1 00:00:03,041 --> 00:00:05,336 DAISY: It’s fire proof... 2 00:00:05,338 --> 00:00:08,473 Is an excellent acoustic and thermal insulator 3 00:00:08,475 --> 00:00:11,610 and it’s NASA’s Commercial invention of the year. 4 00:00:11,611 --> 00:00:15,346 What is it? Find out next... on Real World. 5 00:00:17,066 --> 00:00:19,888 ? [music] ? 6 00:00:24,113 --> 00:00:27,191 DAISY: This is what it sounds like outside of an airplane... 7 00:00:27,193 --> 00:00:29,933 [jet noise] 8 00:00:29,935 --> 00:00:33,080 And this is what it sounds like inside of the airplane... 9 00:00:33,081 --> 00:00:35,566 still pretty loud. 10 00:00:35,568 --> 00:00:40,405 But thanks to technology developed by NASA, it might soon sound like this... 11 00:00:40,406 --> 00:00:43,975 [quiet] First class sound-proofing. 12 00:00:43,976 --> 00:00:46,911 And that’s just one of the applications for a versatile 13 00:00:46,913 --> 00:00:50,348 product co-developed by NASA chemists and a private 14 00:00:50,350 --> 00:00:53,518 company called Polyumac Techno Core. 15 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,921 ERIK WEISER: This technology, we call it LaRC FPF-44. 16 00:00:57,923 --> 00:01:00,825 It’s a flexible polyimide foam. 17 00:01:00,826 --> 00:01:03,861 DAISY: Erik Weiser is a Materials Engineer and the 18 00:01:03,863 --> 00:01:06,631 assistant branch head of Advanced Materials and 19 00:01:06,633 --> 00:01:09,668 Processing at NASA’s Langley Research Center. 20 00:01:09,670 --> 00:01:12,903 ERIK: This material is a low density, flexible foam 21 00:01:12,905 --> 00:01:15,973 DAISY: Density equals mass divided by volume. 22 00:01:15,975 --> 00:01:20,845 ERIK: Very low density, open cell foam and that’s good for acoustic insulation. 23 00:01:20,846 --> 00:01:23,615 And what you’re hoping for is that the sound comes in 24 00:01:23,616 --> 00:01:26,050 and gets trapped, inside the foam. 25 00:01:26,051 --> 00:01:29,253 ERIK: Erik and his teammates Roberto Cano and Brian Jensen, 26 00:01:29,255 --> 00:01:33,091 work here at Langley’s Advanced Materials and Processing Branch. 27 00:01:33,093 --> 00:01:35,993 Beyond these walls, they are developing a material that 28 00:01:35,995 --> 00:01:38,796 will have its advantages over fiberglass, which is a 29 00:01:38,798 --> 00:01:41,433 standard airplane cabin insulator. 30 00:01:41,435 --> 00:01:45,270 Together with Juan Miguel Vazquez at Polyumac Technicore, 31 00:01:45,271 --> 00:01:48,206 they have come up with a new material that they think will 32 00:01:48,208 --> 00:01:50,808 have significant commercial applications. 33 00:01:50,810 --> 00:01:53,178 ERIK: Through testing and some modifications we’ve done 34 00:01:53,180 --> 00:01:57,081 we’re on the right track for developing a replacement for fiberglass. 35 00:01:57,083 --> 00:02:00,785 DAISY: In addition to excellent acoustic insulation properties, 36 00:02:00,786 --> 00:02:03,121 the foam also absorbs heat, 37 00:02:03,123 --> 00:02:05,823 making it an excellent thermal insulator. 38 00:02:05,825 --> 00:02:08,860 Plus... it’s fire resistant. 39 00:02:08,861 --> 00:02:11,896 The team is working to make a version of the product that 40 00:02:11,898 --> 00:02:14,833 is a similar in density to fiberglass, which weighs in 41 00:02:14,835 --> 00:02:18,870 at about six and a half kilograms per cubic meter. 42 00:02:18,871 --> 00:02:21,906 ERIK: The aircraft industry would like the lightest 43 00:02:21,908 --> 00:02:25,776 acoustic treatment it can get. So we’re trying to reduce the density. 44 00:02:25,778 --> 00:02:28,546 DAISY: And it’s not just airplanes... 