind, and the similarities and differences of scattering characteristics between blue-green laser and microwave, an improved two-scale method for blue-green laser to calculate the scattering coefficient is presented in this paper. Based on the improved two-scale rough surface scattering theory, MIE theory and VRT( vector radiative transfer ) theory, the relations between the foam coverage of the sea surface and wind speed and air-sea temperature difference are analyzed. Aiming at the Gauss sea surface in blue-green laser, the dependence of back- and bistatie-scattering coefficient on the incident and azimuth angle, the coverage of foams, as well as the wind speed are discussed in detail. The results of numerical simulations are compared and analyzed in this paper. It can be concluded that the foam layer has a considerable effect on the laser scattering with the increase of wind speed, especially for a large incident angle. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that the improved two-scale method is reasonable and efficient.

Galvanic displacement assembly of ultrathin Co3O4 nanosheet arrays on nickel foam for a high-performance supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Yuxiu; Zheng, Maojun; Ma, Liguo; Yuan, Xiaoliang; Zhang, Bin; Li, Qiang; Wang, Faze; Song, Jingnan; Jiang, Dongkai; Liu, Pengjie; Ma, Li; Shen, Wenzhong

2017-03-01

High-performance supercapacitors are very desirable for many portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and high-power electronic devices. Herein, a facile and binder-free synthesis method, galvanic displacement of the precursor followed by heat treatment, is used to fabricate ultrathin Co3O4 nanosheet arrays on nickel foam substrate. When used as a supercapacitor electrode the prepared Co3O4 on nickel foam exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 1095 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and good cycling stability of 71% retention after 2000 cycling tests. This excellent electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the high specific surface area of each Co3O4 nanosheet that comprises numerous nanoparticles.

Thermographic observation of heat transport in solid foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Netzelmann, U.; Abuhamad, M.; Walle, G.

2005-06-01

Heat transport in solid foams was studied by flash lamp heated dynamic thermography. For polyurethane foams, a movement of the peak temperature from the heated surface into the depth could be observed. This could be modelled by assuming a Beer optical absorber with non-adiabatic boundary. For large open pores, individual temperature-time curves were observed in the thermographic image. There is evidence for non-conductive heat transfer in the bulk of mixed-cell foams. In SiSiC ceramic foams, indications for sub-surface defects were detected.

Preparation and properties of an internal mold release for rigid urethane foam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paker, B. G.

1980-08-01

Most mold release agents used in the molding of rigid polyurethane foam are applied to the internal surfaces of the mold. These materials form a thin layer between the surface of the mold and the foam, allowing for easy release of the molded parts. This type of mold release must be applied prior to each molding operation; and, after repeated use, cleaning of the mold is required. Small amounts of this mold release are transferred to the molded part, resulting in a part with poor surface bondability characteristics. An internal release agent, which can be mixed in a urethane foam resin was investigated. The internal mold release provided good releasability and resulted in urethane foam that has excellent surface bondability. No compatibility problems are expected from the use of this type of release agent.

Formulation and performance test of palm-based foaming agent concentrate for fire extinguisher application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivai, M.; Hambali, E.; Suryani, A.; Fitria, R.; Firmansyah, S.; Pramuhadi, G.

2018-03-01

The utilization of foaming agent for fire extinguisher application improves the efficiency of water as a fire extinguishing agent, lowers surface tension, and acts as a foaming agent. The formed foam cools the fire down and covers the burned material to avoid it from further contact with oxygen which may reignite the fire. This study aimed to produce and assess the performance of foaming agent concentrate from palm oil as a fire extinguisher agent. In the performance test, measurements were taken on foam stability, foaming ability, surface tension, interfacial tension, viscosity, contact angle, density, and specific gravity. The formulation was conducted by using the best produced potassium palmitate, potassium methyl ester, and sodium lauric combined with diluents, chelating agent, and other additives at various composition comparisons. The produced foaming agent concentrate was found to be in a rather paste and liquid form with viscosity of 2.34 – 253 cP. It was also found that the resulted foaming agent concentrate dissolved in water at the concentration rate of 1% had a foam stability level of 30-91%, foaming ability of 288 – 503%, surface tension of 19.68 – 25.05 dyne/cm, interfacial tension of 0.54 – 4,20 dyne/cm, viscosity of 1.00 – 1.05 cP, contact angles of 53.75 – 63.79° at 0 minute and 11.84 – 22.42 ° at minute 10, density of 0.99586 – 0.99612 g/cm3, and a specific gravity of 1.00021 – 1.00046. Based on foam stability, foaming ability, and surface tension parameters, it was concluded that NF5 and NF17 were the best formulas.Compared to the other formulas, NF5 formula had the best droplet diameter (minimum 0.14 mm) and droplet density (maximum 3056 droplets/cm2).

