BAMBOO REINFORCED CONCRETE

SEMINAR REPORT

submitted by
NIZWIN
SNM18CE013

to

the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree

of

Bachelor of Technology

In

Civil Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering SREE NARAYANA

MANGALAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT &
TECHNOLOGY

MALIANKARA
SEPTEMBER , 2020
 DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING SREE NARAYANA
MANGALAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT &
TECHNOLOGY, MALIANKARA

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the seminar report entitled ‘BAMBOO REINFORCED
CONCRETE’submitted by ‘RAHUL V RAJEEV (SNM18CE015)’ to the APJ Abdul
Kalam Technological University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of
the Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering is a bonafide record of the
seminar work carried out by her under our guidance and supervision.

RASHMI T.S

MARY RESHMA Coordinator

Seminar Guide

RESHMA K R

HEAD OF THE DEPT

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly, I thank God, the Almighty, with whose blessings, this seminar has been successfully
completed.

I wish to give deep sense of acknowledgement to our Principal Dr. V R SASIKUMAR, for his
constant encouragement and valuable advice throughout the course.

I am extremely grateful to Mrs. RESHMA K R, Head of the department of Civil Engineering,

for her valuable guidance through this humble endeavor. Her highly enterprising attitudes,
patience for listening to my doubts, timely suggestions and guidance made my seminar a so
called reality in stipulated time.

I would also like to thank our seminar coordinator Mrs. RASHMI T.S, Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering and our seminar guide Ms. MARY RESHMA, Assistant
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering for their gracious of encouragement and the
valuable assistance.

I express my sincere gratitude to all the faculty members of the Department of Civil Engineering
for their co-operation and support to the seminar.

I also express my sincere gratitude to all my friends and my parents for their co-operation and
constant inspiration.

I
 ABSTRACT

In this paper data regarding the utilization of aerogel as a promising material for thermal
insulation of the residential and commercial buildings are presented. Also, research work and
developments in synthesis, properties and characterization of silica aerogels will be
addressed. Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel in which the
liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas. The result is a solid with
extremely low density and low thermal conductivity. Sol-gel is the most used method of
preparation. Aerogel melts at 1200ºC and the thermal conductivity is almost 0. Is a solid
material with the smallest density because contains about 99.8% air. This material has
almost unlimited potential, believing that they might find application in most human activities
and areas. Aerogel insulation is a good choice because nearly neutralizes all three methods
of heat transfer: convection, conduction and radiation. The resistance to convective transfer is
given by the fact that air does not circulate in the material structure. The resistance to thermal
transfer by conduction is given by the majority of gaseous components. If using a carbon
based gel, a high resistance to radiation transfer is obtained. Therefore, the most used
aerogel for thermal insulation is the silica aerogel with carbon as nanostructured material. The
high price makes it currently inaccessible and less used material. But, inevitably, the aerogel will
quickly become one of the most attractive materials in the future
 II

CONTENTS
CONTENTS PAGE NO.
AKNOWLEDGEMENT I
ABSTRACT II
LIST OF FIGURES III
LIST OF TABLES IV
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 General background 1
1.2 Objectives 2
1.3 Definition 2
Chapter 2 LITERATURE SURVEY 3
Chapter 3 TYPES OF WHITETOPPING 5
2.1 Bonded type 5
2.2 Unbonded type 6
Chapter 4 METHODOLOGY 7
3.1 Material 7
3.2 Design parameters 8
3.3 Details of construction 9
Chapter 5 COMPARISON OF RIGID AND FLEXIBLE 10
PAVEMENT
5.1 Advantages of rigid pavement compared to 11
flexible pavement
Chapter 6 DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF 12
ULTRA-THIIN WHITETOPPING
6.1 Design procedure 22
6.2 Construction procedure 12
6.3 First UTW project in Kentucky 14
6.4 Factors affecting UTW performance 15
6.5 Repair of UTW 15
6.6 Advantages of UTW 17
6.7 Disadvantages of UTW 17
Chapter 7 DESIGNING AND EXCAVATION OF 18
THIIN WHITETOPPING
7.1 Raw material 18

7.2 Mix design 21

7.3 Methodology 21
7.4 Discussion 22
Chapter 8 STUDY ON THIN AND ULTRATHIN WHITE- 23
TOPPING USING GEO-POLYMER CONCRETE
8.1 Geo-polymer 23
8.2 Material 24
8.3 Result and discussion 26
8.4 Cost and energy analysis 27
Chapter 9 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 29
OF WHITE TOPPING
9.1 Advantages 29
9.2 Disadvantage 30
Chapter 10 CONCLUSION 31

REFERENCES 32

LIST OF FIGURES

Sl.no. Title Page no.

1.1 Schematic representation of white 2 topping
1.2 Whitetopping road 2
3.1 Bonded vs unbonded behaviour 6
5.1 Comparisons of rigid and flexible 10
pavement
5.2 Cross section of rigid pavement 11
5.3 Cross section of flexible pavement 11
6.1 Surface preparation 12
6.2 Spreading and leveling 13
6.3 Finishing and texturing 13
6.4 Joint sawing and sealing 14
7.1 Compressive strength of different 21 variations of fly
ash and PC
7.2 Tensile strength of different 22 variations of fly
ash
8.1 Sample of fly ash material 24
8.2 Sample of M-sand material 25
8.3 Preparation of alkaline material 25

III

LIST OF TABLES

Sl.no. Title Page no.

