Investigating the Mechanical, Morphological, and Acoustic Properties of the Phenolic Aerogel/Flexible Polyurethane Foam Composite

The present study investigated the effects of adding phenolic aerogel (PA) to flexible polyurethane foam on the sound absorption coefficient, morphology, and mechanical properties. PA was synthesized under solvent saturated vapor atmosphere, and then it was added to the polymer matrix in the form of particles with different weight percentages (i.e., 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 wt%). The examination of the cell structure and the pores of the composite using electron microscopy showed that by increasing the concentration of PA, the number of open pores and the interconnection between the cells increased. The PA/flexible polyurethane foam composite (PA/FPUF) with 0.50 wt% of PA exhibited the highest sound absorption coefficient in the low-frequency range due to the regular cell structure and the small size of the cells. Moreover, the results showed that in addition to their impact on the morphology, PA particles could be useful in improving the mechanical properties of FPUF by increasing its Young's modulus. [GRAPHICS] .