COMPOSITE AEROGEL COATING FOR TEXTILE APPLICATIONS

1 . A composite material for coating a textile substrate comprising a polymer matrix and a particulate addition, wherein the particulate addition comprises:

1-100% silica aerogel particles by volume of the particulate addition, and

0-99% microspheres by volume of the particulate addition.

2 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the polymer matrix comprises an aqueous polyurethane dispersion.

3 . The composite material of claim 2 , wherein the polymer matrix further comprises a foaming agent for forming a foamed polyurethane textile coating.

4 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the particulate addition is included in a volume fraction from 2-60%.

5 . The composite material of claim 4 , wherein the particulate addition is included in a volume fraction from 3-40%.

6 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the silica aerogel particles have a particle size distribution of 0.5-70 microns.

7 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the silica aerogel particles have a particle size distribution of 1-50 microns.

8 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the silica aerogel particles have a median particle size of 2-10 microns.

9 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the silica aerogel particles have a particle size distribution of 0.5-50 microns with a d(10) in the range of 1-3 microns, a d(90) in the range of 8-30 microns, and a d(50) in the range of 2-7 microns.

10 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the microspheres comprise a combination of expanded microspheres and unexpanded microspheres.

11 . The composite material of claim 10 , wherein the volume percent ratio of silica aerogel particles to expanded microspheres to unexpanded microspheres is 20-60:20-50:20-50.

12 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the volume percent ratio of silica aerogel particles to expanded microspheres to unexpanded microspheres is approximately equal.

13 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the microspheres include hollow glass beads.

14 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the microspheres include hollow thermoplastic microspheres.

15 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the particulate addition is effective to decrease thermal conductivity of a textile assembly coated with the composite material by at least 30% compared to the textile assembly coated only with the polymer matrix.

16 . The composite material of claim 1 , wherein the silica aerogel particles are hydrophobic.

17 . A composite material for coating a textile substrate comprising a foamed polymer matrix and 2-60% by volume of a particulate addition, wherein the particulate addition comprises:

20-60% hydrophobic silica aerogel particles by volume of the particulate addition having a particle size distribution of 1-50 microns,

20-50% expanded microspheres by volume of the particulate addition, and

20-50% unexpanded microspheres by volume of the particulate addition.

18 . The composite material of claim 17 , wherein the particle size distribution of the silica aerogel particles includes a d(10) in the range of 1-3 microns, a d(90) in the range of 8-30 microns, and a d(50) in the range of 2-7 microns.

19 . The composite material of claim 17 , wherein the particulate addition is effective to decrease thermal conductivity of a textile assembly coated with the composite material by at least 30% compared to the textile assembly coated only with the foamed polymer matrix.

20 . A textile assembly comprising a first textile and a composite coating on the first textile, wherein the composite coating is made from the composite material of claim 1 .

21 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , further comprising a second textile, wherein the composite coating is between the first and second textiles and bonds the first and second textiles together in a laminated structure.

22 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the particulate addition is effective to decrease thermal conductivity of the textile assembly by at least 30% compared to the textile assembly coated only with the polymer matrix.

23 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the thermal conductivity is less than 60 kW/mK.

24 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the thermal conductivity is less than 55 kW/mK.

25 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the composite coating has a thickness of 250-1000 microns.

26 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the composite coating has a thickness of 300-560 microns.

27 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the microspheres include hollow thermoplastic and/or glass microspheres.

28 . The textile assembly of claim 20 , wherein the polymer matrix is foamed polyurethane.

29 . A textile assembly comprising a first textile and a composite coating on the first textile, wherein the composite coating is made from the composite material of claim 17 and has a thickness of 250-600 microns and a thermal conductivity less than 52 kW/mK.

30 . A method of making a textile assembly comprising:

forming the composite material of claim 1 ; and

coating the composite material on a first textile.

31 . The method of claim 30 , further comprising:

laminating a second textile to the coated first textile, wherein the composite material adheres the first textile to the second textile.

32 . A method of making a textile assembly comprising:

forming the composite material of claim 17 ;

coating the composite material on a first textile to a thickness of 250-600 microns;

heating the coated first textile to expand the unexpanded microspheres.

33 . The method of claim 32 , further comprising, prior to heating:

laminating a second textile to the coated first textile, wherein the composite material adheres the first textile to the second textile.