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TEXTILE TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF LAMINATED SILICA AEROGEL

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Article in Contemporary Materials · January 2014

DOI: 10.7251/COMEN1401117P

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Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 117 of 123

Original scientific papers UDK 677+66.017/.018

doi: 10.7251/COMEN1401117P

TEXTILE TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF LAMINATED

SILICA AEROGEL BLANKET
Vanja Prevolnik, Polona Kraner Zrim, Tatjana Rijavec*
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering,
Aškerčeva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Summary: Silica aerogel blankets made from silica aerogel integrated into non-
woven fabrics are superinsulative thin materials that can be also used in technical textiles
and clothing. Textile technological properties of silica aerogel blanket laminated with a wa-
ter vapour permeable membrane and polyester warp knitted fabric were studied. The five
layers laminate had good mechanical properties, and was resistant to rubbing, was water
vapour permeable, hydrophobic and oleophilic material with good thermal insulation. La-
minated material is a little too heavy to be used as clothing and also a little rigid. Silica
aerogel is prone to crushing during use. The laminate will be softer and more flexible after
being used for a certain time. Analysed laminated silica aerogel blanket is suitable for tech-
nical textiles, such as sleeping bags, flexible protective covers such as outdoor pillows,
wheelchairs pillows for winter conditions, for personal protective garments, etc.
Keywords: silica aerogel, laminated silica aerogel blankets, clothing.

1. INTRODUCTION Chemically, silica aerogel is silicon dioxide

(SiO2), an inorganic material manufactured from
Protection clothing for workers in cold storag- silica sand. Silica aerogel is chemically identical to
es of food industry, divers, construction workers, sodium silicate (waterglass). From the year 1968 it
alpinists, pilots of ultra light planes and similar pro- has been prepared by S. J. Teichner's sôl-gel method
fessions as well as also garments for homeless [1] from alkoxide precursors, Si(OR)4, such as te-
people must be effective in thermal protection in tramethoxy silanes, TMOS, Si(OCH3)4) or saturated
conditions at very low environment temperatures. tetraethyl orthosilicates, TEOS, Si(OCH2CH3)4. Al-
Classic heat insulating materials, like wool knitting, koxide precursors are activated firstly by hydrolysis
nonwovens, fibres, down and fluff as filling, neo- in a mixture of water and a parent alcohol to silicic
prene, etc. are usually very voluminous, and prevent acid, which reacts into dimers, trimers, etc. and fi-
body movement. nally gives a colloidal solution (sôl) with cyclic
Despite many new solutions, that enable to- structures of 3−6 silicon atoms. With addition of
day's famous smart and functional materials, there is basic substances (–NR3, R = H, alkyl) colloid solu-
still a lack of efficient and environmentally friendly tion converts into alcogel with a crosslinked polymer
materials that would enable clothing comfort of ac- structure of SiO2 in alcohol. Silica aerogel is pre-
tive persons at extremely low temperatures. pared by extracting the liquid component from a gel
A relatively new superinsulative material, sili- with supercritical drying. This allows the liquid to be
ca aerogel, with the lowest thermal conductivity slowly removed from the gel without causing the
among all known solid materials is now in the mar- solid matrix in the gel to collapse from capillary ac-
ket and is used for buildings and plumbing pipes tion, as would happen with conventional evaporation
thermal insulation. [1, 2]. Development of silica aerogel today is di-
In the research our aim was to get the an- rected towards cheaper production, which is based
swers to the following questions: whether this ma- on water glass and drying of the gel at atmospheric
terial is suitable for thermal insulation of clothing conditions. Silica aerogel has an amorphous nonpor-
and if yes, how it can be used in clothes, and what ous structure with about 80−99.8 % of air nano-
are its advantages and weaknesses. pores, high surface area (500−1200 m2/g), low den-
*
Corresponding authors: [email protected]
Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 118 of 123

sity (0.003−0.35 g/cm3) and low thermal conductivi- ous batting material. Silica aerogel blankets are pre-
ty (0.015 W/mK) [1]. pared in a discontinuous one-step process, where a
The process of making aerogel blankets, that fibrous batting made from different textile fibres
could be easier for use than pure silica aerogel, has (glass, partially carbonised acrylic fibres, polyester
been developed. Aerogel blankets are a composite microfbres, etc.) is used as a fibre-reinforced com-
material with a fibrous batting as reinforced compo- ponent [3] and a sôl alkoxide precursor for in situ
nent in a matrix from silicon aerogel. Aerogel blan- polymerisation into a gel (Figure 1).
kets can be bent into a bale, similarly to a pure fibr-