Lubricant Foaming and Aeration Study. Part 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-23

referred the stability of foam lamellae to its influence. This property is the two-dimensional analog of ordinary viscosity and its coefficient is...dimensions •- MT-. Weakly foaming solutions have little surface viscosity , soap solutions a moderate amount, and some solutions of proteins , saponin, etc...changes might occur in the surface properties . All surface viscosities previously reported had been measured while the solutions had been exposed for

Experimental determination of drag coefficients in low-density polyurethane foam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, M L

2006-04-18

We describe several experiments performed at the LLNL Site 300 firing range and on the LLNL 1/3 scale gun to investigate the deceleration of small projectiles (l {approx} 3-5 [mm]) in low-density foam ({rho} {approx} 0.08-0.32 [g/cm{sup 3}]). The experiments at the firing range researched a passive velocity diagnostic based on Faraday's law of induction, while experiments on the 1/3 scale gun investigated the effects of varying projectile surface area, projectile shape, and foam density on the drag coefficient c{sub d}. Analysis shows that the velocity diagnostic has an uncertainty on the order of 1 percent for projectiles with velocitymore » v {approx} 0.8-1.2 [km/s]. The 1/3 scale gun experiments, dubbed the Krispy Kreme series, included nine shots considering the combinations of 3 projectile surface areas with 3 target densities. The experiments used Tantalum square surface area block projectiles (with an initial velocity v{sub 0} {approx} 1.2 [km/s], a common thickness T = 2.67 [mm], and square side lengths of 3, 4, and 5 [mm]) decelerating in polyurethane foams (with densities {rho}{sub f} of 0.08, 0.16 and 0.32 [g/cm{sup 3}]). Standard fluid models of the Krispy Kreme experiments predict Reynolds numbers Re {approx} 10{sup 5} - 10{sup 6}, Mach numbers Ma {approx} 0.5-2.0, and drag coefficients c{sub d} {approx} 2-3. However, the data indicate that c{sub d} = 1.1-1.2 (c{sub d} = 1.7) for all three block projectiles in the 0.08 and 0.16 [g/cm{sup 3}] targets (0.32 [g/cm{sup 3}] target). First, we conclude that the drag force on projectiles in solid polyurethane foam is less than in fluids with equivalent dimensionless parameters. This result is also supported by an additional Krispy Kreme experiment that used a disk projectile (with diameter d = 4.51 [mm] and thickness T = 2.67 [mm]) penetrating a target with density {rho} = 0.16 [g/cm{sup 3}], i.e., the fluid-like c{sub d} = 1.15 while the measured c{sub d} = 0.63. Second, we conclude that the measured drag coefficient in the lower density foam targets is less than in the larger density foam target. This result is corroborated by firing range experiments with M855 NATO bullets (with diameter 5.56 [mm], mass 4.1 [g], and initial velocity {nu}{sub 0} {approx} 800 [m/s]) fired from an M16 rifle, i.e., c{sub d} = 0.3 (c{sub d} = 0.6) in the 0.16 [g/cm{sup 3}] (0.32 [g/cm{sup 3}]) target. We propose future 1/3 scale gun experiments using a passive velocity diagnostic with increased spatial resolution as well as simple spherical projectiles with 0.5 and 1.0 [cm] diameters.« less

Electrodeposition of palladium and reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites on foam-nickel electrode for electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorophenol.

