Effects of Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials Granularity and Heat Treat Treatment Condition on the Structure and Performance of Polyurethane Foams

In this article, we study on the effect of different congregated granularities of microencapsulated n-octadecane on polyurethane foamed system, and the making of the polyurethane foams with high contents of microencapsulated n-octadecane. The results show that, when relative low granularities of microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCMs) are used as additives, the remnant water and formaldehyde have adverse effects on the foam, so the MicroPCMs should better be heat-treated which is helpful for removing the residual, and more uniform foam can be obtained when relative low granularities of MicroPCMs are used. The polyurethane foams with maximum contents of 28 parts of n-octadecane can be made when the polyethylene glycol-400 (PEG-400) is interfused in the foamed system to regulate the viscosity of the system. The formed foams absorb heat at about 27 and dissipate heat at about 25 , which heat storage is bigger than 18J/g and can be used as thermal insulation materials.