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Introduction to lightweight materials
Published in S. Thirumalai Kumaran, Tae Jo Ko, S. Suresh Kumar, Temel Varol, Materials for Lightweight Constructions, 2023
Vigneshwaran Shanmugam, Rhoda Afriyie Mensah, N. B. Karthik Babu, C. Pradeep Raja, J. Ronald Aseer, A. Pugazhenthi, D. Satish Kumar, Oisik Das
Another material recently gaining ground is graphene obtained from the exfoliation of graphite. Graphene is one of the thinnest and lightest materials produced and known as a wonder material due to its exceptional properties [39]. Integration of graphene into other matrices to form composites has gained popularity because only a small weight percentage (<1%) is needed to bring about added benefits and improved performance. Although graphene is expensive, there are companies including TLC Graphene, etc., which integrate graphene into plastic resin composites while still making them commercially feasible from a financial standpoint. Other forms of graphene such as aerographene, aerographite, 3D graphene, and novel lightweight materials like carbyne and metallic microlattice have been fabricated over the years. Extensive research on the machining processes and characterization of these materials could create an avenue for producing lightweight materials with desirable properties.
Quantitative Analysis of Ultralow-Density Materials Using Laboratory-Based Quasi-Monochromatic Radiography
Published in Fusion Science and Technology, 2018
Brian M. Patterson, John Sain, Richard Seugling, Miguel Santiago-Cordoba, Lynne Goodwin, John Oertel, Joseph Cowan, Christopher E. Hamilton, Nikolaus L. Cordes, Stuart A. Gammon, Theodore F. Baumann
Aerogels are ultralow-density materials with a highly disordered porous structure that is formed via supercritical drying.2 Aerogels are typically composed of carbon, organic polymers, silica, or metallic oxides and are used in industry for their low-density, thermal conductivity properties as well as thickeners in paints. Aerogels may have densities as high as ~200 mg/cm3 to as low as 0.16 mg/cm3 (e.g., aerographite3 and aerographene). They are used in a variety of applications4 including thermal insulators, chemical absorbers, and Cherenkov or other radiation detectors as composites for waste cleanup5 and laser targets2 as well as capture media for cometary materials.6 Ultralow-density foams (specifically SiO2 aerogels) are important for inertial confinement fusion and high-energy-density physics experiments,7 where they are used to precisely suspend complex parts within hohlraums or spools that otherwise would be impossible without a significant perturbation on the laser-induced shock wave. Other uses include carriers for X-ray tracer layers, radiation tampers, surrogates for gas fills, and capillary media for liquids. Knowledge of the density and foam uniformity is especially critical since the speed of the shock wave and the opacity of the material is dependent on these material properties.