45 00:02:28,548 --> 00:02:31,950 Polyimide foam’s flexibility and ability to handle extreme 46 00:02:31,951 --> 00:02:35,920 conditions make it excellent for use in spacecraft. 47 00:02:35,921 --> 00:02:39,123 ERIK: This actually is a thermal formed article that 48 00:02:39,125 --> 00:02:42,460 we did as a test application for the space shuttle, where 49 00:02:42,461 --> 00:02:45,663 they have an icing issue on the feed line bracket. 50 00:02:45,665 --> 00:02:48,066 DAISY: It’s great for watercraft, too. 51 00:02:48,068 --> 00:02:52,936 The United States Navy uses more polyimide foam than any other organization. 52 00:02:52,938 --> 00:02:56,441 ERIK: Several classes of Navy ships, they use polyimide 53 00:02:56,443 --> 00:02:59,878 foam as interior wall insulation and pipe covers. 54 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,515 Its thermal and acoustic insulation and its non flammable. 55 00:03:03,516 --> 00:03:08,186 So that’s key on a navy ship, the protection of the sailors. 56 00:03:08,188 --> 00:03:11,255 DAISY: The NASA Langley team has spent a lot of time in 57 00:03:11,256 --> 00:03:15,226 the lab, refining the process to get the foam just right. 58 00:03:15,228 --> 00:03:18,130 ERIK: The isocyanate and the dianhydride will form the foam, 59 00:03:18,131 --> 00:03:21,366 the polyimide, the base, then you have other components in 60 00:03:21,368 --> 00:03:24,836 there that make it more flexible, control the bubble size, 61 00:03:24,838 --> 00:03:27,705 and then you have flame retardant. There’s a 62 00:03:27,706 --> 00:03:30,141 catalyst to get the reaction started, to cause the 63 00:03:30,143 --> 00:03:33,145 reaction to happen at a certain rate. 64 00:03:33,146 --> 00:03:35,880 DAISY: These guys make it look pretty easy. 65 00:03:35,881 --> 00:03:38,583 But it’s a little trickier than it sounds. 66 00:03:38,585 --> 00:03:41,185 ERIC: So what you are trying to do is contain the gas 67 00:03:41,186 --> 00:03:44,288 that’s in the cells, that holds it inflated, at the 68 00:03:44,290 --> 00:03:48,326 same time, rigidizing the outside structure, sort of like a balloon. 69 00:03:48,328 --> 00:03:50,561 And once that balloon becomes hard, 70 00:03:50,563 --> 00:03:53,598 then you want the gas out of the system. 71 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,335 You’ve got a competition going between stabilizing 72 00:03:56,336 --> 00:03:58,436 the system and getting the bubbles out. If you 73 00:03:58,438 --> 00:04:00,971 stabilize it before the gas comes out, as you continue to 74 00:04:00,973 --> 00:04:04,208 heat up the gas it’ll keep expanding and blow it apart. 75 00:04:04,210 --> 00:04:07,211 So this is what happens when it goes wrong. 76 00:04:09,448 --> 00:04:11,783 DAISY: As chemists continue to refine it and the 77 00:04:11,785 --> 00:04:14,418 processes involved in making it, 78 00:04:14,420 --> 00:04:17,621 polyimide foam could be produced on a mass scale, 79 00:04:17,623 --> 00:04:20,258 dropping the price to a point where it would be cost 80 00:04:20,260 --> 00:04:23,295 effective to put it in homes and other buildings, 81 00:04:23,296 --> 00:04:28,266 providing a more efficient insulator than that typically used in such dwellings. 82 00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:30,801 Polyimide foam... pretty cool stuff. 83 00:04:30,803 --> 00:04:35,606 So cool, it was recently names NASA commercial invention of the year. 84 00:04:35,608 --> 00:04:38,976 A shout out to Erik, Roberto, Brian and Juan 85 00:04:38,978 --> 00:04:41,646 who were all honored for their work. 86 00:04:41,648 --> 00:04:46,335 ? 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