PubMed

Liu, Yong; Liu, Lan; Shan, Jun; Zhang, Jingdong

2015-06-15

A high-performance palladium (Pd) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite electrode was prepared on foam-nickel (foam-Ni) via two-step electrodeposition processes. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation showed that the obtained Pd/RGO/foam-Ni composite electrode displayed a uniform and compact morphology. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis confirmed the successful deposition of Pd and RGO on nickel substrate. The cyclic voltammetric (CV) measurements indicated that the presence of RGO greatly enhanced the active surface area of Pd particles deposited on foam-Ni. The as-deposited Pd/RGO/foam-Ni electrode was applied to electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination (ECH) of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). Various factors influencing the dechlorination of 4-CP such as dechlorination current, initial concentration of 4-CP, Na2SO4 concentration and initial pH were systematically investigated. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the dechlorination reaction of 4-CP at different temperatures followed the first-order kinetics and the activation energy for 4-CP dechlorination on Pd/RGO/foam-Ni electrode was calculated to be 51.96 kJ mol(-1). Under the optimum conditions, the dechlorination efficiency of 4-CP could reach 100% after 60-min ECH treatment. Moreover, the prepared Pd/RGO/foam-Ni composite electrode showed good stability for recycling utilization in ECH of 4-CP. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bio-foam enhances larval retention in a free-spawning marine tunicate

PubMed Central

Castilla, Juan Carlos; Manríquez, Patricio H.; Delgado, Alejandro P.; Gargallo, Ligia; Leiva, Angel; Radic, Deodato

2007-01-01

Here we report a mechanism that reduces dispersal of early developing stages and larvae in a free-spawning intertidal and shallow subtidal tunicate, Pyura praeputialis (Heller 1878), in the Bay of Antofagasta, Chile. The spawning of gametes by the tunicate into the naturally turbulent aerated seawater decreases their surface tension and induces the formation of a bio-foam. Water collected from foamy intertidal pools and tide channels showed a high concentration of P. praeputialis early developing stages and tadpole larvae in the foam. Because gametes are synchronically spawned for external fertilization and larvae settle near adults, our results suggest that this bio-foam increases fertilization success and effective settlement of their short-lived larvae in the vicinity of the adults spawning the gametes. This mechanism reinforces published evidence suggesting that local retention of intertidal and inshore marine invertebrate larvae may be more common than previously thought, offering, for instance, new perspectives for the design and networking of marine protected and management areas. PMID:17984045

Bio-foam enhances larval retention in a free-spawning marine tunicate.

PubMed

Castilla, Juan Carlos; Manríquez, Patricio H; Delgado, Alejandro P; Gargallo, Ligia; Leiva, Angel; Radic, Deodato

2007-11-13

Here we report a mechanism that reduces dispersal of early developing stages and larvae in a free-spawning intertidal and shallow subtidal tunicate, Pyura praeputialis (Heller 1878), in the Bay of Antofagasta, Chile. The spawning of gametes by the tunicate into the naturally turbulent aerated seawater decreases their surface tension and induces the formation of a bio-foam. Water collected from foamy intertidal pools and tide channels showed a high concentration of P. praeputialis early developing stages and tadpole larvae in the foam. Because gametes are synchronically spawned for external fertilization and larvae settle near adults, our results suggest that this bio-foam increases fertilization success and effective settlement of their short-lived larvae in the vicinity of the adults spawning the gametes. This mechanism reinforces published evidence suggesting that local retention of intertidal and inshore marine invertebrate larvae may be more common than previously thought, offering, for instance, new perspectives for the design and networking of marine protected and management areas.

Study on Thermal Conductivities of Aromatic Polyimide Aerogels.

PubMed

Feng, Junzong; Wang, Xin; Jiang, Yonggang; Du, Dongxuan; Feng, Jian

2016-05-25

Polyimide aerogels for low density thermal insulation materials were produced by 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether and 3,3',4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride, cross-linked with 1,3,5-triaminophenoxybenzene. The densities of obtained polyimide aerogels are between 0.081 and 0.141 g cm(-3), and the specific surface areas are between 288 and 322 m(2) g(-1). The thermal conductivities were measured by a Hot Disk thermal constant analyzer. The value of the measured thermal conductivity under carbon dioxide atmosphere is lower than that under nitrogen atmosphere. Under pressure of 5 Pa at -130 °C, the thermal conductivity is the lowest, which is 8.42 mW (m K)(-1). The polyimide aerogels have lower conductivity [30.80 mW (m K)(-1)], compared to the value for other organic foams (polyurethane foam, phenolic foam, and polystyrene foam) with similar apparent densities under ambient pressure at 25 °C. The results indicate that polyimide aerogel is an ideal insulation material for aerospace and other applications.

