Method of making foamed materials in zero gravity

Abstract

Abstract A METHOD OF MAKING HOMOGENEOUS FOAMED MATERIALS BY MIXING TWO OR MORE MATERIALS HAVING DIFFERENT PHYSICAL PROPERTIES IN A ZERO-GRAVITY ENVIRONMENT. THE MATERIALS ARE STORED AS LIQUIDS, GASES AND SOLIDS, THE SOLID MATERIALS BEING IN PARTICLES LIKE POWDERS AND FIBERS. WHEN MAKING A HOMOGENEOUS SOLID STRUCTURE FROM TWO OR MORE SOLID MATERIALS THE SOLID MATERIALS ARE HEATED TO CHANGE THE STATE OF ONE OR MORE OF THE MATERIALS TO A LIQUID FOR MIXING. A FOAMED MATERIAL CAN BE MADE BY DECOMPOSITION OF ONE MATEIAL IN A LIQUID OR BY INJECTION OF AN INERT GAS INTO A LIQUID. INERT GAS CAN ALSO BE INJECTED INTO A HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURE OF A LIQUID AND SOLID PARTICLES. THE MIXTURE IS THEN AGITATED SO AS TO FORM A HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURE OF SOLIDS IN LIQUIDS OR GASES IN LIQUIDS. DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF GRAVITY FORCESS, I.E., DEAD WEIGHT, IT IS POSSIBLE TO UNIFORMLY DISPERSE SOLID PARTICLES OR A GAS WITHIN A LIQUID AND THERE IS NO TENDENCY TO SEPARATE OUT SINCE SETTLING OF THE HEAVIER MATERIALS IS ELIMINATED. SINCE THERE IS NO TENDENCY TO SEPARATE THE MIXTURE CAN BE COOLED AT LENGTH TO FORM A DESIRED HOMOGENEOUS MATERIAL.

Inventors

• 👤 Hans F Wuenscher

Bibliographic Details