High-temperature and high-salt reservoirs are often accompanied by serious gas channeling in gas flooding,which will greatly affect the effect of gas injection development,so in-situ foaming of temperature-resistant a...High-temperature and high-salt reservoirs are often accompanied by serious gas channeling in gas flooding,which will greatly affect the effect of gas injection development,so in-situ foaming of temperature-resistant and salt-resistant foaming agents is commonly used to control gas channeling.The feasibility of the compound system of dodecyl hydroxyl sulfobetaine(HSB12)andα-olefin sulfonate(AOS)as foaming agent for sandstone reservoir was studied at 130℃and 22×10^(4)mg/L.The results showed that the foaming agent(HSB12 and AOS were compounded in a 6:1 mass ratio,in this article,this foaming agent is simply referred to as SA61)had good solubility in 22×10^(4)mg/L simulated formation water.Besides,the foaming volume of SA61 and HSB12 was similar,but the foam decay half-life of SA61was 10-25 times higher than that of HSB12.The foaming performance of SA61 on the surface of quartz sand remained above 90%of that before adsorption.The strong interaction between HSB12 and AOS in the compound system SA61 was demonstrated by surface rheological measurements and NMR studies of surfactants.The results of co re flow test showed that SA61 had better mobility control ability than HSB12under the same surfactant concentration.In addition,SA61 showed a selective mobility reduction in2005.30 and 632.00 mD cores.The above research results can guide the selection and application of foaming agent in clastic reservoir.展开更多
Poly(vinylidene fluoride)(PVDF)foam has received widespread attention due to its high strength,and excellent combination of flame-retardancy,antibacterial performance,and chemical stability.However,the foaming ability...Poly(vinylidene fluoride)(PVDF)foam has received widespread attention due to its high strength,and excellent combination of flame-retardancy,antibacterial performance,and chemical stability.However,the foaming ability of conventional PvDF is severely limited by its rapid crystallization kinetics and poor melt strength.Although ultra-high molecular weight PVDF(H-PVDF)theoretically offers prolonged melt elasticity favorable for foaming,the extremely high melt viscosity poses substantial processing challenges,and its foaming behavior has remained largely unexplored.To address these issues,this study proposes a novel fabrication strategy combining solvent casting with microcellular foaming to prepare H-PVDF foams.Dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry reveal that extensive chain entanglements in H-PVDF impose constraints on crystallization and significantly enhance melt strength.By tuning the processing parameters,the distinctive foaming be-havior of H-PVDF under various conditions is systematically elucidated.Remarkably,a record-high expansion ratio of 55.6-fold is achieved,ac-companied by a highly uniform and fine cellular structure.The resulting H-PVDF foams exhibit a low thermal conductivity of 31.8 mW·m^(-1).K^(-1),while retaining excellent compressive strength,flame-retardancy,and hydrophobicity.These outstanding properties highlight the great potential of H-PVDF foams as the thermal insulation materials for applications in aerospace,energy infrastructure,and other extreme environments.展开更多
Flexible polymer-based foam sensors have significant potential for application in wearable electronics and motion monitoring.However,these prospects are hindered by the complex and unenvironmentally friendly manufactu...Flexible polymer-based foam sensors have significant potential for application in wearable electronics and motion monitoring.However,these prospects are hindered by the complex and unenvironmentally friendly manufacturing processes.In this study,we employed melt blending and supercritical carbon dioxide foaming to fabricate an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer(EVA)/low-density polyethylene(LDPE)/carbon nanotube(CNT)piezoresistive foam sensor.The cross-linking agent bis(tert-butyldioxyisopropyl)benzene and the conductive filler CNT were incorporated into the EVA/LDPE composite,successfully achieving a chemically cross-linked and physically entangled composite structure that significantly enhanced the storage modulus and complex viscosity.Additionally,the compressive strength of EVA/LDPE/CNT foam with 10 parts per hundred rubber(phr)CNT reached 1.37 MPa at 50%compression,marking a 340%increase compared to the 0.31 MPa of the CNT-free sample.Furthermore,the EVA/LDPE/CNT composite foams,which incorporated 10 phr CNT,were prepared under specific foaming conditions,resulting in an ultra-low density of 0.11 g/cm^(3) and a higher sensitivity,with a gauge factor of–2.3.The piezoresistive foam sensors developed in this work could accurately detect human motion,thereby expanding their applications in the field of piezoresistive foam sensors and providing an effective strategy for the advancement of high-performance piezoresistive foam sensors.展开更多
To comprehensively assess the current state-of-art in asphalt foaming technology, the following four key aspectshave been reviewed systematically: foaming principles, test methods, evaluation indicators, and influenci...To comprehensively assess the current state-of-art in asphalt foaming technology, the following four key aspectshave been reviewed systematically: foaming principles, test methods, evaluation indicators, and influencing factors.Key findings reveal that asphalt foaming was primarily driven by the vaporization of water, with deteriorationprocesses including bubble collapse and liquid film drainage. However, the current understanding of asphaltfoaming principles remains limited, primarily due to difficulties in capturing and precisely measuring its microscopic behaviors during asphalt foaming process. Volume changes provided an intuitive means to evaluate theexpansion capacity of asphalt and its foaming stability. Bubble evolution characteristics of foamed asphalt offeredpromising insights into its foaming performance. Traditional ruler and stopwatch-based assessments were beingsuperseded by automated techniques like laser and ultrasonic ranging. Nevertheless, the current measuringequipment still lacks the capability to comprehensively evaluate the foaming effect of asphalt across various dimensions. Asphalt temperature and foaming water consumption significantly affected asphalt foaming performance, and the inclusion of foaming agents typically led to a notable increase in the half life of foamed asphalt.However, the interaction between foaming agents and asphalt, as well as the underlying mechanisms affecting thefoaming effect, are still unclear and require further exploration. Future research should primarily focus on thecorrelation between asphalt foaming effect and mixture performance, aiming to guide the practical engineeringapplication of foamed asphalt mixtures and enlarge the advantages of such low-emission and sustainable mixtures.展开更多
