Synthesis and insulation performance study of lightweight high-strength adiabatic carbon foam

Abstract With the continuous expansion of spacecraft flight speed and space exploration field, higher requirements are put forward for the thermal insulation performance of materials in the thermal protection system, and it is more urgent to use thermal insulation materials that can withstand high temperatures for a long time in solar orbit. Carbon foam materials have wide application potential in the field of aerospace insulation materials due to their adjustable microstructure, excellent thermal stability, and good thermal insulation performance. Phenolic-based carbon foams were prepared by impregnating phenolic resin solutions with different concentrations through the template method of open-hole connection. The results showed that with the increase of phenolic resin concentration, the density, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity of carbon foam gradually increased, and the skeleton of the carbon foam went through a process from partial fracture of the pore wall to the gradual widening of the pore wall diameter and then widening the pore wall connection. When the concentration of phenolic resin was 35 wt%, the skeleton of carbon foam was orderly, with a compressive strength of 75.5 kPa and a thermal conductivity as low as 0.05281 W/(m·K).