Performance Evolution of Silica Aerogel Materials under Long-term High-temperature Conditions

YAN Dapeng; PENG Fei; HU Tian; MA Jin; LIU Xianghong; HU Xiaofei; YANG Bin; GAO Qingfu

doi:10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.07.014

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Equipment Environmental Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (7) : 143-153. DOI: 10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.07.014

Aviation and Aerospace Equipment

Performance Evolution of Silica Aerogel Materials under Long-term High-temperature Conditions

YAN Dapeng¹, PENG Fei^2,*, HU Tian¹, MA Jin², LIU Xianghong², HU Xiaofei², YANG Bin², GAO Qingfu²

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Abstract

The work aims to study the performance evolution patterns of the silica aerogel composite under long-term high-temperature environments to provide a reference for the application of silica aerogel composites as thermal insulation materials for prolonged use. The pure silica aerogel and its composite were prepared via the sol-gel method combined with supercritical drying technology. Long-term heat treatment experiments were conducted on the materials, along with characterizations of their properties (density, thermal conductivity, compressive strength) and structures (pore size distribution, skeleton morphology). The evolution trends and patterns of the materials under long-term high-temperature conditions were analyzed. In a long- term high-temperature environment, when the ambient temperature was below the upper tolerance limit of the silica aerogel composite, the properties changed more significantly over short periods, and then tended to stabilize with extended time. The primary reason was that the nanoparticles constituting the silica aerogel skeleton possessed high surface activity and were prone to sintering under high-temperature conditions, resulting in structural changes. The introduction of fibers could effectively inhibit the sintering of the pure silica aerogel, enabling the composite to exhibit a relatively higher temperature tolerance than pure silica aerogel. After heat treatment at 1 000 ℃ for 480 h, the thermal conductivity of the composite at 1 000 ℃ was only 0.071 W/(m·K). Moderate sintering could strengthen the silica aerogel skeleton, thereby enhancing the compressive strength of the composite to a certain extent. After heat treatment at 1 000 ℃ for 168 h, the compressive strength of the composite was nearly doubled (98.9%), while its thermal conductivity at 1 000 ℃ only increased by 9.2%. The silica aerogel composite prepared in this study can maintain low thermal conductivity over prolonged periods at 1 000 ℃, showing promise for application as a long-term high-temperature thermal insulation.

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silica aerogel / thermal insulation / long-term high-temperature environment / performance evolution / thermal conductivity / sintering

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YAN Dapeng, PENG Fei, HU Tian, MA Jin, LIU Xianghong, HU Xiaofei, YANG Bin, GAO Qingfu. Performance Evolution of Silica Aerogel Materials under Long-term High-temperature Conditions[J]. Equipment Environmental Engineering. 2026, 23(7): 143-153 https://doi.org/10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.07.014

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