Tannin foam is a new functional material.It can be widely applied to the automobile industry,construction industry,and packaging industry due to its wide range of raw materials,renewable,easily degraded,low cost and a...Tannin foam is a new functional material.It can be widely applied to the automobile industry,construction industry,and packaging industry due to its wide range of raw materials,renewable,easily degraded,low cost and almost no pollution.Preparing tannin foam is a very complex process that includes high temperature,two phases,mechanical agitation,and phase change.To investigate the influence of the stirring velocity and paddle shape,simulation was calculated by making use of the volume of fluid(VOF)method and multiple reference frame(MRF)method in a three-dimensional flow field of tannin-based foaming precursor resin.The gas holdup and velocity magnitude were analysed with various conditions of mechanical velocities and paddle shape in the stirring flow field.The result shows the higher the velocity,the greater the disturbance and paddle shape between the eggbeater and the Rushton turbine,obviously the paddle shape of the eggbeater with a wider range of agitation,which can entrap more air into the tannin-based foaming precursor resin in a short time.Especially when the speed is 1500 rpm,the flow field of the Rushton turbine comes out of a ditch,which decreases the efficiency of mass transfer;there is less air to mix into the tannin-based foaming precursor resin,which causes unevenness.At the same time,the eggbeater shows the marvelous capability of hybrid as it has two vortexes and multiple cycles that make a difference from the Rushton turbine,which has only one vortex and two upper and lower loops;the structure makes the flow field more stable allowed evenness of flow field tannin-based foaming precursor resin.The results reveal that it is beneficial for tannin-based foaming precursor resin to use an eggbeater with a speed of 1500 rpm to reduce the consumption of resources while obtaining a uniform flow field.展开更多
Based on A356 aluminum alloy,aluminum foams were prepared by gas injection foaming process with pure nitrogen,air and some gas mixtures.The oxygen volume fraction of these gas mixtures varied from 0.2%to 8.0%.Optical ...Based on A356 aluminum alloy,aluminum foams were prepared by gas injection foaming process with pure nitrogen,air and some gas mixtures.The oxygen volume fraction of these gas mixtures varied from 0.2%to 8.0%.Optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and Auger electron spectroscopy（AES） were used to analyze the influence of oxygen content on cell structure,relative density,macro and micro morphology of cell walls,coverage area fraction of oxide film,thickness of oxide film and other aspects.Results indicate that the coverage area fraction of oxide film on bubble surface increases with the increase of oxygen content when the oxygen volume is less than 1.2%.While when the oxygen volume fraction is larger than 1.6%,an oxide film covers the entire bubble surface and aluminum foams with good cell structure can be produced.The thicknesses of oxide films of aluminum foams produced by gas mixtures containing 1.6%-21%oxygen are almost the same.The reasons why the thickness of oxide film nearly does not change with the variation of oxygen content and the amount of oxygen needed to achieve 100%coverage of oxide film are both discussed.In addition,the role of oxide film on bubble surface in foam stability is also analyzed.展开更多
In the range of 620？710 °C, air was blown into A356 aluminum alloy melt to produce aluminum foams. In order to study the influence of temperature on the thickness of oxide film on bubble surface, Auger electron ...In the range of 620？710 °C, air was blown into A356 aluminum alloy melt to produce aluminum foams. In order to study the influence of temperature on the thickness of oxide film on bubble surface, Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used. Based on the knowledge of corrosion science and hydrodynamics, two oxidation kinetics models of oxide film on bubble surface were established. The thicknesses of oxide films produced at different temperatures were predicted through those two models. Furthermore, the theoretical values were compared with the experimental values. The results indicate that in the range of 620？710 °C, the theoretical values of the thickness of oxide film predicted by the model including the rising process are higher than the experimental values. While, the theoretical values predicted by the model without the rising process are in good agreement with the experimental values, which shows this model objectively describes the oxidation process of oxide film on bubble surface. This work suggests that the oxidation kinetics of oxide film on bubble surface of aluminum foams produced by gas injection foaming process follows the Arrhenius equation.展开更多
A volume-adjustable cavity of molding machine for polymer foaming was fabricated with renovation of an ordinary injection molding machine. Polypropylene （PP） composite foams were prepared by chemical foaming method ...A volume-adjustable cavity of molding machine for polymer foaming was fabricated with renovation of an ordinary injection molding machine. Polypropylene （PP） composite foams were prepared by chemical foaming method via the volume-adjustable cavity of the molding machine. The decompressing and short shot processes in preparing the samples were carded out to adjust the cell structure of the foamed samples. The structures that foamed insufficiently, moder- ately, and excessively were observed in these two foaming processes. The foamed PP composite samples generated in decompressing pro- cess have more desirable cell s^cture than those generated by short shot process, specifically, the cell structure with the cell size of 46.97 IJxn, cell density of 3.18x 106 cell/cm3, and cell size dispersion of 10.76 ~m was achieved in the decompressing process. A controlled foaming process was realized through the decompressing process using the injection foaming equipment with a volume-adjustable cavity. The foamed PP composite has the insufficient, moderate, and excessive foamed structures in these two foaming processes.展开更多
The performances of a novel foaming agent used in the preparation process of aluminum foams were investigated, and the effects of some factors, such as addition of the foaming agent, foaming temperature on the porosit...The performances of a novel foaming agent used in the preparation process of aluminum foams were investigated, and the effects of some factors, such as addition of the foaming agent, foaming temperature on the porosity, and appearance of aluminum foams were also discussed. Experimental results show that the novel foaming agent has a wide decomposition temperature range and a mild decomposed rate; the foaming agent has the ability to enhance the viscosity of aluminum melt, as a result, an extra viscosifier such as Ca or SiCp is unnecessary while using this foaming agent; the bubble-free zone in material decreases and the foaming effi- ciency increases with the increase of foaming agent; the bubble-free zone disappears and the foaming efficiency is near 100% when the addition of foaming agent is more than 1.4wt%; the porosity of the aluminum foam increases with the increase of foaming agent when the addition of foaming agent is less than 2.2wt%.展开更多