5.1 Comparisons of rigid and flexible 10 pavement
7.1 Physical properties of cement 19
7.2 Physical properties of coarse 19 aggregate
7.3 Physical properties of polypropylene 20 fibers
7.4 Mix ratio for different variations 21
8.1 Vee bee test for different molarity 26
8.2 Compressive strength of sample 26 cubes
8.3 Flextural strength for 28days for 27 different molarity
8.4 Fatigue test for geopolymer for 65% 27 loading
8.5 Amount savings in 1 m3 production of 28
GPC and OPC
8.6 Energy savings in 1 m3 production of 28
GPC and OPC

IV
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND

The buildings emit huge amount of carbon dioxide as a part of greenhouse gas emission
strategy every year.Though the building energy demands increases by raising the demand
for energy saving materials and systems with the concern of Greenhouse gas emissions
[4]. The thermal insulation materials are mostly employed to protect the buildings from
emission. In order to decrease emission in buildings, a new material under research is
aerogel that plays a vital role in providing insulation materials [1]. In addition to the
requirement for energy saving, insulating materials are now manufactured with high
comfort levels to increase the life of building [5]. The thermal characteristics of
buildings rely on thermal conductivity of the walls and roofs. To overcome the issue
of traditional plaster techniques SiO2 aerogel is used by many developed countries.
Aerogel was introduced by Steven Kistler in 1931, material of today’s interest by several
scientists in last decades due to its light weight and versatile nature [6]. Aerogel is
defined, as a synthetic gel comprised of a microporous solid with low density and
thermal conductivity in which dispersed phase is a gas, as per IUPAC [14]. However,
aerogel technologies are off deliberate importance in global insulation market nowadays
and employed for construction industry includes façade systems.
Aerogel have attracted towards various sectors, including building construction based on
their promising properties and surprising applications in wide range of technical spaces.
Aerogel based materials are prepared for its high-performance thermal insulation
applications in building sectors. Despite, it also used in manufacture of chemical products,
Electronics, thermal and acoustic insulations, energy absorbers, space suits and in building
systems. This paper reviews the properties, formation and applications of aerogel in various
sectors and its abundant utilization in building construction.

1
1.2 OBJECTIVE

1. Used for thermal insulation in home buildings and vehicles

2. To obtain a reinforced aerogel-based superinsulator material: improvement of
mechanical properties
3. To promote multifunctionality of the so-obtained superinsulating materials
4. To develop a subcritical ambient drying process: minimize evaporation-induced
shrinkage

1.3 DEFINITION

Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid
component for the gel has been replaced with a gas without significant collapse of the gel
structure. The result is a solid with extremely low density and extremely low thermal
conductivity. Nicknames include frozen smoke, solid smoke, solid air, solid cloud, and blue
smoke, owing to its translucent nature and the way light scatters in the material. Silica
aerogels feel like fragile expanded polystyrene to the touch, while some polymer-based
aerogels feel like rigid foams. Aerogels can be made from a variety of chemical compounds

Insulation of Exterior Wall ,roof floor and ceiling

2
Aerogel foil faced blanket

3
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY

According to the literature review perfomed in this paper it deals with the importance of
aerogel in civil engineering aspects and applications.Aerogels are promising to be used in
building materials and insulation products. Among varioustypes of aerogel, silica aerogel is
the most commonly type used for building applications.Silica aerogel is a unique ultra light
weight nano porous material which offers superior thermal insulation property as compared
to the conventional thermal insulating materials. It can be applied not only for ground and
aerospace applications but also in low and high temperatures and pressure regimes. Aerogel
granules and monolith are synthesized by the sol–gel route while aerogel based composites
are fabricated by the reinforcement of fibers, particle and opacifiers. Due to the characteristic
brittleness (i.e., poor mechanical properties) of monolith or bulk aerogel, it is restricted in
several applications. To improve the mechanical integrity and flexibility, usually different
fibers are reinforced with aerogel and hence it can be used as flexible thermal insulation
blankets. Further, to achieve effective thermal insulation behaviour particularly at high
temperature, often opacifiers are doped with silica aerogel. In the present brief review, the
prospects of bulk aerogel and aerogel based composites are discussed for the application of
thermal insulation and thermal stability.

4
 CHAPTER 3

TYPES OF AEROGEL

There are five types of aerogels: silica, metal oxide, organic, carbon, and hybrid and
composite aerogels .Of these, the silica aerogel is the most extensively investigated and used
type.

3.1 SILICA AEROGELS

For the first time, silica aerogels were invented by S.S. Kistler in 1931; were made from
inorganic precursors and consist of a cross-linked internal structure of SiO2 chains with a large
number of air-filled pores . The three-dimensional network of silica aerogels is obtained, as a
result of the precursor’s polymerization that contains silicon (-Si-) atoms which forms siloxane
bridges .
The most important properties of silica aerogels are presented in Table 1 .

