Patent — available for licensing
Polymer/Melamine Aerogel Composites for Vibro-Acoustic Mitigation
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Launch and flight systems face severe vibro-acoustic loads and tight thermal requirements. Conventional damping mats and bulky absorbers add mass and take up space, and rarely address airborne noise and structure-borne vibration together. Current approaches rely on heavy metal composite layers for damping and large-volume absorbers for attenuation, increasing mass and volume. As a result, engineers at NASA Glenn Research Center have developed a tunable composite insulation that merges polymer aerogels with open-cell melamine foams to deliver high-performance vibration damping and acoustic absorption in a thin, lightweight envelope. Manufactured in gradient stacks, it can target specific frequency bands while also reducing heat transfer. This enables quieter, lighter panels, liners, and inserts for fairings, engine environments, habitats, and instrument bays. By combining aerogel's nanoscale porosity with the foam’s airflow-coupled cell network, the material cuts high-amplitude noise without traditional mass penalties.