Latex is one of the natural rubbers that is used to enhance the performance of asphalt pavement for the last few decades.The presence of latex,which is categorized as an elastomer,helps to improve pavement performance...Latex is one of the natural rubbers that is used to enhance the performance of asphalt pavement for the last few decades.The presence of latex,which is categorized as an elastomer,helps to improve pavement performance and durability.Conversely,higher viscosity of latex modified asphalt binder increases the production-temperatures of asphalt mixture,thus consuming higher energy during asphalt mixture’s production stage.In this study,the effectiveness of methanol as an energy-efficient foaming agent was assessed to reduce the viscosity and enhance the workability of the modified asphalt binder.The basic and rheological properties of the asphalt binders were determined through multiple laboratory tests including expansion ratio and half-life,rotational viscosity,softening point,torsional recovery,and dynamic shear rheometer.The properties of asphalt mixtures were assessed through the service characteristics,mechanical performance,and moisture resistance criteria.It was found that the presence of latex results in an approximately twofold higher expansion ratio and a lower half-life of the asphalt binder at about the same ratio.Through the rotational viscosity test,the application of methanol into asphalt binder decreased the viscosity and led to better workability,despite the addition of latex as an asphalt modifier.The application of methanol into asphalt binder improved the workability of mixture samples and lowered the compaction energy of the compaction process,which are the crucial criteria for a better mixing and compaction process.Methanol foamed asphalt mixtures with latex show much higher resistance to moisture damage and stiffness than control sample even though they were prepared at a lower temperature.展开更多
Aluminum foams were fabricated by melt-based route using ZrH2 as a foaming agent. The factors which affected the foaming of aluminum foams during casting process were investigated. The powdered zirconium hydride with ...Aluminum foams were fabricated by melt-based route using ZrH2 as a foaming agent. The factors which affected the foaming of aluminum foams during casting process were investigated. The powdered zirconium hydride with content of 0.6%-1.4% （mass fraction） was added to the molten pure aluminum and the foaming condition was controlled in a temperature range from 933 to 1 013 K, Ca amount of 1.5%-3.0% （mass fraction）, stirring time of 0.5-2.5 min and holding time of 1.5-4.0 min to obtain homogeneous aluminum foams. The fabricated aluminum foams were characterized by XRD, SEM and Image-pro plus. The mechanical properties of the aluminum foams with different relative density were tested. The result indicates that the foaming agent （ZrH2） is suitable for the preparation of small aperture aluminum foams with average pore diameter of 1 mm. Inter-metallic compounds and Al2O3 have effect on the melt viscosity. The aluminum foams experience linear elastic, platforms and densification process and had a higher efficiency of energy absorption.展开更多
A biodegradable blend foaming material of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT)/poly(propylene carbonate)(PPC)was successfully prepared by chemical foaming agent and screw extrusion method.First,PBAT was modif...A biodegradable blend foaming material of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT)/poly(propylene carbonate)(PPC)was successfully prepared by chemical foaming agent and screw extrusion method.First,PBAT was modified by bis(tert-butyl dioxy isopropyl)benzene(BIBP)for chain extension,and then the extended PBAT(E-PBAT)was foamed with PPC using a twin(single)screw extruder.By analyzing the properties of the blends,we found that Young’s modulus increased from 58.8 MPa of E-PBAT to 244.7 MPa of E-PBAT/PPC 50/50.The viscosity of the polymer has a critical influence on the formation of cells.Compared with neat PBAT(N-PBAT),the viscosity of E-PBAT increased by 3396 Pa·s and E-PBAT/PPC 50/50 increased by 8836 Pa·s.Meanwhile,the dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA)results showed that the storage modulus(E’)at room temperature increased from 538 MPa to 1650 MPa.The various phase morphologies(“sea-island”,“quasi-co-continuous”and“cocontinuous”)and crystallinity of the blends affected the spread velocity of gas and further affected the foaming morphology in E-PBAT/PPC foam.Therefore,through the analysis of phase morphology and foaming mechanism,we concluded that the E-PBAT/PPC 70/30 component has both excellent strength and the best foaming performance.展开更多
Semi open-cell aluminum foams having channels between individual cells were produced using low cost CaCO3foamingagent and applying the powder compact melting process.To this end,the aluminum and CaCO3powder mixtures w...Semi open-cell aluminum foams having channels between individual cells were produced using low cost CaCO3foamingagent and applying the powder compact melting process.To this end,the aluminum and CaCO3powder mixtures were coldcompacted into dense cylindrical precursors for foaming at specific temperatures under air atmosphere.The effects of severalparameters including precursor compaction pressure,foaming agent content as well as temperature and time of the foaming processon the cell microstructure,linear expansion,relative density and compressive properties were investigated.A uniform distribution ofcells with sizes less than100μm,which form semi open-cell structures with relative densities in the range of55.4%-84.4%,wasobtained.The elevation of compaction pressure between127-318MPa and blowing agent up to15%(mass fraction)led to anincrease in the linear expansion,compressive strength and densification strain.By varying the foaming temperature from800to1000°C,all of the investigated parameters increased except compressive strength and relative density.The results indicated theoptimal foaming temperature and time as900°C and10-25min,respectively.展开更多
Surfactants for enhanced oil recovery are important to study due to their special characteristics like foam generation,lowering interfacial tension between oleic and aqueous phases,and wettability alteration of reserv...Surfactants for enhanced oil recovery are important to study due to their special characteristics like foam generation,lowering interfacial tension between oleic and aqueous phases,and wettability alteration of reservoir rock surfaces.Foam is a good mobility control agent in enhanced oil recovery for improving the mobility ratio.In the present work,the foaming behavior of three nonionic ethoxylated surfactants,namely Tergitol 15-S-7,Tergitol 15-S-9,and Tergitol 15-S-12,was studied experimentally.Among the surfactants,Tergitol 15-S-12 shows the highest foamability.The effect of Na Cl concentration and synthetic seawater on foaming behavior of the surfactants was investigated by the test-tube shaking method.The critical micelle concentrations of aqueous solutions of the different nonionic surfactants were measured at 300 K.It was found that the critical micelle concentrations of all surfactants also increased with increasing ethylene oxide number.Dynamic light scattering experiments were performed to investigate the micelle sizes of the surfactants at their respective critical micelle concentrations.Core flooding experiments were carried out in sand packs using the surfactant solutions.It was found tha t22% additional oil was recovered in the case of all the surfactants over secondary water flooding.Tergitol 15-S-12exhibited the maximum additional oil recovery which is more than 26%after water injection.展开更多