Porous CoO nanostructures grown on three-dimension graphene foams for supercapacitors electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Wei; Lan, Wei; Sun, Yaru; Su, Qing; Xie, Erqing

2014-06-01

Three-dimensional graphene foams with good conductivity, light weight and chemical stability were produced by chemical vapor deposition. Then porous CoO nanowalls were deposited on graphene foam by a simple hydrothermal process and subsequent thermal treatment. This hybrid structures possessing large surface area in which the CoO nanowalls are separated by graphene foam with robust adhesion can directly serve as supercapacitor electrode including current collector without the need of any other binder materials and conductive agents. Electrochemical tests manifest a high specific capacitance of 231.87 F/g scaled to the mass of CoO (139.47 F/g for total mass of electrodes) at 1 A/g current, good rate capability and excellent cycling performance of >98% capacitance retention over 1000 cycles at 7 A/g current. The high conductivity, light weight and rational architectures, which provide fast electron pathway and the low diffusion resistance of ions, are responsible for the high performance of the electrodes.

One-step synthesis, wettability and foaming properties of high-performance non-ionic hydro-fluorocarbon hybrid surfactants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Ying-ying; Lu, Feng; Tong, Qing-Xiao

2018-03-01

In this work, a series of non-ionic hydro-fluorocarbon hybrid surfactants (C9F19CONH(CH2)3N(CmH2m+1)2, abbreviated as C9F19AM (m = 1), C9F19AE (m = 2) and C9F19AB (m = 4) were easily synthesized by one-step reaction and characterized by 1HNMR, 19FNMR and MS spectroscopy. Unlike conventional non-ionic surfactants (most hydrophilic units consisted of hydroxy or ether groups), their hydrophilic groups were composed of amide group, an eco-friendly unit. The surface activity, wettability, thermal stability and foaming performance were investigated. The results showed that the C9F19AE (C9F19CONH(CH2)3N[CH2CH3]2) had superior surface and interface activities, which could reduce the surface tension of water down to 15.37 mN/m and the interfacial tension (cyclohexane/water/surfactants) to 5.8 mN/m with a low cmc (critical micelle concentration) of 0.12 mmol/L. Through the calculation of Amin (the minimum area occupied per-surfactant molecule), we speculated this higher surface activity was related to the compatibility between hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon chains. When used as wetting and foaming agents, the C9F19AE also outperformed great advantages over conventional non-ionic fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon surfactants, which could decrease the contact angle of water on PTFE plate from 107.7° to 3.6°, and increase the foam integrated value F to 536 500 ± 3066.5 mL s. Moreover, the decomposition temperature (Td) of C9F19AE could reach up to 173 °C. This work demonstrates a valuable strategy to develop a kind of high-efficiency foaming agent via facile synthesis.

Histopathological reaction over prosthesis surface covered with silicone and polyurethane foam implanted in rats.

PubMed

Wagenführ-Júnior, Jorge; Ribas Filho, Jurandir Marcondes; Nascimento, Marcelo Mazza do; Ribas, Fernanda Marcondes; Wanka, Marcus Vinícius; Godoi, Andressa de Lima

2012-12-01

To evaluate whether polyurethane foam leads more intense foreign-body reaction than silicone foam. To compare the vascularization of the capsules surrounding the foam implants. To investigate if the capsule of polyurethane foam implanted has greater amount of collagen than that of silicone foam. Sixty-four young male Wistar rats were allocated into two groups: polyurethane foam and silicone foam. Subcutaneous discs were implanted into the dorsum of the animals in both groups. The capsules were assessed 28 days, two months, three months and six months postoperatively. Microscopic analysis with H&E stain was performed to evaluate the acute and chronic inflammatory process, foreign-body reaction and neovascularization. The analysis with picrosirius red was performed using the ImageProPlus software, to measure the number of vessels and collagen types I and III. There were no statistical differences between the two groups regarding the acute and chronic inflammatory processes. All rats from the polyurethane group, in all times, exhibited moderate or intense foreign-body reaction, with statistic significant difference (p=0.046) when compared with the silicone group, in which the reaction was either mild or nonexistent at two months. Vascular proliferation was significantly different between the groups at 28 days (p=0.0002), with the polyurethane group displaying greater neovascularization with H&E stain. Similar results were obtained with picrosirius red, which revealed in the polyurethane group a much greater number of vessels than in the silicone group (p=0.001). The collagen area was larger in the polyurethane group, significantly at 28 days (p=0.001) and at two months (p=0.030). Polyurethane foam elicited more intense foreign-body reaction when compared with silicone foam. The number of vessels was higher in the capsules of the polyurethane foam implants 28 days after the operation. The capsule of the polyurethane foam implants showed a greater amount of collagen than that of the silicone foam implants.