Property Values
Density (kg∙m-3) 3-350

Pore diameter (nm) 1-100

Porosity (%) 85-99.9

Thermal conductivity (W∙m-1∙K-1) 0.01-0.02
Thermal tolerance temperature (0C) 500
(Melting point 1200)
Surface area (m2∙g-1) 600-1000

Refractive index 1.-1.05

Coefficient of linear expansion (1/0C) 2.0-4.0x10-6

Transmittance in 0.5-2.5 m,
0.80-0.95
3.7-5.9 m

Tensile strength (kPa) 16

Longitudinal sound speed
100-300
(m∙s-1)
Silica aerogels have a variety of applications in the field of civil infrastructure, including heat
insulation of buildings, particularly in areas short of space and in areas where optical
transparency (e.g. windows) or translucency (e.g. skylights) are required: for example,
monolithic aerogel between two 4 mm float glasses gave a 62% reduction in heat losses, with
a 17% reduction in light transmittance when compared to a double glazing with a low-e layer .
Also, they are used as translucent heat insulators in solar collectors and high performance
insulated building render . The silica aerogel can be used as well in combination with other

5
construction materials, increasing the insulating properties, e.g. foam concrete reinforced SiO2
aerogel (FC-SA) material. Thus, the thermal conductivity of FC-SA composite was measured
as low as 0.049 W /m K, which was a 48.4% decrease from foam concrete .

3.2 METAL OXIDE AEROGELS

If precursors as oxides of transition metals such as aluminium oxide (Al2O3), vanadium oxide
(V2O5), chromium oxide (Cr2O3), titanium oxide (TiO2), iron oxide (Fe2O3) or zirconium
oxide (ZrO2) are used for synthesizing gels, the resulting aerogels are named metal oxide
aerogels and are other major class of inorganic aerogels. They have the pores sizes from 1 to
25 nm, the specific surface area varies from 81 to 785 m2 ∙g-1 , the extremely low density
between 0.06 g∙cm-3 for Al2O3/SiO2 precursor to 0.54 g∙cm-3 for Cr2O3 precursor, and a
very high porosity who varies between 77% to 96% [16]. These types of aerogels are mostly
used for synthesis of the carbon nanotubes (CNT), as magnetic nanostructures, as high-
temperature catalyst supports or as energetic materials .

3.3 ORGANIC AND CARBON AEROGELS

RF, resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels were first time synthesized in 1992 by Pekala et al. as
the reaction between resorcinol with fenolformaldehyde in aqueous medium, in the presence
of a base catalyst, sodium bicarbonate [18]. Then the polycondensation reactions were
obtained with different catalyst content, followed by the solvent exchange and by the
supercritical drying. , As it can be observed from Table 2, RF aerogels may even have lower
thermal conductivity from the organic aerogels, of 0.012 W∙m-1 ∙K-1 , besides the silica
aerogels which have reported a lowest value of 0.017 W∙m-1 ∙K-1 . Organic aerogels can be
prepared from a great variety of monomeric or polymeric precursors such as: melamine–
formaldehyde, phenol-furfural cresolformaldehyde, polymeric isocyanate, phenol melamine,
polyvinyl chloride. The properties of these aerogels largely depend by the used precursors.
Organic aerogels are ideal materials for thermal and acoustic insulators, membranes for gas
separation, catalyst supports, dielectrics and precursors for the electrically conducting carbon
aerogels production . Carbon aerogels are derived from organic aerogels and are amorphous
carbon materials with highly porosity which contain interconnected clusters of carbon
nanoparticles with diameters between 3 and 20 nm respectively. To obtain carbon aerogels
6
from organic aerogels, temperatures above 600 0C are necessary for a pyrolysis or
carbonization process in an inert gas atmosphere (helium, nitrogen or argon). A porous carbon
network, including both graphitic and amorphous regions with a large amount of disorder, is
formed. Carbon aerogels are promising materials like: electrodes for hydrogen and electrical
storage, thermal and acoustic insulators, adsorbents, sensors, and media for capacitive
deionization and catalyst supports .

3.4 HYBRID AND COMPOSITE AEROGELS

The most studied hybrid aerogels contain both inorganic and organic phases and nanoparticles
into the gel matrix, which are blended with cross-linked polymers and reinforced with fibres
and filler, forming interpenetrating networks . These aerogels have been obtained to improve
the mechanical properties, the physical properties and the aerogels processing also. The
composite aerogels as carbon fibre reinforced composite are obtained through copyrolysis of
soft fibres as polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and RF aerogel matrix . Through this obtaining process
the toughness, strength, and thermal conductivity of the aerogels are improved. Examples of
this type of aerogels could be nanocomposite carbon aerogels containing carbon nanotubes
(CNT), cross-linked polymer aerogels, functional nanocomposite aerogels which contain
metal or metal oxide nanoparticles in the aerogel matrix with unique electrical, catalytic,
optical, and magnetic properties. Other examples could be the silica aerogels containing
transition metal oxide nanoparticles, such as NiO, ZnO, TiO2, Al2O3, CuO and CoFe2O4 or
carbon aerogels containing nanoparticles of different metals, such as Cr, Zr, Mo, Fe, W, Co,
Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu and Ag .