To prepare the porous NC-based(nitrocellulose-based) gun propellants,the batch foaming process of using supercritical CO_2 as the physical blowing agent is used.The solubilities of CO_2 in the single-base propellants ...To prepare the porous NC-based(nitrocellulose-based) gun propellants,the batch foaming process of using supercritical CO_2 as the physical blowing agent is used.The solubilities of CO_2 in the single-base propellants and TEGDN(trimethyleneglycol dinitrate) propellants are measured by the gravimetric method,and SEM(scanning electron microscope) is used to observe the morphology of foamed propellants.The result shows that a large amount of CO_2 could be dissolved in NC-based propellants.The experimental results also reveal that the energetic plasticizer TEGDN exerts an important influence on the pore structure.The triaxial tensile failure mechanism for solid-state nucleation is used to explain the nucleation of NC-based propellants in the sol id state.Since some specific foaming behaviors of NC-based propellants can not be explained by the failure mechanism,a solid-state nucleation mechanism which revises the triaxial tensile failure mechanism is proposed and discussed.展开更多
Replacement of TiH2 as foaming agent by CaCO3（lime） and CaMg（CO3）2（dolomite） for AlMg4.5-and AlSi9Cu3-foams was investigated considering inluences on foaming capability and cellular structure.Precursor materials...Replacement of TiH2 as foaming agent by CaCO3（lime） and CaMg（CO3）2（dolomite） for AlMg4.5-and AlSi9Cu3-foams was investigated considering inluences on foaming capability and cellular structure.Precursor materials were produced from alloy chip and powder mixtures by means of the thixocasting process.AlSi9Cu3 variants showed expansion levels suffcient for commercial use.Variations in expansion observed when CaCO3 and CaMg（CO3）2 were compared as foaming agent are explained based on the course of decomposition.Improved performance of dolomite-based foams relies on formation of stabilizing MgO phases,which do not develop during decomposition of CaCO3 in Al-Si-Cu alloys展开更多
A new technique, powder compact foaming process for the production of aluminumfoams has been studied in this article. According to this method, the aluminum pow-der is mixed with a powder foaming agent (TiH_2). Subseq...A new technique, powder compact foaming process for the production of aluminumfoams has been studied in this article. According to this method, the aluminum pow-der is mixed with a powder foaming agent (TiH_2). Subsequent to mixing, the powderblend is hot compacted to obtain a dense semi--finished product. Upon heating to tem-peratures within the range of the melting point, the foaming agent decomposes to evolvegas and the semi--finished product expands into a porous cellular aluminum. Foamingprocess is the key in this method. Based on experiments, the foaming characteris-tics were mainly analyzed and discussed. Experiments show that the aluminum--foamwith closed pores and a uniform cell structure of high porosity can be obtained usingthis method by adjusting the foaming parameters: the content of foaming agent andfoaming temperature.展开更多
Most of traditional linear poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)resins of relatively low molecular mass and narrow molecular mass distribution have low melt strength at foaming temperatures,which are not enough to support...Most of traditional linear poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)resins of relatively low molecular mass and narrow molecular mass distribution have low melt strength at foaming temperatures,which are not enough to support and keep cells.An in-situ polymerization-modification process with esterification and polycondensation stages was performed in a 2 L batch stirred reactor using pyromellitic dianhydride(PMDA)or pentaerythritol(PENTA)as modifying monomers to obtain PETs with high melt strength.The influence of amounts of modifying monomers on the properties of modified PET was investigated.It was found that the selected modifying monomers could effectively introduce branched structures into the modified PETs and improve their melt strength.With increasing the amount of the modifying monomer,the melt strength of the modified PET increased.But when the amount of PENTA reached 0.35%or PMDA reached 0.9%,crosslinking phenomenon was observed in the modified PET.Supercritical carbon dioxide(ScCO2)was employed as physical foaming agent to evaluate the foaming ability of modified PETs.The modified PETs had good foaming properties at 14 MPa of CO2pressure with foaming temperature ranging from 265°C to 280°C.SEM micrographs demonstrated that both modified PET foams had homogeneous cellular structures,with cell diameter ranging from 35μm to 49μm for PENTA modified PETs and38μm to 57μm for PMDA modified ones.Correspondingly,the cell density had a range of 3.5×107cells·cm 3to 7×106cells·cm 3for the former and 2.8×107cells·cm 3to 5.8×106cells·cm 3for the latter.展开更多
Crushable ceramic foams are more suitable to be used as an arrestor material applied in engineered materials arresting system （EMAS） for airport runway for their properties of widely controllable strength, negligibl...Crushable ceramic foams are more suitable to be used as an arrestor material applied in engineered materials arresting system （EMAS） for airport runway for their properties of widely controllable strength, negligible crushing-rebounding behavior, durability, and chemically-inert composition, comparing with traditional concrete foams. The synthesis of ceramic foams adopted direct-foaming method and used an animal protein as foaming agent. Kaolin, talc powder and alumina were the main raw materials. Effects of the ratios of raw materials, calcination temperatures, heating rates, holding time, viscosities of potyvinyl alcohol （PVA） solution as well as the amounts of protein foaming agent and water on microscopic structure, densities, compressive strength and open porosities of ceramic foams were investigated systematically. The results indicate that ceramic foams with typical pore sizes 100-300 μm, open porosities from 73.1% to 91.5%, densities from 0.25 to 0.62 g.cm-3, compressive strength from 0.19 to 4.89 MPa, are obtained by properly adjusting the parameters mentioned above. And the mechanical strength meets the requirement for the EMAS for airport runway. In addition, good correlations are observed among compressive strength, open porosity, microscopic structure, and crystal phase. Furthermore, the possibility of producing the general dimensions of such aircraft arresting components with the proposed method was also discussed.展开更多
Foam-like materials had attracted great interest as promising absorbent. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU) block sponge was synthesized. Polyester(PET) braid tubular reinforced polyurethane(PU) spongy hol...Foam-like materials had attracted great interest as promising absorbent. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU) block sponge was synthesized. Polyester(PET) braid tubular reinforced polyurethane(PU) spongy hollow fiber membrane was prepared by a concentric circular spinning method. The method was woven from an outer coated water-blown PU separation layer and inner PET braid tubular. We have developed a simple and useful preparation technique for the PU spongy hollow fiber membrane. For the first time, the PU spongy hollow fiber membrane was prepared using a coating and controlled foaming technique. The influence of toluene isocyanate index on the physical properties, morphology, and structure of flexible PU sponge was discussed in terms of water contact angle(CA), pure water flux(PWF), Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis(FTIR),pressure-responsive property, and pull-out strength. The morphologies of the membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. We have characterized the foams from an intuitive point of view and demonstrated that the dimensional morphology of the membrane was closely related to isocyanate index. The result showed that the surface cell size of the PU sponge hollow fiber membrane gradually decreased with an increase of the isocyanate index. Due to the elasticity of PU at room temperature, the pressure responsive characteristic of the membrane was prepared. When isocyanate index was 1.05, the interface bonding strength of PU spongy hollow fiber membranes reached as high as 0.37 MPa, porosity and PWF were 71.5% and 415.5 L·m^-2·h^-1,respectively.展开更多
