Cost-Effective and Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing of Epoxy Foams

There is interest to make improvements to foam currently on the market to improve performance (mechanical, thermal, etc.), reduce environmental impacts, and minimize health and safety issues associated with the chemicals and processes used to make foams. Foams made from epoxies, particularly using a process that eliminates blowing agents, developed by Sandia Laboratory, can be used to meet many industry goals and challenges regarding next generation epoxy foam products. Wind-and-react electrical insulations with increased thermal conductivity and radiation resistance will be developed to address the needs of next generation particle accelerators. Testing will include the measurement of low-temperature thermal conductivity and mechanical strength. The primary thrust of the proposed SBIR will be to ascertain whether epoxy foams fabricated using Sandias patented process can be cost-effectively manufactured, making them viable for large-scale commercial markets. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the applicant: Polymeric foams are ubiquitous in their application as they exhibit exceptional insulating properties, buoyancy, impact-resistant characteristics, and outstanding strength-to-weight ratios, among other attributes. The goal of this effort is to demonstrate that epoxy foams can compete with polyurethane, polyisocyanurate, and extruded polystyrene and overcome many of the performance, environmental, regulatory, and health and safety concerns associated with these other foams.