LFT foam - Lightweight potential for semi-structural components through the use of long-glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roch, A.; Huber, T.; Henning, F.; Elsner, P.

2014-05-01

Investigations on PP-LGF30 foam sandwiches have been carried out using different manufacturing processes: standard injection molding, MuCell® and LFT-D foam. Both chemical and physical blowing agents were applied. Precision mold opening (breathing mold technology) was selected for the foaming process. The integral foam design, which can be conceived as a sandwich structure, helps to save material in the neutral axis area and maintains a distance between load-bearing, unfoamed skin layers. The experiments showed that, at a constant mass per unit area, integral foams have a significantly higher flexural rigidity than compact components, due to their greater area moment of inertia after foaming: with an increase of the wall thickness from 3.6 mm to 4.4 mm compared to compact construction, the flexural rigidity increased by 75 %. With a final wall thickness of 5.8 mm an increase of 300 % was measured. Compared to non-reinforced components that show significant embrittlement during foaming, the energy absorption capacity (impact strength) of LFT foam components remains almost constant.

Tensile behavior of cenosphere/epoxy syntactic foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahapurkar, Kiran; Doddamani, Mrityunjay; Kumar, G. C. Mohan

2018-04-01

Tensile behavior of syntactic foam composites are very critical to the engineering applications. The fracture modes and failure mechanisms under tension must be fully understood in order to realize the potential of such composites. In the present work, syntactic foam composites are fabricated using as received and surface modified hollow cenospheres embedded into epoxy matrix. Combinations of cenosphere volume fraction (0, 20, 40 and 60%) and surface modification are studied. Experimental results reveal that modulus of both untreated and treated syntactic foams increases with increase in cenosphere volume fraction compared to neat resin. Strength values of syntactic foams show decreasing trend compared to neat resin. However, treated syntactic foams demonstrated better results compared to untreated ones attributing to good bonding between matrix and filler. Scanning electron microscopy reveal brittle fracture for all the syntactic foams.

The effect of oceanic whitecaps and foams on pulse-limited radar altimeters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zheng, Q. A.; Klemas, V.; Hayne, G. S.; Huang, N. E.

1983-01-01

Based on electromagnetic field theory of stratified media, the microwave reflectivity of a sea surface covered by whitecaps and foams at 13.9 GHz was computed. The computed results show that the reflectivity declines with increasing thickness of foams. The reflectivity of the sea surface without any whitecaps or foams is 0.6066 (20 C, S:35 per thousand), but it will be less than 0.15 when the thickness of foam cover is more than 0.3 cm. While gathering the data of whitecap and foam coverage in situ and reviewing whitecapping models, it can be shown that the effect of oceanic whitecaps and foams on the measured results of a pulse-limited radar altimeter working at high frequencies will not be negligible in high sea state conditions.

Flush mounting of thin film sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Thomas C., Sr. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

Flush mounting of a sensor on a surface is provided by first forming a recessed area on the surface. Next, an adhesive bonding mixture is introduced into the recessed area. The adhesive bonding mixture is chosen to provide thermal expansion matching with the surface surrounding the recessed area. A strip of high performance polymeric tape is provided, with the sensor attached to the underside thereof, and the tape is positioned over the recessed area so that it acts as a carrier of the sensor. A shim having flexibility so that it will conform to the surface surrounding the recessed area is placed over the tape, and a vacuum pad is placed over the shim. The area above the surface is then evacuated while holding the sensor flush with the surface during curing of the adhesive bonding mixture. After such curing, the pad, shim, and tape are removed from the sensor, electrical connections for the sensor are provided, after which the remaining space in the recessed area is filled with a polymeric foam.

KSC-07pd1082

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-05-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building, technicians place a piece of foam on the side of Atlantis' nose cone to rest the sander while they make adjustments. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117 now is targeted for June 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Field testing model predictions of foam coverage and bubble content in the surf zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, F.; Kirby, J. T.; Ma, G.; Holman, R. A.; Chickadel, C. C.