基金financial support from the Major Scientific and Technological Projects of CNPC(Award No.ZD2019-183-007)。
文摘High-temperature and high-salt reservoirs are often accompanied by serious gas channeling in gas flooding,which will greatly affect the effect of gas injection development,so in-situ foaming of temperature-resistant and salt-resistant foaming agents is commonly used to control gas channeling.The feasibility of the compound system of dodecyl hydroxyl sulfobetaine(HSB12)andα-olefin sulfonate(AOS)as foaming agent for sandstone reservoir was studied at 130℃and 22×10^(4)mg/L.The results showed that the foaming agent(HSB12 and AOS were compounded in a 6:1 mass ratio,in this article,this foaming agent is simply referred to as SA61)had good solubility in 22×10^(4)mg/L simulated formation water.Besides,the foaming volume of SA61 and HSB12 was similar,but the foam decay half-life of SA61was 10-25 times higher than that of HSB12.The foaming performance of SA61 on the surface of quartz sand remained above 90%of that before adsorption.The strong interaction between HSB12 and AOS in the compound system SA61 was demonstrated by surface rheological measurements and NMR studies of surfactants.The results of co re flow test showed that SA61 had better mobility control ability than HSB12under the same surfactant concentration.In addition,SA61 showed a selective mobility reduction in2005.30 and 632.00 mD cores.The above research results can guide the selection and application of foaming agent in clastic reservoir.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52175341)Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(No.ZR2022JQ24)+2 种基金Funding Project of Jinan City's New Twenty Items for Colleges and Universities(No.202333038)Excellent Young Team Project of Central Universities(No.2023QNTD002)Qingdao Key Technology Research and Industrialization Demonstration Project(No.24-1-2-qljh-10-gx).
文摘Poly(vinylidene fluoride)(PVDF)foam has received widespread attention due to its high strength,and excellent combination of flame-retardancy,antibacterial performance,and chemical stability.However,the foaming ability of conventional PvDF is severely limited by its rapid crystallization kinetics and poor melt strength.Although ultra-high molecular weight PVDF(H-PVDF)theoretically offers prolonged melt elasticity favorable for foaming,the extremely high melt viscosity poses substantial processing challenges,and its foaming behavior has remained largely unexplored.To address these issues,this study proposes a novel fabrication strategy combining solvent casting with microcellular foaming to prepare H-PVDF foams.Dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry reveal that extensive chain entanglements in H-PVDF impose constraints on crystallization and significantly enhance melt strength.By tuning the processing parameters,the distinctive foaming be-havior of H-PVDF under various conditions is systematically elucidated.Remarkably,a record-high expansion ratio of 55.6-fold is achieved,ac-companied by a highly uniform and fine cellular structure.The resulting H-PVDF foams exhibit a low thermal conductivity of 31.8 mW·m^(-1).K^(-1),while retaining excellent compressive strength,flame-retardancy,and hydrophobicity.These outstanding properties highlight the great potential of H-PVDF foams as the thermal insulation materials for applications in aerospace,energy infrastructure,and other extreme environments.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52473026)。
文摘Flexible polymer-based foam sensors have significant potential for application in wearable electronics and motion monitoring.However,these prospects are hindered by the complex and unenvironmentally friendly manufacturing processes.In this study,we employed melt blending and supercritical carbon dioxide foaming to fabricate an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer(EVA)/low-density polyethylene(LDPE)/carbon nanotube(CNT)piezoresistive foam sensor.The cross-linking agent bis(tert-butyldioxyisopropyl)benzene and the conductive filler CNT were incorporated into the EVA/LDPE composite,successfully achieving a chemically cross-linked and physically entangled composite structure that significantly enhanced the storage modulus and complex viscosity.Additionally,the compressive strength of EVA/LDPE/CNT foam with 10 parts per hundred rubber(phr)CNT reached 1.37 MPa at 50%compression,marking a 340%increase compared to the 0.31 MPa of the CNT-free sample.Furthermore,the EVA/LDPE/CNT composite foams,which incorporated 10 phr CNT,were prepared under specific foaming conditions,resulting in an ultra-low density of 0.11 g/cm^(3) and a higher sensitivity,with a gauge factor of–2.3.The piezoresistive foam sensors developed in this work could accurately detect human motion,thereby expanding their applications in the field of piezoresistive foam sensors and providing an effective strategy for the advancement of high-performance piezoresistive foam sensors.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52378452)Postgraduate Research&Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province(KYCX23_1193)+1 种基金Nanjing Transportation Science and Technology Project(JSZC-320100-HBGLC2023-0037)Nantong Highway Development Center Science and Technology Project(2022PMLQYJ)and 333 High-level Talent Project of Jiangsu Province(6th).
文摘To comprehensively assess the current state-of-art in asphalt foaming technology, the following four key aspectshave been reviewed systematically: foaming principles, test methods, evaluation indicators, and influencing factors.Key findings reveal that asphalt foaming was primarily driven by the vaporization of water, with deteriorationprocesses including bubble collapse and liquid film drainage. However, the current understanding of asphaltfoaming principles remains limited, primarily due to difficulties in capturing and precisely measuring its microscopic behaviors during asphalt foaming process. Volume changes provided an intuitive means to evaluate theexpansion capacity of asphalt and its foaming stability. Bubble evolution characteristics of foamed asphalt offeredpromising insights into its foaming performance. Traditional ruler and stopwatch-based assessments were beingsuperseded by automated techniques like laser and ultrasonic ranging. Nevertheless, the current measuringequipment still lacks the capability to comprehensively evaluate the foaming effect of asphalt across various dimensions. Asphalt temperature and foaming water consumption significantly affected asphalt foaming performance, and the inclusion of foaming agents typically led to a notable increase in the half life of foamed asphalt.However, the interaction between foaming agents and asphalt, as well as the underlying mechanisms affecting thefoaming effect, are still unclear and require further exploration. Future research should primarily focus on thecorrelation between asphalt foaming effect and mixture performance, aiming to guide the practical engineeringapplication of foamed asphalt mixtures and enlarge the advantages of such low-emission and sustainable mixtures.