7
 CHAPTER 4

PROPERTIES

4.1 PROPERTIES

4.1. THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE

Due to high porosity and nanometres pores size, the aerogels have a very low thermal
conductivity ( 0.01 W·m-1 ∙K-1 ), a low solid skeleton conductivity, a low gaseous thermal
conductivity and a low radiative infrared transmission [30] [31], explained by three
mechanisms: solid conductivity, gaseous conductivity, and infrared transmission. These
thermal performances make the aerogel a special thermal insulations material than other. In
the aerogel skeleton the presence of a very small fraction of solid silica (1-10%) [32],
determines a lower solid conductivity therefore transmit a lower energy. Overall, the low
gaseous thermal conductivity, g of the aerogels can be explained by Knudsen effect which
expresses the gaseous conduction in a porous media as function of the pore size characteristics
and the air pressure and is depicted in eq. 1 and eq. 2.
𝑔 = 𝑔,0/ 1+2𝐾n (1)

where:
𝐵
𝐾𝑛 = 𝐼𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 and 𝐼𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛= √2𝑑 𝑔2 𝑘 𝑇𝑃𝑔 (2)

where Kn is the Knudsen number (the ratio between the mean free path Imean of the air
molecules and the characteristic sizes of pores diameter, ), dg is the diameter of the gas
molecules, kB the Boltzmann constant, T the temperature, Pg the gas pressure and  a constant
between 1.5 and 2 depending on the gas type, the solid material and the temperature, and
characterize the efficiency of the energy transfer when the gas molecules hit the solid structure
of the material [5]. The silica aerogels are reasonably transparent in the infrared spectrum and
an important parameter that influences the thermal transport is the optical thickness of the
sample. The radiative transport becomes a dominant mode of thermal conduction at higher
temperatures, i.e. above 2000C, but at low temperatures the radiative transport is low also. In
Figure 2 it can be observed the transmittance of a silica aerogel in the UV, VIS and NIR
spectrum (top) and in the IR spectrum (bottom) with representative bands of alcohol at (3200-
3600) cm-1 , of carbonyl at (1690-1760) cm-1 and of carboxyl at 1080-1300 cm-1 respectively.

8
 Fig. 2. The transmittance of a silica aerogel in the UV, VIS, NIR spectrum and in the IR spectrum,

Moreover, the radiative transfer of the silica aerogels can be eliminated by adding carbon
black in the fabrication process and thus the infrared radiation is either absorbed or scattered.
At ambient pressure the thermal conductivity of silica aerogels, without radiative transfer, is of
13.5∙10-3 W∙m-1∙K-1, and at a pressure of 50∙10-3 bar or less is of 4 10-3 W∙m-1∙K-1. For buildings
purposes, at ambient temperature, the aerogel insulations has a thermal conductivity between
13.1 and 13.6∙10-3 W∙m-1∙K-1 range, and remain almost the same till a temperature of 2000C
[34].
In Table 2 the values of minimum thermal conductivity of most used organic aerogels
experimentally obtained are presented. The values depend on the chemical nature of the solid
phase as well as on the amount of the solid in the matrix.

Thermal
Pore size,
Aerogels conductivity, References
nm
W/m∙K

Polyurea 0.013 6.6-54 [35]

Resorcinol
formaldehide 0.012 10-20 [36]
Polyciclopent
adiene 0.017 - [37]

Polyurethane 0.022 8.3-66.5 [38]

Cellulose 0.030 1-100 [39]

9
4. 2OPTICAL PROPERTIES

The transparency and translucency appearances of aerogels are primarily due to Raleigh
scattering, which occurs when the heterogeneities in the solid gel network are much smaller
than the wavelength of visible light. The amount of light scattered from an aerogel is
dependent on these structural inhomogeneities which in turn can be controlled during the
supercritical extraction which dictates the spatial arrangements of the gel network.
Rayleigh scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength, that is,
the shorter the wavelength of the light, the more it scatters. Therefore, when an aerogel tile
is placed against a dark background, it appears slightly bluish and demonstrates a yellowish
coloration when exposed to bright surroundings [74, 75].The second source of light
scattering in the visible range is due to micrometer-size imperfections of the external
aerogel surface which accounts for the blurry appearance of objects viewed through a piece
of aerogel [76]. On the other hand, the scattering efficiency is a function of the size of the
scattering center. Thus different wavelengths will scatter with varying magnitudes.
Scattering is observed to be intensified when the size of the scattering center becomes
similar to the wavelength of the incident light [76, 77]. As the wavelength increases and
the spectrum shifts towards the infrared range, scatterings become less significant. This
phenomenon permits heat radiation to pass through the aerogel thereby increasing its
thermal conductivity [78]. Many times, the optical properties of aerogels are related with
their thermal properties, especially when a transparent thermal insulation system is
demanded. A number of studies have been undertaken to optimize the transparency of
silica aerogel without sacrificing its thermal conductivity. Danilyuk et al. [79] found that
monolithic aerogel prepared using the twostep sol-gel method is more transparent than the
one synthesized through the one-step approach. Venkateswara Rao and Pajonk [80] added
methyltrimethoxysilane(MTMS) as a coprecursor to produce monolithic durable
hydrophobic silica aerogels with high direct optical transmittance and low diffusion of
light. Adachi et al. [81] synthesized new tiles of silica aerogels by adding a new chemical
solvent, dimethylformamide (DMF), to improve the optical transparency in the refractive
index range, 𝜂 = 1.03–1.07. The transmission length exceeded 40 mm at 400 nm
wavelength which was twice the value obtained in a previous study [82]. Bhagat et al.
showed that when low density TEOS-based silica aerogels is prepared using methanol as
a solvent in combination with TEOS in a two-step sol-gel process, the optical transmission
is improved to some extent [83]. On the contrary, if opacity is preferred, aerogel can be

