Reinforced designed cellular coal
Coal-based cellular products that can be custom designed to have integral stiffeners or load paths, directed heat transfer paths, and/or directed mass transfer paths and methods for their production are described. Such design and production is made possible by the appropriate selection of: starting materials, thermal treatment conditions and/or mold materials combined in at least some instances with segregation of different starting materials in different regions of a forming mold and/or the use of fibrous carbonaceous layers to obtain selected reinforcement to enhance bending and/or impact resistance. Carbon foams of a homogeneous composition comprising at least fibrous carbonaceous mat as a reinforcing element are also described.
1. A reinforced coal-based cellular product, comprising:
a matrix of coal-based cells reinforced with at least one layer of a fibrous carbonaceous material, wherein said coal-based cellular product includes a carbon foam having a first and second density.
2. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said carbon foam is formed from bituminous coal.
3. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 2 , wherein said bituminous coal has a swell index ranging from about 3.5 to about 5.
4. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 3 , wherein said bituminous coal has a swell index ranging from about 3.75 to about 4.5.
5. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 4 , wherein said bituminous coal has a swell index above about 4.
6. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said first density of carbon based cells is greater than said second density of carbon based cells.
7. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 6 , wherein said first density of carbon based cells is greater than said second density of carbon based cells for providing at least one of a heat transfer path, a mass transfer path, a load path, and a stiffener.
8. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material for providing at least one of a heat transfer path, a mass transfer path, a load path, and a stiffener.
9. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material comprises:
a first layer; and
a second layer arranged on said first layer in a traverse direction.
10. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said said at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material is arranged parallel to a predetermined force of said coal-based cellular product.
11. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 10 , wherein said predetermined force comprises a tensile force.
12. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 2 , wherein said bituminous coal has a Gieseler plasticity value above about 500 DDPM.
13. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material comprises at least three layers of fibrous carbonaceous interlaced with layers of said matrix of coal-based cells.
14. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said fibrous carbonaceous material is a non-woven two dimensional mat having random in-plane fiber orientation, a chopped fiber, a non-woven two dimensional mat having a random in-plane fiber orientation, a two dimensional woven mat, a knitted mat, a prepeg of continuous unidirectional roving with a predetermined resin, or a filler material formed into a two dimensional sheet.
15. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material comprises a non-planar geometric shape.
16. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material comprises a resin impregnated fibrous mat.
17. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 16 , wherein said impregnated fibrous mat includes at least one of layer of phenolic resin, fufural resin, and epoxy.
18. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein the at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material has a cone shape.
19. The reinforced coal-based cellular product of claim 1 , wherein the at least one layer of fibrous carbonaceous material has a wedge shape.