Mechanical properties and characteristics of structural insulated panels with a novel cellulose nanofibril-based composite foam core

Abstract

The cellulose nanofibril material utilized in structural composites has attracted considerable attention in recent decades. However, developing and manufacturing such products are still somewhat problematic. In this research, cellulose nanofibril aerogel and epoxy/cellulose nanofibril composite foam with different epoxy weight ratios have been developed to make structural insulated panels. A batch of small-scale samples was used to investigate the mechanical properties and characteristics of structural insulated panels with different cellulose nanofibril-based core materials. The morphology showed that the epoxy uniformly encapsulated the cellulose nanofibril fiber walls, and the cellulose nanofibrils were the critical components to form a three-dimensional framework. The ratio of epoxy and cellulose nanofibril in these composite foams had a noticeable effect on their mechanical properties. Moreover, the thermal conductivities for pure cellulose nanofibril, epoxy/CNF10, and epoxy/CNF5 samples were 0.034, 0.045, and 0.050 W/mK, respectively. These thermal values are in the similar range of commercial insulated foam in current use.