10
rendered opaque by integrating carbon or mineral powders into its structure which will
absorb the infrared and hence reducing the radiation heat transfer From the early age,
transparent silica aerogel has been promoted as a hypervelocity particle capture for outer-
space explorations because of its capacity of allowing easy detection of cosmic debris
through its framework. Recently, Woignier et al. [87] investigated the effect of TEOS
concentration and the addition of ammonia as a base catalysis on the optical transmission
within the visible spectrum. It was found that aerogels with a higher concentration of TEOS
have a wider transmission window than that with a lower TEOS concentration which
affirms poor transparency in the visible range. When ammonia is added in the aerogel
process, the transmission is extraordinarily enhanced in the visible range. Another
imperative optical property of silica aerogels is the index of refraction. It has been proven
that the index of refraction, 𝜂, increases with increasing density such that 𝜂 = 1 + 2.1 ×
10−4𝜌, (7) where 𝜌 (k gm−3) is the bulk density of aerogel [1]. It can therefore be
anticipated that the refractive index for silica aerogel is very close to one, literally meaning
that when light enters an aerogel, there is no reflective losses. A practical application which
exploits this property is the Cherenkov detector which necessitates a medium with a
refractive index close to one [88].

4.3MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Silica aerogels are known to be characteristically fragile and brittle because of the
interparticle connections within the pearl-necklace-like fractal network, making them inapt
for load bearing applications. Numerous investigations have been carried out to appreciate
and characterize their mechanical properties, as shown in Table 3. Standard methods to
characterize the silica aerogel mechanically include ultrasonic techniques, three-point
bending, and uniaxial compression. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) is now
commonly employed because of its capability of measuring the local elastic property of
aerogels with only a small loading force. Concurrently, efforts are being concerted to
improve the mechanical strength of aerogels by the addition of a second phase. One
approach is through incorporating silica fibres into the aerogels. Tests have indicated that
when 10% by weight of these fibres are introduced, the elastic modulus and strength are
increased by 85% and 26%, respectively [89]. In addition, the compressive modulus and
tensile strength of aerogels can be improved by three and five times correspondingly, if
5% by weight of carbon nanofibres are implemented into the lattice structure [90]. Liquid-

11
phase cross-linking, vapor-phase cross-linking, fibre reinforcing, and reduced bonding can
enhance the mechanical properties of aerogel as well [80, 91, 92]. X-aerogels have been
proven to improve considerably the fractal properties of native aerogels under both quasi-
static [43, 93–97] and highimpact loading conditions [98, 99]. While their strength is
superior to silica aerogels, their elasticity and flexibility properties are yet to be tailored
for advanced aerospace applications such as structural components and thermal protection
for small satellites, spacecraft, planetary vehicles, and habitats. Several cross-linking
schemes to mechanically reinforce aerogels have been discussed in details in [100]. It is
noteworthy to state that polymer reinforcement decreases the surface area of the silica
aerogel by about half without altering the thermal conductivity radically [100].
Probably, the most notable application of silica aerogel in astronautics is to capture
extraterrestrial materials. This is primarily because it does not constitute elements of great
cosmochemical significance as well as inorganic contaminants and secondly owing to its
grandiosity in trapping particles with high velocities. Yet, researchers are continually
experimenting on this nanomaterial to improve its physical properties to develop a flawless
kinetic shock absorber. Most of the time, the modification is made during the synthesis
process as the aerogel mechanical characteristics highly depend on its bulk density [101,
102]. The mechanical and thermal properties of density-gradient aerogels for outer-space
hypervelocity particle capture were analyzed by Du et al. (see Figure 3) [103]. Aerogels
with densities ranging from 40 to 175 mg/cm3 were prepared using a tetraethyl
orthosilicate (TEOS) and ethanol-water solution as the precursor and hydrofluoric acid as
the catalyst via a supercritical drying sol-gel process. Layer-by-layer gelation, sol
cogelation, and gradient-sol cogelation methods were

12
used to prepare the density-gradient aerogels. The dynamic mechanical test showed that
the Young’s moduli of the aerogels at −100∘ C and 25∘ C tend to decrease with decreasing
the density with values from 4.6 × 105 to 1.9 × 105 Pa and from 5.0 × 105 to 2.1 × 105 Pa,
respectively. The thermal analysis indicated that the thermal diffusion coefficients and the
specific heat capacities decrease with decreasing the densities while the thermal
conductivities do not change monotonically. One weakness of aerogel as a hypervelocity
capture particle could be its crack propagation which can eventually destroy the entire
aerogel lattice when exposed for a long period of time. This is induced by the syneresis
effect which is the continuation of the hydrolysis and condensation reactions after gelling
which leads to the gel shrinkage [87, 101]. Hwang et al. observed a 10% linear shrinkage
caused by syneresis during the gelation and aging procedures [104]. Woignier et al. [87]
investigated the influence of the synthesis variables on the shrinkage of aerogel during
preparation and delivered a good correlation on the mechanical properties with an aim to
acquire an optimized aerogel for outer-space applications. It was revealed that the linear
shrinkage decreases with the TEOS concentration and with increasing pH of hydrolysis
solution. In addition, both elastic modulus and rupture strength of aerogels rise with a
higher concentration of TEOS and hence density.