基金supported by the Key Program of Applied and Basic Research in Yunnan Province(Grant No.202101AS070008)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC 31760187)+4 种基金supported by the 111 Project(D21027)the Yunnan Provincial Academician Workstation(YSZJGZZ-2020052)the Foreign Expert Workstation(202305AF150006)supported by the Scientific Research Foundation of Education Department of Yunnan Province(Grant Nos.2023J0696,2023Y0699)Foreign Talent Introduction Program of Science and Technology Department of Yunnan Province(Grant No.202305AO350002).
文摘Tannin foam is a new functional material.It can be widely applied to the automobile industry,construction industry,and packaging industry due to its wide range of raw materials,renewable,easily degraded,low cost and almost no pollution.Preparing tannin foam is a very complex process that includes high temperature,two phases,mechanical agitation,and phase change.To investigate the influence of the stirring velocity and paddle shape,simulation was calculated by making use of the volume of fluid(VOF)method and multiple reference frame(MRF)method in a three-dimensional flow field of tannin-based foaming precursor resin.The gas holdup and velocity magnitude were analysed with various conditions of mechanical velocities and paddle shape in the stirring flow field.The result shows the higher the velocity,the greater the disturbance and paddle shape between the eggbeater and the Rushton turbine,obviously the paddle shape of the eggbeater with a wider range of agitation,which can entrap more air into the tannin-based foaming precursor resin in a short time.Especially when the speed is 1500 rpm,the flow field of the Rushton turbine comes out of a ditch,which decreases the efficiency of mass transfer;there is less air to mix into the tannin-based foaming precursor resin,which causes unevenness.At the same time,the eggbeater shows the marvelous capability of hybrid as it has two vortexes and multiple cycles that make a difference from the Rushton turbine,which has only one vortex and two upper and lower loops;the structure makes the flow field more stable allowed evenness of flow field tannin-based foaming precursor resin.The results reveal that it is beneficial for tannin-based foaming precursor resin to use an eggbeater with a speed of 1500 rpm to reduce the consumption of resources while obtaining a uniform flow field.
基金Project(51371104)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Based on A356 aluminum alloy,aluminum foams were prepared by gas injection foaming process with pure nitrogen,air and some gas mixtures.The oxygen volume fraction of these gas mixtures varied from 0.2%to 8.0%.Optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and Auger electron spectroscopy（AES） were used to analyze the influence of oxygen content on cell structure,relative density,macro and micro morphology of cell walls,coverage area fraction of oxide film,thickness of oxide film and other aspects.Results indicate that the coverage area fraction of oxide film on bubble surface increases with the increase of oxygen content when the oxygen volume is less than 1.2%.While when the oxygen volume fraction is larger than 1.6%,an oxide film covers the entire bubble surface and aluminum foams with good cell structure can be produced.The thicknesses of oxide films of aluminum foams produced by gas mixtures containing 1.6%-21%oxygen are almost the same.The reasons why the thickness of oxide film nearly does not change with the variation of oxygen content and the amount of oxygen needed to achieve 100%coverage of oxide film are both discussed.In addition,the role of oxide film on bubble surface in foam stability is also analyzed.
基金Project(51371104)supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China
文摘In the range of 620？710 °C, air was blown into A356 aluminum alloy melt to produce aluminum foams. In order to study the influence of temperature on the thickness of oxide film on bubble surface, Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used. Based on the knowledge of corrosion science and hydrodynamics, two oxidation kinetics models of oxide film on bubble surface were established. The thicknesses of oxide films produced at different temperatures were predicted through those two models. Furthermore, the theoretical values were compared with the experimental values. The results indicate that in the range of 620？710 °C, the theoretical values of the thickness of oxide film predicted by the model including the rising process are higher than the experimental values. While, the theoretical values predicted by the model without the rising process are in good agreement with the experimental values, which shows this model objectively describes the oxidation process of oxide film on bubble surface. This work suggests that the oxidation kinetics of oxide film on bubble surface of aluminum foams produced by gas injection foaming process follows the Arrhenius equation.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21264004)the Guizhou Province Inorganic Nonmetallic Key Laboratory of Functional Materials(2012-004)the Industry Revitalization Plan Project of Guiyang City(2012101-3-9)
文摘A volume-adjustable cavity of molding machine for polymer foaming was fabricated with renovation of an ordinary injection molding machine. Polypropylene （PP） composite foams were prepared by chemical foaming method via the volume-adjustable cavity of the molding machine. The decompressing and short shot processes in preparing the samples were carded out to adjust the cell structure of the foamed samples. The structures that foamed insufficiently, moder- ately, and excessively were observed in these two foaming processes. The foamed PP composite samples generated in decompressing pro- cess have more desirable cell s^cture than those generated by short shot process, specifically, the cell structure with the cell size of 46.97 IJxn, cell density of 3.18x 106 cell/cm3, and cell size dispersion of 10.76 ~m was achieved in the decompressing process. A controlled foaming process was realized through the decompressing process using the injection foaming equipment with a volume-adjustable cavity. The foamed PP composite has the insufficient, moderate, and excessive foamed structures in these two foaming processes.
基金supported by Hunan Science and Technology Program Project (No.06SK2011)
文摘The performances of a novel foaming agent used in the preparation process of aluminum foams were investigated, and the effects of some factors, such as addition of the foaming agent, foaming temperature on the porosity, and appearance of aluminum foams were also discussed. Experimental results show that the novel foaming agent has a wide decomposition temperature range and a mild decomposed rate; the foaming agent has the ability to enhance the viscosity of aluminum melt, as a result, an extra viscosifier such as Ca or SiCp is unnecessary while using this foaming agent; the bubble-free zone in material decreases and the foaming effi- ciency increases with the increase of foaming agent; the bubble-free zone disappears and the foaming efficiency is near 100% when the addition of foaming agent is more than 1.4wt%; the porosity of the aluminum foam increases with the increase of foaming agent when the addition of foaming agent is less than 2.2wt%.
