Minimum Federal Safety Standards for corrosion control on buried oil & gas pipelines stipulate that metallic pipes should be properly coated and have impressed-current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems in place to control the electrical potential field around a protected pipe. In certain examples described herein, electrically-conductive composites can be used and provide intrinsically-safe materials without the dielectric shielding issues of existing materials used with pipelines. As reacted by customary spray applications, the nanocomposite foams described herein are directly compatible with ICCP functionality wherever foam contacts the metallic pipe. Various compositions and their use with underground and/or above ground pipelines are described.

Ultra-stable aqueous foam comprises hydrophobic silica particles residing within bubbles in an aqueous solution of a hydrophilic polymer, a protein, or aqueous dispersible colloidal particles. The combination of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic components stabilizes the foam interfaces to result in long term stability of the foam. The foams can be crosslinked to stable monolithic foams and used for structural foams, coatings, and thermal insulating for construction.

The present disclosure provides a room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber foam with ablation resistance and high-efficiency heat insulation and a preparation method thereof. In the present disclosure, hydroxyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, vinyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, a catalyst, an inhibitor, a ceramifiable emulsion foaming agent, a functionalized ceramic filler, and a heat-resistant additive are placed in a planetary stirring tank, and stirred to obtain a base rubber A. The hydroxyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, the vinyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, a hydrogen-containing silicone oil, a functionalized low-melting glass powder, and functionalized hexagonal boron nitride are placed in the planetary stirring tank, and stirred to obtain a base rubber B. The base rubber B is transferred to the base rubber A, vulcanization is conducted, followed by after vulcanization in an oven to obtain a final product.

A foamable polymeric mixture is provided that includes a polymer composition and at least one blowing agent. The blowing agent may comprise any blowing agents known not to deplete the ozone or increase the prevalence of global warming, such as CO.sub.2, HFO, HFC and mixtures thereof. The foamable polymeric mixture may further includes at least one processing aid comprising an organic phase changing material. The inventive foamable mixture is capable of processing at a pressure range of 800 to 1200 psi (5.5 to 8.3 MPa).

A reinforced polycarbonate composition includes 30-60 wt % of a homopolycarbonate; 5-30 wt % of a poly(carbonate-siloxane); 10-40 wt % of a high heat polycarbonate having a glass transition temperature of 170 C. or higher determined per ASTM D3418 with a 20 C./min heating rate; 1-10 wt % of a phosphorous-containing flame retardant present in amount effective to provide 0.1-1.5 wt % phosphorous; 0.01-0.5 wt % of an anti-drip agent; 5-30 wt % of a reinforcing fiber; and optionally, up to 10 wt % of an additive composition, wherein each amount is based on the total weight of the reinforced polycarbonate composition, which sums to 100 wt %. A molded sample of the polycarbonate composition has a heat deflection temperature greater than 115 C., preferably greater than 125 C., more preferably greater than 130 C., or a flame test rating of V1, preferably V0 as measured according to UL-94 at a thickness of 0.8 millimeter, or at a thickness of 0.6 mm, or at a thickness of 0.4 mm.

The present invention relates to thermally expandable microspheres at least partially prepared from bio-based monomers and to a process of their manufacture. The microspheres comprise a thermoplastic polymer shell encapsulating a blowing agent, wherein the thermoplastic polymer shell comprises a copolymer of an itaconate dialkylester and at least one aliphatic or aromatic mono-ethylenically unsaturated comonomer, wherein the itaconate dialkylester is according to formula (1):

##STR00001##

wherein each of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, separately from one another, is an alkyl group preferably with 1-4 carbon atoms, and wherein the copolymer contains 0-50 wt. % of vinyl aromatic comonomers, based on the total weight of the comonomers. The invention further provides expanded microspheres, which can be used in a variety of applications.

Pressure sensing layers, devices comprising same, pressure sensing monitors and composite materials comprising a) a porous matrix material comprising a siloxane polymer, comprising a closed porosity volume fraction, and, optionally, an open porosity volume fraction, and b) a conductive or semiconductive filler substantially present in said closed porosity volume fraction of said porous matrix material a), and films, coated substrates and multilayer structures comprising the composite material and the use thereof in pressure sensing devices.

The present invention relates to a resin composition for preparing foamed rigid polymer products, comprising at least one polymer resin, a surface-treated calcium carbonate having a weight median particle diameter d.sub.50 of between 0.1 m and 1 m, measured according to the sedimentation method, in an amount of at least 10 parts per hundred parts of the at least one polymer resin (phr) and a blowing agent in an amount of less than 1 phr, to a foamed rigid polymer product prepared from the composition, to a method for preparing a foamed rigid polymer product as well as to the use of a calcium carbonate for reducing the density of a foamed rigid polymer product.

A process for producing an in-situ foam comprising the following mixing components: one or more inorganic fillers A) at from 50 to 98 wt %, one or more cationic or amphoteric polymers B) at from 1 to 48 wt %, one or more surfactants C) at from 0.5 to 48 wt %, one or more crosslinkers D) capable of reacting with said polymers B) at from 0.01 to 5 wt %, one or more cell regulators E), selected from silicones, siliconates and carbon, at from 0.5 to 10 wt %, one or more additives F) at from 0 to 20 wt %, wherein the weight percentages of said components A) to F) are based on the nonaqueous fractions and the sum total of A) to F) adds up to 100 wt %.

According to one embodiment, a silicone-based ink for additive manufacturing includes a vinyl-terminated diphenyl siloxane macromer, a treated silica hydrophobic reinforcing filler, a rheology modifying additive, and a plurality of porogen particles. According to another embodiment, a product of additive manufacturing with a silicone-based ink includes a plurality of continuous filaments comprised of a siloxane matrix, where the continuous filaments are arranged in a geometric pattern, a plurality of inter-filament pores defined by the geometric pattern of the continuous filaments, and a plurality of intra-filament pores having an average diameter in a range of greater than 1 micron to less than 50 microns.