13
 CHAPTER 5

APPLICATIONS

5.1 Building applications of aerogels

To reach the European Union 2020 targets energy and climate targets, improving energy
efficiency of buildings is required as an important measure. In this regard, the researchers
from universities and industry investigate new intelligent materials with a strong impact on
the field of the built environment, especially considering thermal insulation of the buildings.
Silica aerogels are a new and efficient alternative to traditional insulation. Because of their
outstanding properties, especially of the low thermal conductivity, light-weight and sound-
proof can be used as building components for a variety of purposes. However, the costs of these
materials are still high for many industries, including for the building industry. The market
share of aerogels tripled to 83 M$ in 2008, was valued at 221.8 M$ in 2013 and it is estimated
to reach 1,896.6 M$ by 2020 [41]. Thus, the researches continue to develop new technology to
improve the insulation performance and to reduce the production costs of aerogels. For
building applications, the granular aerogel-base translucent insulation materials and transparent
monolithic aerogel are the most used [14]. Generally, if the monolithic aerogels possess
superior thermal and optical properties, are expensive to be produced, needs long processing
times and require to be protected from tension and moisture, the granular aerogels dominate
the commercial market, even has low performance but are most robust, cheaper and easier to
be produced at the commercial scale These aerogels are most used for achieving the roofs,
facades, walls or insulation bricks (aero-bricks) [40] and windows, but also for the sound
insulation, fire retardation and air purification. In Figure 3 are depicted few examples of aerogel
materials used in the buildings construction. For old buildings the aerogel can be used in the
restoration and reconstruction of the historical buildings.
Aerogel can be also used as interior and exterior insulated plasters for breathable building
envelopes and facades

In Figure 5 another application that can be mention is an aerogel insulation of an old brick
building. The top floor is insulated with a thin layer of aerogel insulation

14
 a) Specular aerogel glazing; (b) Diffuse aerogel glazing; (c) Aerogel as thermal insulation material
for building applications (Aspen Aerogel Inc.); (d) Brick with aerogel filling

By far, Aspen Aerogels and Cabot Corporation from the U.S.A. are the major companies
that have been involved in the large-scale industrial production of the silica-based
flexible blankets and granular materials for the insulation market [10]. In Table 3 the
commercial aerogel suppliers from Europe are presented.

Table 3. Commercial aerogel suppliers in Europe

Chemical nature of Aerogel form
Country Producer the aerogel
Germany BASF SE Polyurethane Monolithic panels

Airglass Transparent silica Monoliths

Sweden Svenska Silica Powder, granules
Aerogel
Portugal Active Silica composites Sheets
Aerogels
Europe Green Silica from rice, wastes Powder, granules
Earth and husks
Aerogels
Enersens Powder
Spain SAS Silica /small monoliths
Mainly silica, silica
Keey incorporated in support Particles
Aerogels matrix
Switzerla Nexaero Hydrophobic Particles
nd silica

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5.2 AEROGEL APPLICATIONS IN ROOFS, FACADES AND
WINDOWS

From literature, it can be observed that the aerogel applications in buildings for daylighting
goals are more and more widespread. One example of high-performance translucent building
system with aerogel is Kalwall Company who offers the most highly insulated light
transmitting products. Thus, in Figure 4 is illustrated a building with pyramid skylights,
designed for rapid installation from the outside and quick removable.

while the ground floor is not. From the thermographic image with a thermal camera (Fig. 5
right) it can be observed that is a considerable amount of heat loss from the ground floor
towards the top floor. This observation is correlated with the aerogel insulation which
represents an efficient barrier to the heat loss.

Fig. 5. (left) Retrofitting of an old brick dwelling with Aspen aerogel insulation; (right)
Thermographic image of the building

Schultz et al. [44] carried out an EU project on super insulating glazing based on monolithic
silica aerogel. The prototypes measuring approximate 55 x 55 cm2 and have been made with
15 mm evacuated aerogel between two layers of low-iron glass where a centre heat loss
coefficient was found below 0.7 W/m2∙K and the solar transmittance of 76% [11]. Other
example of monolithic aerogel-based window in combination with the technology of vacuum
16
glazing is presented by Jensen et al. [45]. The overall heat loss coefficient was Uwindows = 0.66
W/m2 K and the noise reduction of the glazing was measured to 33 dB, for an evacuated
glazing with 13.5 mm thick aerogel. With these results, in the climate conditions of Denmark
for a new built single family house where the triple-layered argon-filled glazing is replaced
with aerogel glazing, the saved energy is of 1180 kWh/year (19%) [46].
ZAE Bayern (Germany) develops granular silica aerogels integrated into highly-insulating
translucent provided high solar transmittance of 65% for thickness