基金support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(grant no.52078048,51750110491).
文摘Latex is one of the natural rubbers that is used to enhance the performance of asphalt pavement for the last few decades.The presence of latex,which is categorized as an elastomer,helps to improve pavement performance and durability.Conversely,higher viscosity of latex modified asphalt binder increases the production-temperatures of asphalt mixture,thus consuming higher energy during asphalt mixture’s production stage.In this study,the effectiveness of methanol as an energy-efficient foaming agent was assessed to reduce the viscosity and enhance the workability of the modified asphalt binder.The basic and rheological properties of the asphalt binders were determined through multiple laboratory tests including expansion ratio and half-life,rotational viscosity,softening point,torsional recovery,and dynamic shear rheometer.The properties of asphalt mixtures were assessed through the service characteristics,mechanical performance,and moisture resistance criteria.It was found that the presence of latex results in an approximately twofold higher expansion ratio and a lower half-life of the asphalt binder at about the same ratio.Through the rotational viscosity test,the application of methanol into asphalt binder decreased the viscosity and led to better workability,despite the addition of latex as an asphalt modifier.The application of methanol into asphalt binder improved the workability of mixture samples and lowered the compaction energy of the compaction process,which are the crucial criteria for a better mixing and compaction process.Methanol foamed asphalt mixtures with latex show much higher resistance to moisture damage and stiffness than control sample even though they were prepared at a lower temperature.
基金Project (2004AA33G060) supported by the National High-tech Research and Development Program of China
文摘Aluminum foams were fabricated by melt-based route using ZrH2 as a foaming agent. The factors which affected the foaming of aluminum foams during casting process were investigated. The powdered zirconium hydride with content of 0.6%-1.4% （mass fraction） was added to the molten pure aluminum and the foaming condition was controlled in a temperature range from 933 to 1 013 K, Ca amount of 1.5%-3.0% （mass fraction）, stirring time of 0.5-2.5 min and holding time of 1.5-4.0 min to obtain homogeneous aluminum foams. The fabricated aluminum foams were characterized by XRD, SEM and Image-pro plus. The mechanical properties of the aluminum foams with different relative density were tested. The result indicates that the foaming agent （ZrH2） is suitable for the preparation of small aperture aluminum foams with average pore diameter of 1 mm. Inter-metallic compounds and Al2O3 have effect on the melt viscosity. The aluminum foams experience linear elastic, platforms and densification process and had a higher efficiency of energy absorption.
基金financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFC0501402)Science and Technology Services Network Program of Chinese Science Academy(STS Project)(No.KFJSTS-ZDTP-082)Chinese Academy of Sciences(Changchun Branch)(Nos.2020SYHZ0002 and No.2020SYHZ0047)。
文摘A biodegradable blend foaming material of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT)/poly(propylene carbonate)(PPC)was successfully prepared by chemical foaming agent and screw extrusion method.First,PBAT was modified by bis(tert-butyl dioxy isopropyl)benzene(BIBP)for chain extension,and then the extended PBAT(E-PBAT)was foamed with PPC using a twin(single)screw extruder.By analyzing the properties of the blends,we found that Young’s modulus increased from 58.8 MPa of E-PBAT to 244.7 MPa of E-PBAT/PPC 50/50.The viscosity of the polymer has a critical influence on the formation of cells.Compared with neat PBAT(N-PBAT),the viscosity of E-PBAT increased by 3396 Pa·s and E-PBAT/PPC 50/50 increased by 8836 Pa·s.Meanwhile,the dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA)results showed that the storage modulus(E’)at room temperature increased from 538 MPa to 1650 MPa.The various phase morphologies(“sea-island”,“quasi-co-continuous”and“cocontinuous”)and crystallinity of the blends affected the spread velocity of gas and further affected the foaming morphology in E-PBAT/PPC foam.Therefore,through the analysis of phase morphology and foaming mechanism,we concluded that the E-PBAT/PPC 70/30 component has both excellent strength and the best foaming performance.
文摘Semi open-cell aluminum foams having channels between individual cells were produced using low cost CaCO3foamingagent and applying the powder compact melting process.To this end,the aluminum and CaCO3powder mixtures were coldcompacted into dense cylindrical precursors for foaming at specific temperatures under air atmosphere.The effects of severalparameters including precursor compaction pressure,foaming agent content as well as temperature and time of the foaming processon the cell microstructure,linear expansion,relative density and compressive properties were investigated.A uniform distribution ofcells with sizes less than100μm,which form semi open-cell structures with relative densities in the range of55.4%-84.4%,wasobtained.The elevation of compaction pressure between127-318MPa and blowing agent up to15%(mass fraction)led to anincrease in the linear expansion,compressive strength and densification strain.By varying the foaming temperature from800to1000°C,all of the investigated parameters increased except compressive strength and relative density.The results indicated theoptimal foaming temperature and time as900°C and10-25min,respectively.
基金the financial support provided by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research [22(0649)/13/EMR-II], New Delhi, to the Department of Petroleum Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India
文摘Surfactants for enhanced oil recovery are important to study due to their special characteristics like foam generation,lowering interfacial tension between oleic and aqueous phases,and wettability alteration of reservoir rock surfaces.Foam is a good mobility control agent in enhanced oil recovery for improving the mobility ratio.In the present work,the foaming behavior of three nonionic ethoxylated surfactants,namely Tergitol 15-S-7,Tergitol 15-S-9,and Tergitol 15-S-12,was studied experimentally.Among the surfactants,Tergitol 15-S-12 shows the highest foamability.The effect of Na Cl concentration and synthetic seawater on foaming behavior of the surfactants was investigated by the test-tube shaking method.The critical micelle concentrations of aqueous solutions of the different nonionic surfactants were measured at 300 K.It was found that the critical micelle concentrations of all surfactants also increased with increasing ethylene oxide number.Dynamic light scattering experiments were performed to investigate the micelle sizes of the surfactants at their respective critical micelle concentrations.Core flooding experiments were carried out in sand packs using the surfactant solutions.It was found tha t22% additional oil was recovered in the case of all the surfactants over secondary water flooding.Tergitol 15-S-12exhibited the maximum additional oil recovery which is more than 26%after water injection.
