Ali Aghahosseini - Institute of Polymeric Materials, Polymer Engineering Department, Sahand University of Technology
Mostafa Rezaei - Institute of Polymeric Materials, Polymer Engineering Department, Sahand University of Technology
Alireza Eyvazzadeh

In this study it was tried to obtain the most desirable physical-mechanical and thermal properties, dimensional stability and less brittle foam through microstructure control polyurethane-polyisocyanurate (PU-PIR) foams by nanoclay incorporation in polymer matrix. Morphology of nanocomposite foams was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. No organoclay characteristic peak was observed for nanocomposite foams in the scanned range (2θ=2-10°) which indicated that organoclay was uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix. Microstructure (cell sizes and cell size distribution) of the foam samples were examined with an optical microscope and Bell View image analyzer. The results revealed that incorporation of organoclay to the PU-PIR foam led to the reduction of cell size as well as narrowing cell size distribution. In order to determine the mechanical properties of the foam, compression test was performed on samples at constant foam density (34±1 kg/m3). The compressive strength and modulus of the samples were increased by addition of organoclay. Finally thermal conductivity of the samples was studied by a simple transient thermal conductometry method and the reduction of the PU-PIR foams thermal conductivity was observed by addition of organoclay

Polyurethane-Polyisocyanurate, Nanocomposite foam, Mechanical properties, Thermal conductivity