Fig. 6. Levanger primary school, Norway

5.3 AEROGEL APPLICATIONS FOR SOUND INSULATION, FIRE

DELAY AND AIR PURIFICATION

In case of the insulation plates with aerogel, their performances depend on binder and can be
positively influenced by choosing the right binding material where a notably improved sound
was observed. As example, Gibiat et al. [54] investigated the acoustic properties of the
cylindrical silica aerogels. They measured the sound velocity, for low ultrasonic frequencies,
and the acoustical impedance in audible range. It was observed that, the low-density aerogels
could exhibit unexpected attenuation for well-defined frequency bands and the results greatly
depend on the geometry/boundary conditions imposed to the samples.
Buratti and Moretti [13] investigated the light transmittance, and the weight sound insulation
index, R in eight samples of glass assembled with monolithic and granular aerogel in the
interspace. They found that the light transmittance in the monolithic aerogel was better
( =0.60) than the granular one ( =0.27) and the weight sound insulation index R, for the
aerogel window sample was 3 dB, higher than the same window with air in interspace.
17
Also the aerogels are capable to the efficient removal of many pollutants from indoor
environment such as: chloride from tap water, hydrocarbons (CH3CHO and CH3CHO) from
cigarettes, NOx and SOx from incomplete burning of gas, VOC from organic solvents, formalin
from paints and furniture who are responsible for health problems [55]. Aerogel-prepared
nanocrystals of MgO, CaO, and Al2O3 with specific surface area of up to 500 m2·g-1, have
shown remarkably high capacity to destructively adsorb VOCs under the atmospheric pressure
and temperature [56].
A promising way to battle with climate and environmental changes, especially with rising
atmospheric temperature, is the minimization of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere from all
fields of activity. In this regard, recent investigations have focused in using aerogels as new
CO2 capture materials by controlling their chemo-physical properties. An interesting and
efficient example is given by Minju et al.
[57] who studied the effect of 2 amines (3aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, APTMS and
polyethyleneimine, PEI) loaded to silica aerogels particles used in CO2 gas adsorption. The
investigations concluded that the aerogels loaded with amines are good sorbents, with high
sorption capacity toward target component, from 0.65 to 1.1 mmol·g-1 of CO2 adsorption,
correlated with the amine functionality/contents and pore structure, pore volume (from 0.1 to
0.5 cm3·g-1) of the adsorbent, who are essential for achieving the better results in terms of
process selectivity and sorption capacity.
Because the aerogels are non-flammable materials, due to their chemical structure and their
melting point, who is very high (12000C), they can be used inside buildings to avoid spreading
fire from one place to another.

5.4 ADVANTAGES OF USING AEROGEL IN OLD BUILDINGS

RESTORATION AND BUILDING RETROFITS

Aspen Aerogels Company, U.S.A. has developed a high performance thermal insulation
material called SPACELOFT for residential and commercial buildings envelopes [58]. This
material is very versatile, the useful floor area is saved and the efficiency energy is improved.
It is used on the internal and external walls, on the floors, terrace and balcony, windows, doors
and fenestration inserts, in zero emissions buildings, passive houses, government retrofit
programs and tiny house projects. Overall, the heat transfer of SPACELOFT is very low,
ranging from 1 to 0.2 W/m2K. Berardi [43] investigated the aerogel glazing systems, the
18
aerogel plasters, the aerogel concrete tiles and panels and the aerogel fibre blankets in a retrofit
of an educational building: the Civil Engineering Department of Ryerson University, Toronto,
Canada who was constructed in 1931. Based on a reliable virtual model, several actions such
as: annual saving, the total intervention cost, and the payback period were investigated and had
shown that the energy saving can be achieved, from 17 years to several decades, depending on
which part of the building is insulated with aerogel materials. It is important to mention that, it
may expect that the energy saving, in a building located in more mild climates area than
Toronto, to be higher. Aerogel can be used with success as superior thermal insulation, for
facades with slim and light construction, because of his excellent dimensional stability. Also,
the aerogel can be used for restoration and preservation of historical features of buildings, as
insulation material with fire retardation property, with low thermal conductivity and low
density without the need for major changes to the building structures such us windows, doors,
roofs and facades.

CHAPTER 6

METHODOLOGY

6.1 Preparation -of Aerogels

Different type of aerogels can be prepared using alumina, chromium, tin oxide, and carbon, but
preparation of silica based aerogel is comparatively easier and reliable. Aerogels are synthesized
via a sol-gel process consisting of three main steps [Figure 3].

6.1.1 Gel Preparation

Solid nanoparticles grow crosslink and finally form a three-dimensional solid network with
solvent filled pores. To begin with a gel is created in solution and then the liquid is carefully
removed to leave the aerogel intact; initially the creation of a colloidal suspension of solid
particles known as a “sol” takes place; for example, silica gels are synthesized by
hydrolyzing monomeric tetrafunctional and trifunctional silicon alkoxide precursors
19
 employing a mineral acid or a base as a catalyst [23, 24]. There are many ways to create
silica based sol gels. One is by mixing tetraethoxysilane Si(OC2H5)4 with ethanol and water
to make it polymerize and thus producing a water based silica gel as shown in (3). A solvent,
such as methanol, is used to extract and replace the water

Si(OCH2C3)4 (liq.) + 2H2 (liq.)

󳨀→ SiO2 (solid) + CH2CH3OH (liq.)

6.1.2 Drying

The solvent has to be removed whilst preserving the solid aerogel network. This can be
done either by supercritical drying or at ambient conditions. Aerogel materials are typically
prepared by removing the solvent contained in a gel matrix by extraction in a supercritical
fluid medium. This can be accomplished by bringing the gel solvent system above its critical
temperature and pressure and subsequently relieving pressure above the critical temperature
until only vapor remains. Alternatively, the gel solvent system can be extracted from the wet
gel with an appropriate solvent. Liquid carbon dioxide is the most popular extraction solvent
because it is inexpensive and has a relatively low critical temperature and critical pressure
[28–31].
Crack-free silica aerogels can also be obtained via solvent exchange and resulting surface
modification of wet gels using either isopropyl alcohol, trimethylchlorosilane, or n-hexane
solution [32]. The physics and chemistry involved in the synthesis of aerogels are detailed in
the literature on aerogels [18, 23, 33–37]. For dense silica, solid conductivity is relatively
high (a single pane window transmits a large amount of thermal energy). However, silica
aerogels possess a very small (∼1– 10%) fraction of solid silica. Additionally, the solids that
are present consist of very small particles linked in a threedimensional network with many
“dead-ends.” Therefore, thermal transport through the solid portion of silica aerogel occurs
through a very tortuous path and is not particularly effective [38]. Use of
methyltrimethoxysilane coprecursor makes the aerogel hydrophobic and makes it able to
hold water droplets on the surface [39]. Porosity of silica aerogels was determined by helium
pycnometry using the following formula and was found to be 1900 kg/m3