Figure 1. Scheme of preparing a silica aerogel blanket [3]

Aerogel blankets have conductivity value of 2. METHOLOGY

about 14 mW/(mK) and are distinguished from pure
silica aerogel by their good flexibility [4]. Commer- 2.1 Materials
cial production of silicon aerogel blankets began
around the year 2000. Mechanical and thermal insu- For our research an aerogel blanket Spaceloft®
lating properties of aerogel blanket can be varied by 3251 (Aspen Aerogels, USA) was used where the
the types of fibres, blanket thickness, additives such silica aerogel was imbedded in a nonwoven from
as soot and, metal powders etc. polyester microfibres.The silica aerogel blankets
Aerogel blankets are successfully used today produced dust at handling, because the brittle silica
in building and construction sector as an effective aerogel crushed at bending. Fine dust is very oleo-
thermal insulation material. They can be effectively philic and gives an unpleasant feeling in contact with
used in applications that require acoustic or infrared human skin. Because of this, aerogel blankets must
suppression, fire protection and thermal insulation. be protected against the proliferation of dust into the
NASA was the first to use pure aerogel surroundings when they are used in garments.
patches for thermal insulation of space suits [5]. The The silica aerogel blanket was laminated with
use of silicon aerogel blankets for thermal insulation pre-prepared laminate of monolithic breathable
of clothing with up to ten times better thermal insula- membrane Platilon® M2234 made from polyether
tion properties in comparison to classic insulative block amide (PEBA) (Bayer Material Science Co.,
materials should enable a much thinner insulative Germany) and fine warp knitted fabric made from
material for clothing to protect a human body in ex- polyester filament yarns. Lamination of silica aerogel
treme temperature environments. blanket was made industrially in Zvezda SPT Kranj
Hereinafter textile-technological properties of (Slovenia) in a hot melt gravure procedure by a dot
laminated aerogel blanket in order to assess its use- bonding with a reactive polyurethane. The aerogel
fulness in clothing and other textile technical appli- blanket was laminated on both sides (Figure 2) to get
cations, like sleeping bags, tents, are presented etc. a 5-layered composite.
Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 119 of 123

Figure 2. Left: schema of a five layered laminated silica aerogel blanket and its stereomicroscope view: right: a cross
section of laminated aerogel blanket: 1 – aerogel blanket, 2 – laminated knitted fabric with a membrane

2.2 Methods

Morphological properties of materials were

tested by stereomicroscope Leica EZ4 D (Leica Mi-
crosystems, Germany) and by a scanning electron
microscope (Joel JSM-6060LV, Japan).
The following textile-technological properties
were tested:
− thickness (ISO 5084 : 1996),
− mass per unit area (EN 12127 : 1999),
− moisture regain (ISO/TR 6741-4 : 1996),
− tensile properties (ISO 5081 : 1996) on
strips of width 50 mm, with initial length of 100
mm, test speed 100 mm/min,
− stiffness (ASTM D 1388-64 method A : Figure 3. Device for measuring thermal conductivity
1975): strip length 150 mm, strip width 25 mm,
− adhesion between aerogel blanket and a
membrane (EN 15619 : 2008), and 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
− thermal conductivity (x) was determined
The silica aerogel blanket Spaceloft® 3251 is a
at conditions on a measuring device (Figure 3),
flexible material of dark grey colour, with hydrophob-
where a heat flow through a sample and a reference
ic and oleophilic properties, thermal conductivity of
plate with a known thermal conductivity (n) was
0.013 W/(mK) at 0 oC, and 0.016 W/(mK) at 100 oC
stationary. The sample together with three copper
[6]. It is made from nonwoven polyester microfibres
plates for measuring temperatures T1, T2 and T3 and
with average diameter of 10 µm and the melting point
a glass reference plate of thickness dn = 4 mm was
at 236 C. The grey colour of aerogel blanket origi-
placed between the upper hot and lower cold metal
nates from fibres and silica aerogel which contains
cylinders. The upper cylinder and a copper plate (T3)
small metal particles to reduce the influence of ther-
loaded the sample with a pressure of 5.39 kPa.
mal radiation from the environment. Silica aerogel is
Thermal conductivity was calculated by equation 1.
a matrix component in the Spaceloft® 3251. It is brit-
 dx   T2  T1  tle and prone to crushing (Figure 4).
 x  n    W / mK  (1) Laminated silica aerogel blankets have been
 dn   T3  T2  found to be easily cut, sewn and glued, similarly to
nonwoven materials. During these processes aerogel
Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 120 of 123

dust always occurred. It was the dust put down dust is markedly oleophilic, quickly drying out the
around on working surfaces, from where we re- skin and causing unpleasant feelings.
moved it effectively by suction. When handling The textile-technological properties of lami-
aerogel blankets we always used a protective mask nated silica aerogel blanket Spaceloft® 3251 and its
and also protective gloves, because silica aerogel components are presented in Table 1.

