Aerogel : How to utilize in practical application! Help!

Hi guys
Please ignore my name here, I joined this website back in 2007 and forgot I even had an account around anymore. Lol.

Anyway, long story short, I used some resources and got about two square feet of flexible aerogel blanket 3mm thick. If you don't know what aerogel is, please read more at Aerogel
My aerogel is super hydrophobic too.

When I initially bought it, I thought to try out some supremely thin jacket/gloves/shoes like some guys on kickstarter did. However, the product turned out to be super "dusty". There is super fine aerogel dust that is a part of the blanket, and any twisting, bending, shaking or even touching release this out - and I need it to stay in its place for the insulation to work properly.

Anyway, this has been laying with me since a couple of months now and I am loosing hope on ideas to test it out it.
Few difficulties I had in using it in any gear/clothing include:
1) It simply cannot be stitched : This pierces the blanket and would leak air and water in the jacket/cloth
2) I can't encapsulate it between multiple layers of cloth: the dust simply seeps out
I have so far tried leather, that polyester material used in jackets, towel thick cotton but all leak dust 😔
3) If I place it in plastic, it stays in place, but then it doesn't form a breathe-able fabric.

My question to everyone is please help me find some form of use of this material. I was too excited to gain my hands on it in India that I didn't think practically of its applications before paying good money to buy it.
In theory, if we can remove the insulation from a fridge and use this instead it can save a lot of elecicity as the heat loss would minimal. But I simply don't know how or where to get someone to test this Aerogel out with me - not just in clothing, anywhere practical where an Indian can use.
Thanks for your help!

Replies

  • L$ Live$
    L$ Live$
    Anyone?
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Tagging #-Link-Snipped-#
  • L$ Live$
    L$ Live$
    Any help would be appreciated!
  • Ramani Aswath
    Ramani Aswath
    I have used aerogel very long back in particle reinforced epoxy composites as a light weight filler, though not for thermal insulation. Adidas and other such apparel/accessory industries are using Aerogel pads already in commercial products.
    Aerogel Insulation Finally Ready For Prime Time? – The GearCaster
    What should be realized is that the aerogel is essentially 90+% air, which makes it very light. The insulation is from the closed air pores and not any intrinsic property of the material. For most purposes the high cost is not justified for the advantage conferred.

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