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Developing Super Insulating Materials Although they were not able to fully achieve their goals, the researchers made important progress in the development of super insulating materials as a result of their study of materials with high porosity and of nonspherical pores that are nanometer in size. The technical work followed two major tracks: the fabrication of polyethylene and polystyrene foams with carbon dioxide blowing while attempting explicitly to control the formation of the air pores, and the development of new process technology for the synthesis of aerogels for use in insulation products. The blowing of polyethylene
and polystyrene foams with carbon dioxide entailed substantial challenges
in attempting to optimize the mechanics to achieve the foam without a
pressure drop leading to collapse of air cells. The researchers ran into
problems working with polyethylene and, in addition, concluded that modification
to extruder equipment would be necessary to achieve success with carbon
dioxide as the blowing agent. Both changes raised production costs. Armstrong
subsequently shifted away from polyethylene to other thermoplastics and
began blowing with butane, in addition to carbon dioxide, but costs could
not be lowered enough to justify commercialization. No patents or papers
resulted from this track of the ATP-sponsored research. Researchers achieved more technical success in their work on process technology for the synthesis of aerogels. The aerogels and xerogels produced by the process have both a high porosity and small pores; that is, the resulting material is microporous, with about 25 percent of the pore volume in pores less than 50 nanometers in diameter. The process also promises to substantially lower the costs of aerogel production. Armstrong received three patents for its technical advances in aerogel synthesis. Company Shifts Later company reorganizations
and strategy shifts changed the company’s plans for applying its
new technical know-how. Armstrong officials concluded that — despite
the remarkable insulating properties of the aerogels and the new process
technology, which dramatically reduced production costs — the unit
costs were still too high to penetrate the structural insulation market.
The company’s initial excitement over the potential of aerogels for
the structural market dimmed. Armstrong scaled back its estimated demand
for aerogels and decided to procure what it needed through suppliers rather
than produce them in-house. In fall 1996 Armstrong
combined, with another unit, the research unit where the ATP project was
carried out, a consolidation that also entailed personnel changes. The
principal investigator on the ATP project left Armstrong and set up a
separate business that is reportedly working in areas related to the ATP
project. This movement of people who worked on the research project and
the establishment of a new business pursuing related technological goals
may provide yet another possible path of technology diffusion. Over time, Armstrong’s primary interest has shifted away from the aerogel technology and toward the foam blowing technology, as indicated by the company’s continued involvement in this area. Here, too, Armstrong’s research effort shifted away from the initial ATP project focus toward techniques and materials that now are seen to offer more promise of achieving the high-performance foam insulating products that were the ultimate goal of the ATP-funded research.
Return to Table of Contents or go to next section. Date created: April
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