Figure 4. Surface view of silica aerogel blanket with cracks before lamination (upper) and a much crushed structure of
silica aerogel blanket after lamination and after removal of membrane with knitted fabric(lower)

Table 1. Textile-technological properties of 5-layered laminate of silica aerogel blanket silica aerogel blanket Space-
loft® 3251, laminated warp knitted fabric with a solid membrane and ofl
Silica aerogel Laminated
Laminated
blanket knitted fabric
Properties silica aerogel Membrane
(from lami- with a mem-
blanket
nate) brane
Density (g/cm3) 0.205 0.150 0.426 0.737
Mass per unit area (g/m2) 616 402 106 25
Thickness (mm) 3.01 2.51 2.50 0.33
Moisture regain (%) 2.39 2.13 2.70 6.07
Breaking force - longitudinal direction (N) 319.6 13.8 134.9 6.0
Breaking force - transverse direction (N) 1037.1 14.4 251.9 5.2
Breaking elongation - longitudinal direction (%) 26.3 159.6 30.5 66.1
Breaking elongation - transverse direction (%) 23.5 107.1 18.6 69.5
Bending length - longitudinal direction (cm) 16.48 − 3.63 1.36
Bending length – transverse direction (cm) 28.58 − 4.49 1.03

The laminated silica aerogel blanket is a very sonal protection in extreme cold environment condi-
light material with volume density of only 0.205 tions.
g/cm3. At thickness of 2.51 mm the mass per unit Thickness of nonlaminated aerogel blanket
area was amounted at only 616 g/m2, which is ap- Spaceloft® 3251 was declared 3 mm, but in the la-
propriate for using in outerwear garments for per- minate it amounts to 2.51 mm. In the lamination
Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 121 of 123

process the aerogel blanket was moved continuously longitudinal and transverse directions as a result of
between two heated rollers for applying thermoplas- anisotropic structure of laminate: almost 3-times
tic adhesive. The rollers affected the blanket by cer- higher breaking force in transverse direction than in
tain compression and bending forces that caused a longitudinal direction corresponds to a higher break-
significant crushing of silica aerogel and partial sof- ing force of knitted fabric in transverse direction in
tening of silica aerogel blanket. The technology that comparison to longitudinal direction. Silica aerogel
was used enabled only one-side lamination at once, blanket with a very low breaking force in both direc-
so that the aerogel blanket had to pass between the tions is a mechanically weak material which does
rollers two times to be laminated on both sides. A not contribute much to the tensile properties of the
nonwoven made from polyester microfibres embed- laminate as a whole. Likewise, the tensile properties
ded in silica aerogel could not relax either into the of laminate are not a simple sum of tensile properties
original positions and thickness after lamination of their components, because they are interconnected
process probably because the microfibres have very by thermoplastic adhesive.
low modulus of elasticity. The attached silica aero- The laminated aerogel blanket Spaceloft®
gel on fibres also hindered their relaxation. 3251 is a highly rigid material especially in longitu-
The membrane was used in particular to pro- dinal direction (Table 1). In comparison to the lami-
tect the laminated aerogel blanket against losses of nated knitted fabric with a membrane, it has more
silica aerogel dust that emerged at bending. The than six times higher bending length in transverse
membrane keeps the laminated aerogel blanket wa- direction and more than four times higher bending
ter vapour permeable and water resistant. The used length in longitudinal direction.
Platilon® membrane was also stretchable enough, Delamination force between laminated knitted
mechanically resistant (Table 1) and impermeable fabric with a membrane and silica aerogel blanket
for aerogel dust. was tested on a sample distance of 200 mm and is
The silica aerogel blanket Spaceloft® 3251 is comparable for transverse and longitudinal direc-
hydrophobic and also a very oleophilic material tions (Figure 7). Adhesion was very good on one
(Figure 5). At 21 oC and 85 % of relative humidity side of laminate only, while on the other side it was
laminated silica aerogel blanket absorbed only low and at some places there was even no adhesion.
2.39 % of moisture. This means that the conditions of lamination were
Tensile properties of the laminated silica not appropriate.
aerogel blanket (Table 1, Figure 6) are different in