2012-12-01

Field-scale modeling of surfzone bubbles and foam coverage is challenging in terms of the computational intensity of multi-phase bubble models based on Navier-Stokes/VOF formulation. In this study, we developed the NHWAVE-bubble package, which includes a 3D non-hydrostatic wave model NHWAVE (Ma et al., 2012), a multi-phase bubble model and a foam model. NHWAVE uses a surface and bottom following sigma coordinate system, making it more applicable to 3D modeling of nearshore waves and circulation in a large-scale field domain. It has been extended to include a multiphase description of polydisperse bubble populations following the approach applied in a 3D VOF model by Ma et al. (2012). A model of a foam layer on the water surface is specified in the model package using a shallow water formulation based on a balance of drag forces due to wind and water column motion. Foam mass conservation includes source and sink terms representing outgassing of the water column, direct foam generation due to surface agitation, and erosion due to bubble bursting. The model is applied in a field scale domain at FRF, Duck, NC where optical data in either visible band (ARGUS) or infrared band were collected during 2010 Surf Zone Optics experiments. The decay of image brightness or intensity following the passage of wave crests is presumably tied to both decay of bubble populations and foam coverage after passage of a broken wave crest. Infrared imagery is likely to provide more detailed information which could separate active breaking from passive foam decay on the surface. Model results will be compared with the measurements with an attention to distinguishing between active generation and passive decay of the foam signature on the water surface.

Cryogenic Temperature-Gradient Foam/Substrate Tensile Tester

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vailhe, Christophe

2003-01-01

The figure shows a fixture for measuring the tensile strength of the bond between an aluminum substrate and a thermally insulating polymeric foam. The specimen is meant to be representative of insulating foam on an aluminum tank that holds a cryogenic liquid. Prior to the development of this fixture, tensile tests of this type were performed on foam/substrate specimens immersed in cryogenic fluids. Because the specimens were cooled to cryogenic temperatures throughout their thicknesses, they tended to become brittle and to fracture at loads below true bond tensile strengths. The present fixture is equipped to provide a thermal gradient from cryogenic temperature at the foam/substrate interface to room temperature on the opposite foam surface. The fixture includes an upper aluminum block at room temperature and a lower aluminum block cooled to -423 F (approx. -253 C) by use of liquid helium. In preparation for a test, the metal outer surface (the lower surface) of a foam/substrate specimen is bonded to the lower block and the foam outer surface (the upper surface) of the specimen is bonded to the upper block. In comparison with the through-the-thickness cooling of immersion testing, the cryogenic-to-room-temperature thermal gradient that exists during testing on this fixture is a more realistic approximation of the operational thermal condition of sprayed insulating foam on a tank of cryogenic liquid. Hence, tensile tests performed on this fixture provide more accurate indications of operational bond tensile strengths. In addition, the introduction of the present fixture reduces the cost of testing by reducing the amount of cryogenic liquid consumed and the time needed to cool a specimen.

On the imprint of surfactant-driven stabilization of laboratory breaking wave foam with comparison to oceanic whitecaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callaghan, A. H.; Deane, G. B.; Stokes, M. D.

2017-08-01

Surfactants are ubiquitous in the global oceans: they help form the materially-distinct sea surface microlayer (SML) across which global ocean-atmosphere exchanges take place, and they reside on the surfaces of bubbles and whitecap foam cells prolonging their lifetime thus altering ocean albedo. Despite their importance, the occurrence, spatial distribution, and composition of surfactants within the upper ocean and the SML remains under-characterized during conditions of vigorous wave breaking when in-situ sampling methods are difficult to implement. Additionally, no quantitative framework exists to evaluate the importance of surfactant activity on ocean whitecap foam coverage estimates. Here we use individual laboratory breaking waves generated in filtered seawater and seawater with added soluble surfactant to identify the imprint of surfactant activity in whitecap foam evolution. The data show a distinct surfactant imprint in the decay phase of foam evolution. The area-time-integral of foam evolution is used to develop a time-varying stabilization function, ϕ>(t>) and a stabilization factor, Θ, which can be used to identify and quantify the extent of this surfactant imprint for individual breaking waves. The approach is then applied to wind-driven oceanic whitecaps, and the laboratory and ocean Θ distributions overlap. It is proposed that whitecap foam evolution may be used to determine the occurrence and extent of oceanic surfactant activity to complement traditional in-situ techniques and extend measurement capabilities to more severe sea states occurring at wind speeds in excess of about 10 m/s. The analysis procedure also provides a framework to assess surfactant-driven variability within and between whitecap coverage data sets.