Apparatus and method for manufacturing composite sheet comprising aerogel sheet

1. A method for manufacturing a composite sheet comprising an aerogel sheet, the method comprising:

a step (S 10 ) of preparing the aerogel sheet ( 30 ), wherein the step (S 10 ) comprises:

a step (a) of manufacturing a silica sol ( 2 );

a step (b) of manufacturing a gelling catalyst;

a step (c) of injecting the silica sol ( 2 ), which is manufactured in the step (a), to a surface of a fiber sheet ( 1 ) to impregnate with the silica sol ( 2 );

a step (d) of injecting the gelling catalyst ( 3 ), which is manufactured in step (b), to the surface of the fiber sheet ( 1 ), into which the silica sol ( 2 ) is impregnated, to manufacture a gel sheet ( 20 ) in which the silica sol is impregnated;

a step (e) of aging the gel sheet ( 20 ) in which the silica sol is gelated;

a step (f) of applying a coating solution to the aged gel sheet ( 20 ) to modify a surface of the gel sheet ( 20 ); and

a step (g) of drying the gel sheet ( 20 ) of which the surface is modified to manufacture the aerogel sheet ( 30 );

a step (S 20 ) of laminating a fiber sheet ( 10 ) on each of both surfaces of the aerogel sheet ( 30 ); and

a step (S 30 ) of applying heat and a pressure to the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) and the fiber sheet ( 10 ), which are laminated, to bond the sheets to each other and to manufacture the composite sheet ( 40 ) in which the fiber sheet ( 10 ), the aerogel sheet ( 30 ), and the fiber sheet ( 10 ) are laminated.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step (S 25 ) of performing needling on the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) and the fiber sheet ( 10 ), which are laminated, to temporarily fix the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) and the fiber sheet ( 10 ) between the step (S 20 ) and the step (S 30 ).

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step (S 40 ) of cutting the composite sheet ( 40 ) to a predetermined size to manufacture a composite pad ( 50 ) after the step (S 30 ).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (a), tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and ethanol are mixed to manufacture the silica sol ( 2 ).

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) comprises hydrolyzed TEOS.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (b), ethanol and ammonia water (NH 4 OH) are mixed to manufacture the gelling catalyst ( 3 ).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step (c) and the step (d) are performed within a conveyor belt that transfers the fiber sheet ( 1 ) from one side to the other side thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (d), the gelling catalyst ( 3 ) is injected to the surface of the fiber sheet ( 1 ) at a rate of 0.035 L/min to 0.012 L/min to leave the gelling catalyst ( 3 ) for 8 minutes to 12 minutes and thereby to gelate the silica sol.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (e), the gel sheet ( 20 ), in which the silica sol is gelated, is aged at a temperature of 70° C. and aged for 50 minutes.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the step (f), the coating solution is manufactured by mixing ethanol with ammonia water (NH 4 OH).

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein, in the step (f), the coating solution is injected with 1.6 times of the silica sol ( 2 ) impregnated into the surface of the fiber sheet ( 1 ), and the aging is performed at a high temperature of 70° C. for one hour to modify the surface of the fiber sheet ( 10 ) by using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS).

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step (g) comprises a first drying step of injecting carbon dioxide at a rate of 70 L/min for ten minutes under environments of a temperature of 28° C. and a pressure of 70 bar to dry the gel sheet ( 20 ) of which the surface is modified, a second drying step of raising to a temperature of 50° C. for 1 hour and 20 minutes to dry the gel sheet ( 20 ), a third drying step of injecting carbon dioxide at a rate of 0.7 L/min for 20 minutes under a temperature of 50° C. and a pressure of 150 bar to dry the gel sheet ( 20 ), and a fourth drying step of injecting carbon dioxide at a rate of 0.7 L/min for 20 minutes after breaking for 20 minutes to dry the gel sheet ( 20 ).

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein, in the third drying step of the step (g), the ethanol generated from the gel sheet ( 20 ) of which the surface is modified is collected while injecting the carbon dioxide.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step (g) further comprises a step of discharging the carbon dioxide for 2 hours after the fourth drying step.

15. A method for manufacturing a composite sheet comprising an aerogel sheet, the method comprising:

preparing an aerogel sheet ( 30 ) by a method comprising:

injecting a silica sol ( 2 ) to a surface of a fiber sheet ( 1 ) to impregnate with the silica sol ( 2 );

injecting a gelling catalyst ( 3 ) to the surface of the fiber sheet ( 1 ), into which the silica sol ( 2 ) is impregnated, to manufacture a gel sheet ( 20 );

aging the gel sheet ( 20 );

applying a coating solution to a surface of the aged gel sheet ( 20 ) to modify the surface of the gel sheet ( 20 ); and

drying the gel sheet ( 20 ) of which the surface is modified to yield the aerogel sheet ( 30 );

laminating a fiber sheet ( 10 ) on each of both surfaces of the aerogel sheet ( 30 ); and

applying heat and a pressure to the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) and the fiber sheet ( 10 ), which are laminated, to bond the sheets to each other and to manufacture the composite sheet ( 40 ) in which the fiber sheet ( 10 ), the aerogel sheet ( 30 ), and the fiber sheet ( 10 ) are laminated,

wherein:

the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) comprises a compound comprising an aerogel matrix and a reinforcing structure, and

in the compound the aerogel matrix is continuous through the reinforcing structure, and the reinforcing structure is a lofty fibrous batting, wherein the fibers are oriented along all three axes, the lofty fibrous batting has the form of a sheet, the compound is a lightweight insulation product having resilience and durability, the lofty fibrous batting is compressible by at least 50% of its natural thickness and returns to at least 70% of its original thickness after being compressed for 5 seconds, the lofty fibrous batting has a density of 0.001 g/cm 3 to 0.26 g/cm 3 , and the fibers discriminable in a cross-sectional area of the compound has a cross-sectional area less than 10% of the total cross-sectional area.

16. An apparatus for manufacturing a composite sheet comprising an aerogel sheet, the apparatus comprising:

a gel sheet manufacturing machine ( 100 ) that manufactures a gel sheet ( 20 );

a reaction vessel ( 200 ) in which the gel sheet ( 20 ) manufactured by the gel sheet manufacturing machine ( 100 ) is aged, surface-modified, and dried to manufacture the aerogel sheet; and

a composite sheet manufacturing machine ( 300 ) that bonds the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) manufactured in the reaction vessel ( 200 ) to a fiber sheet ( 10 ) to manufacture a composite sheet ( 40 ),

wherein the composite sheet manufacturing machine ( 300 ) comprises at least three supply rollers-capable of supplying the aerogel sheet and the fiber sheet to a hot press ( 330 ) capable of pressing the aerogel sheet ( 30 ) and the fiber sheet ( 10 ) while applying heat and a pressure to manufacture the composite sheet ( 40 ).

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the composite sheet manufacturing machine ( 300 ) further comprises a drying member ( 340 ) for drying the aerogel sheet ( 30 ).

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the composite sheet manufacturing machine ( 300 ) further comprises a needling member ( 350 ) for performing needling on the aerogel sheet and the fiber sheet to temporarily bond the sheets together.