Morphology and thermal conductivity of model organic aerogels

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Gaussian random field-based model to describe the microstructure of organic aerogels, successfully matching experimental data on scattering, surface area, and thermal conductivity.

Contribution

It proposes a novel microstructure model for organic aerogels using intersecting Gaussian random fields, linking microstructure to measurable properties.

Findings

Model accurately predicts X-ray scattering intensity

Model explains surface area measurements

Model accounts for solid thermal conductivity

Abstract

The intersection volume of two independent 2-level cut Gaussian random fields is proposed to model the open-cell microstructure of organic aerogels. The experimentally measured X-ray scattering intensity, surface area and solid thermal conductivity of both polymeric and colloidal organic aerogels can be accounted for by the model.