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Wearable Aramid–Ceramic Aerogel Composite for Harsh Environment
Author(s) -
An Lu,
Liang Baoshan,
Guo Zipeng,
Wang Jieyu,
Li Changning,
Huang Yulong,
Hu Yong,
Li Zheng,
Armstrong Jason N.,
Zhou Chi,
Faghihi Danial,
Ren Shenqiang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.202001169
Subject(s) - aerogel , aramid , materials science , composite material , ceramic , composite number , nanocomposite , thermal conductivity , thermal insulation , compressive strength , fiber , layer (electronics)
High‐performance lightweight polymer fibers are attracting significant interest for wearable systems, where its thermal insulation performance is indispensable for harsh environments. However, one drawback of polymer fibers is its limited operating temperature range. Herein, a crosslinked poly(p‐phenylene terephthalamide) fiber and ceramic aerogel nanocomposite is reported, exhibiting hot and cold thermal management from cryogenic to high‐temperature condition (over 400 °C) and robust mechanical performance, which can be produced using additive textile manufacturing. The resulting ceramic aerogel nanocomposites demonstrate a low density (0.08 g cm −3 ), a low thermal conductivity (0.034 W m −1 K −1 ), and a high compressive mechanical strength of 1.1 MPa, due to the crosslinked interfacial interaction between the aramid fiber and the silica aerogel. A finite‐element model is developed to study the compression performance of aramid–aerogel composite, demonstrating that the robust mechanical performance is strengthened by interfacial bonding. These findings demonstrate that composite sheets are promising candidates for the low‐cost manufacturing of wearable textiles for applications in harsh environments.