The conventional insulation materials of a simple structure can no longer meetthe requirements of the same kind for high efficiency and engery-saving both incivilian and industrial applications. Instead, those with multi-functions will bedeveloped and preferable in future. As the current advanced three-dimensional textilecomposites, hollow integrated sandwich composites are characterized by low weight,corrosion resistance, flame retardancy, and good mechanical performance. Also, theyhave great potential of warmth retention and insulation property due to the specialhollow integrated sandwich structure.In this paper, the study has been made of hollow integrated sandwich compositeswhich, based on their basic thermodynamic performance, were used as the skeletonstructure with glass fiber reinforced silica aerogel filled in between to reinforce theinsulation property. The study made mainly covers the following four parts.(1) According to the special requirements of applications, fibers and resin withgood insulation property were selected to weave a variety of multi-layered hollowintegrated sandwich fabrics. An ordinary weaving machine was transformed in manyways to make a hollow integrated sandwich fabric sample (precast). Hand lay-upprocessing was used to compound resin with the fabric, producing the hollowintegrated sandwich composites with the properties of low weight and high strength.(2) Fiber reinforced silica aerogel which can be equally filled in hollow integrated sandwich composites was made in a way of what is known as a sol-geltwo-step with Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as silica source and short glass fiber asthe reinforced material in the normal pressure. Its exterior shape, density, porosity,thermal stability, flame-retardant properties, hydrophobic properties, mechanicalproperties and thermal conductivity were measured by an electron microscopy,thermal gravimetric (TG), the vertical combustion method, a Fourier transforminfrared spectrometer, an electronic fabric strength tester, a thermal conductivity tester,and other instruments.(3) Silica aerogels with high insulation properties were poured by a specialprocess into pores in the hollow integrated sandwich composites with high strength toform an organic composite as a whole. And their basic mechanical properties (flatpressure, side-tension, double-shear and four-bending) and thermal properties weretested.(4) Constituted of the hollow integrated sandwich composites filled with fiberreinforced aerogel was a heat-transfer model which was used to determine theirthermal conductivity:0.064~0.087W/m·K.The hollow integrated sandwich composites made in the experiemnt showed notonly the improved mechanical properties, but their greatly enhanced thermalinsulation. |