基金funded by the priority academic program development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions
文摘To prepare the porous NC-based(nitrocellulose-based) gun propellants,the batch foaming process of using supercritical CO_2 as the physical blowing agent is used.The solubilities of CO_2 in the single-base propellants and TEGDN(trimethyleneglycol dinitrate) propellants are measured by the gravimetric method,and SEM(scanning electron microscope) is used to observe the morphology of foamed propellants.The result shows that a large amount of CO_2 could be dissolved in NC-based propellants.The experimental results also reveal that the energetic plasticizer TEGDN exerts an important influence on the pore structure.The triaxial tensile failure mechanism for solid-state nucleation is used to explain the nucleation of NC-based propellants in the sol id state.Since some specific foaming behaviors of NC-based propellants can not be explained by the failure mechanism,a solid-state nucleation mechanism which revises the triaxial tensile failure mechanism is proposed and discussed.
文摘Replacement of TiH2 as foaming agent by CaCO3（lime） and CaMg（CO3）2（dolomite） for AlMg4.5-and AlSi9Cu3-foams was investigated considering inluences on foaming capability and cellular structure.Precursor materials were produced from alloy chip and powder mixtures by means of the thixocasting process.AlSi9Cu3 variants showed expansion levels suffcient for commercial use.Variations in expansion observed when CaCO3 and CaMg（CO3）2 were compared as foaming agent are explained based on the course of decomposition.Improved performance of dolomite-based foams relies on formation of stabilizing MgO phases,which do not develop during decomposition of CaCO3 in Al-Si-Cu alloys
文摘A new technique, powder compact foaming process for the production of aluminumfoams has been studied in this article. According to this method, the aluminum pow-der is mixed with a powder foaming agent (TiH_2). Subsequent to mixing, the powderblend is hot compacted to obtain a dense semi--finished product. Upon heating to tem-peratures within the range of the melting point, the foaming agent decomposes to evolvegas and the semi--finished product expands into a porous cellular aluminum. Foamingprocess is the key in this method. Based on experiments, the foaming characteris-tics were mainly analyzed and discussed. Experiments show that the aluminum--foamwith closed pores and a uniform cell structure of high porosity can be obtained usingthis method by adjusting the foaming parameters: the content of foaming agent andfoaming temperature.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China（21176070） the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China（2012AA040211）+2 种基金 the Joint Research Project of Yangtze River Delta（12195810900） the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education（20120074120019） the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
文摘Most of traditional linear poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)resins of relatively low molecular mass and narrow molecular mass distribution have low melt strength at foaming temperatures,which are not enough to support and keep cells.An in-situ polymerization-modification process with esterification and polycondensation stages was performed in a 2 L batch stirred reactor using pyromellitic dianhydride(PMDA)or pentaerythritol(PENTA)as modifying monomers to obtain PETs with high melt strength.The influence of amounts of modifying monomers on the properties of modified PET was investigated.It was found that the selected modifying monomers could effectively introduce branched structures into the modified PETs and improve their melt strength.With increasing the amount of the modifying monomer,the melt strength of the modified PET increased.But when the amount of PENTA reached 0.35%or PMDA reached 0.9%,crosslinking phenomenon was observed in the modified PET.Supercritical carbon dioxide(ScCO2)was employed as physical foaming agent to evaluate the foaming ability of modified PETs.The modified PETs had good foaming properties at 14 MPa of CO2pressure with foaming temperature ranging from 265°C to 280°C.SEM micrographs demonstrated that both modified PET foams had homogeneous cellular structures,with cell diameter ranging from 35μm to 49μm for PENTA modified PETs and38μm to 57μm for PMDA modified ones.Correspondingly,the cell density had a range of 3.5×107cells·cm 3to 7×106cells·cm 3for the former and 2.8×107cells·cm 3to 5.8×106cells·cm 3for the latter.
基金Funded partly by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51202151)
文摘Crushable ceramic foams are more suitable to be used as an arrestor material applied in engineered materials arresting system （EMAS） for airport runway for their properties of widely controllable strength, negligible crushing-rebounding behavior, durability, and chemically-inert composition, comparing with traditional concrete foams. The synthesis of ceramic foams adopted direct-foaming method and used an animal protein as foaming agent. Kaolin, talc powder and alumina were the main raw materials. Effects of the ratios of raw materials, calcination temperatures, heating rates, holding time, viscosities of potyvinyl alcohol （PVA） solution as well as the amounts of protein foaming agent and water on microscopic structure, densities, compressive strength and open porosities of ceramic foams were investigated systematically. The results indicate that ceramic foams with typical pore sizes 100-300 μm, open porosities from 73.1% to 91.5%, densities from 0.25 to 0.62 g.cm-3, compressive strength from 0.19 to 4.89 MPa, are obtained by properly adjusting the parameters mentioned above. And the mechanical strength meets the requirement for the EMAS for airport runway. In addition, good correlations are observed among compressive strength, open porosity, microscopic structure, and crystal phase. Furthermore, the possibility of producing the general dimensions of such aircraft arresting components with the proposed method was also discussed.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51673149, 51603146)Industrial innovation project of TJOA (BHSF2017-01)
文摘Foam-like materials had attracted great interest as promising absorbent. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU) block sponge was synthesized. Polyester(PET) braid tubular reinforced polyurethane(PU) spongy hollow fiber membrane was prepared by a concentric circular spinning method. The method was woven from an outer coated water-blown PU separation layer and inner PET braid tubular. We have developed a simple and useful preparation technique for the PU spongy hollow fiber membrane. For the first time, the PU spongy hollow fiber membrane was prepared using a coating and controlled foaming technique. The influence of toluene isocyanate index on the physical properties, morphology, and structure of flexible PU sponge was discussed in terms of water contact angle(CA), pure water flux(PWF), Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis(FTIR),pressure-responsive property, and pull-out strength. The morphologies of the membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. We have characterized the foams from an intuitive point of view and demonstrated that the dimensional morphology of the membrane was closely related to isocyanate index. The result showed that the surface cell size of the PU sponge hollow fiber membrane gradually decreased with an increase of the isocyanate index. Due to the elasticity of PU at room temperature, the pressure responsive characteristic of the membrane was prepared. When isocyanate index was 1.05, the interface bonding strength of PU spongy hollow fiber membranes reached as high as 0.37 MPa, porosity and PWF were 71.5% and 415.5 L·m^-2·h^-1,respectively.