Figure 5. Silica aerogel blanket Spaceloft® 3251 hydrophobic (left) and oleophilic (right) properties

400 1400

1200
300
1000
Load (N)
Load (N)

200 800

600
100
400

0 200

0
-100 0 10 20 30
0 10 20 30 40 50
Tensile strain (%)
Tensile strain (%)

Figure 6. Tensile diagrams of laminated silica aerogel blanket Spaceloft® 3251 in longitudinal (left)
and transversal (right) directions
Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 122 of 123

Figure 7. Delamination force of laminated silica aerogel blanket

Measured thermal conductivity of laminated for sleeping bags, protective coverings and seat cov-
aerogel blanket Spaceloft® 3251 was ers of wheelchairs for winter conditions, etc.
0.0474 W/(mK). The value is more than twice high-
er compared to silica aerogel blanket. It is compara-
ble to classic thermo insulative materials, such as 5. REFERENCES
Neoprene or Thinsulate.
[1] A. Venkateswara Rao, et al., Aerogels
handbook, Springer, New York, Dordrecht, Heidel-
4. CONCLUSSIONS berg, London 2011, 103−124.
[2] T. Filetin, Primjena nanomaterijala u teh-
On the basis of the measured textile technolo- nici [Application of Nanomaterials in Engineering],
gical properties of laminated silicon aerogel compo- Accessed: 15-06-2013.
site Spaceloft® 3251 (Aspen Aerogels, Inc., USA) <http://titan.fsb.hr/~tfiletin/pdf/hazu_nano1.pdf>.
with a water vapour permeable membrane and po- [3] C. J. Stepanian, Highly flexible aerogel in-
lyester warp knitted fabric we have found out that sulated textile-like blankets, US Patent Application
the laminate has good mechanical properties and Publication, 2007/0154698 A1, 2007.
provides good thermal insulation. But the material is [4] NN. Spaceloft, 2011.
a bit too heavy and rigid to be used in clothing, <http://www.aerogel.si/5_1_spaceloft.htm> Ac-
which would make it uncomfortable; however, be- cessed: 2011-04-11.
cause the silica aerogel is inclined to crushing during [5] H. H. Tang, E. S. Orndoff, L. A. Trevino,
use, this makes the clothes softer and more pleasant Thermal performance of space suit elements with
to wear. aerogel insulation for moon and Mars exploration.
For the usage of aerogel composite a proper Accessed: 2011-04-12.
selection of membrane and thermoplastic adhesive is http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=ca
the most important in order to limit spreading of che:http://papers.sae.org/2006-01-2235/.
aerogel dust into surroundings, which deteriorates [6] Aspen Aerogels: Ultra thin Spaceloft insu-
the material handle and in particular its thermal insu- lation.
lation properties. The analyzed laminate is suitable http://www.airtightdistribution.com/pdfs/Spaceloft_
Brochure.pdf.



ТЕКСТИЛНО-ТЕХНОЛОШКЕ ОСОБИНЕ ЛАМИНАТА

ПРЕКРИВАЧА ИЗ СИЛИКАТНОГ АЕРОГЕЛА

Сажетак: Прекривачи, израђени интегрисањем силикатног аерогела у неткане

текстиле, су суперизолациони и танки материјали, који се такође могу користити као
технички и одјевни текстили. Текстилно-технолошке особине ламината прекривача,
 Vanja Prevolnik, et al., Textile technological properties of laminated silica aerogel blanket
Contemporary Materials, V−1 (2014) Page 123 of 123

ламинираног мембраном, пропустљивом за водену пару, и полиестарском тканином,

плетеном по основи су биле испитане. Ламинат, изграђен из пет слоја, показао је
добре механичке карактеристике, отпорност на трљање, пропустљивост за водену
пару, хидрофобност и липофобност, као и добру топлотну изолацију. Због велике
тежине и крутости, израђени ламинирани материјал није примјерен за одијевање.
Током коришћења, силикатни аерогел је био склон ломљењу и након одређеног
времена је постао мекши и флексибилнији. Анализирани ламинат прекривача из
силикатног аерогела је прикладан за техничке текстиле, попут врећа за спавање, за
флексибилне заштитне покриваче, попут спољашњих јастука, за јастуке на
инвалидским колицима у зимским условима, итд.
Кључне ријечи: силикатни аерогел, ламинат прекривача из силикатног
аерогела, одјећа.

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