𝜌
Porosity (%) = (1 − 𝑏 ),
𝜌𝑠

20
where 𝜌𝑏 is the bulk density and 𝜌𝑠 is the skeleton density.
The hydrophobic aerogels have also been obtained via coprecursor method pioneered by
Schmidt and Schwertfeger [13]. Hydrolysis and condensation rates of all the
coprecursorswereobservedtobeslowerthanthatofTEOSbecausethe former contains one or more
nonreactive alkyl/aryl groups, which are nonhydrolysable, and a three-dimensional solid
network is achieved as per the following chemical reaction:

C2H5OH

n Si(OC2H5)4 + 2H2O󳨀󳨀󳨀󳨀󳨀󳨀󳨀→SiO2 + 4n C2H5OH

Oxalic Acid

When sufficient amount of TEOS has hydrolyzed, the silyl groups of the coprecursor get
attached to the silica clusters as per the following chemical reactions:

21
As the silica clusters get attached to nonhydrolysable hydrophobic. Hydrophobicity of aerogels
will increase with organic groups (silyl) on their surfaces, the aerogels become the numbers of
alkyl/aryl groups attached to the surface .

22
 CHAPTER 7

STRUCTURAL FEATURES

Aerogels have an unusual combination of high porosity and small pore size, making porosity
characterization by conventional techniques, such as mercury intrusion, thermoporometry, and
nitrogen adsorption/desorption, very difficult. All these techniques are based on the application
of capillary pressures on the aerogel network, which may cause large volumetric compressions,
leading to incorrect values for pore size and volume . Aerogels are characterized with a very
low permeability which can be explained in terms of pore size suitable for transport of water
vapours/gases but not for water molecules . Some aerogels such as carbon aerogels can be
obtained in the form of monoliths, beads, powders, or thin films and make them promising
materials for application in adsorption and catalysis . Organic polymer aerogels are important
nanoporous materials and their nanopore structures can be modified by the chemical reactions.
These properties enable carbon nanotube aerogels potential improvement over current carbon
aerogels for applications such as sensors, actuators, electrodes, and thermoelectric devices . The
porosity provides both molecular accessibility and rapid mass transport via diffusion and for
these reasons aerogels have been part of the heterogeneous catalytic materials field for over 50
years. The high porosity and mesoscopic pore diameters of aerogel structures enable the
electrolyte to penetrate the entire aerogel particle.
An aerogel possesses the following characteristics .
(1) Property characteristics

(i) Ultralow thermal conductivity

(ii) Ultralow refractive index
(iii) Ultralow dielectric constant
(iv) High surface area
(v) High refractive index
(vi) Ultralow relative density
(vii) Ultrahigh porosity

(2) Structure characteristics

(i) Gel-like structure on nanoscale coherent skeletons andpores

(ii) Hierarchical and fractal microstructure
(iii) Macroscopic monolith
(iv) Randomly crosslinking network(v) Noncrystalline matter.

23
 CHAPTER 8

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

8.1 ADVANTAGES

Aerogels are regarded as one of the most promising high performance thermal insulation
materials for building applications today. With a low thermal conductivity (~13 mW/mK),
they show remarkable characteristics compared to traditional thermal insulation materials.
Also higher transmittances in the solar spectrum are of great interest for the construction
sector. Another advantage of aerogels is their visible transparency for insulation
applications which will allow their use in windows and skylights which give architects and
engineers the opportunity of reinventing architectural solutions [51]. For example, the low
thermal conductivity, a high solar energy, and daylight transmittance in monolithic silica
aerogel make it a very interesting material for use in highly energy efficient windows [52].
For cryogenic systems, multilayered insulation (MLI) is the insulation of choice. However,
MLI requires a high vacuum for optimal effectiveness. Powder insulations such as glass
microspheres and aerogel beads have shown promise at soft vacuums and have a structural
advantage in that they are far simpler to install and maintain. Modification of aerogels is
essential to achieve specific functionality and this tailoring can start during the sol-gel
process either after gelation or after obtaining the aerogel. This can be done via (a) surface
functionalization of aerogels for regulating the adsorption capacity and (b) applying a
polymeric coating on aerogel surface. Hybrid aerogels can encompass the intrinsic
properties of aerogels (high porosity and surface area) with the mechanical properties of
inorganic components and the functionality and biodegradability of biopolymers

24
8.2 LIMITATIONS

Widespread uses of aerogel materials are restricted at present mainly due to their
(i) High production costs,
(ii) Poor mechanical properties,
(iii) Health issues.

Supercritical drying is the most expensive and risky aspect of aerogel making process [64]. A
highly desirable goal in aerogel preparation is the elimination of the supercritical drying
process.
Aerogels are a mechanical irritant to the eyes, skin, respiratory tract, and digestive system.
Small aerogel particles can potentially cause silicosis, and so forth, when inhaled and can
induce dryness of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Therefore, protective gear including
respiratory protection, gloves, and eye goggles must be worn while handling aerogels .

CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSION

25
REFERENCES

26