Related Research Articles
Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with specially engineered methods or processes, as well as with suitable object shapes and materials.
The R-value is a measure of how well a two-dimensional barrier, such as a layer of insulation, a window or a complete wall or ceiling, resists the conductive flow of heat, in the context of construction. R-value is the temperature difference per unit of heat flux needed to sustain one unit of heat flux between the warmer surface and colder surface of a barrier under steady-state conditions. The measure is therefore equally relevant for lowering energy bills for heating in the winter, for cooling in the summer, and for general comfort.
A structural insulated panel, or structural insulating panel, (SIP), is a form of sandwich panel used as a building material in the construction industry.
Insulating concrete form or insulated concrete form (ICF) is a system of formwork for reinforced concrete usually made with a rigid thermal insulation that stays in place as a permanent interior and exterior substrate for walls, floors, and roofs. The forms are interlocking modular units that are dry-stacked and filled with concrete. The units lock together somewhat like Lego bricks and create a form for the structural walls or floors of a building. ICF construction has become commonplace for both low rise commercial and high performance residential construction as more stringent energy efficiency and natural disaster resistant building codes are adopted.
Polyisocyanurate, also referred to as PIR, polyol, or ISO, is a thermoset plastic typically produced as a foam and used as rigid thermal insulation. The starting materials are similar to those used in polyurethane (PUR) except that the proportion of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) is higher and a polyester-derived polyol is used in the reaction instead of a polyether polyol. The resulting chemical structure is significantly different, with the isocyanate groups on the MDI trimerising to form isocyanurate groups which the polyols link together, giving a complex polymeric structure.
Superinsulation is an approach to building design, construction, and retrofitting that dramatically reduces heat loss by using much higher insulation levels and airtightness than average. Superinsulation is one of the ancestors of the passive house approach.
Ducts are conduits or passages used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver and remove air. The needed airflows include, for example, supply air, return air, and exhaust air. Ducts commonly also deliver ventilation air as part of the supply air. As such, air ducts are one method of ensuring acceptable indoor air quality as well as thermal comfort.
Building insulation is material used in a building to reduce the flow of thermal energy. While the majority of insulation in buildings is for thermal purposes, the term also applies to acoustic insulation, fire insulation, and impact insulation. Often an insulation material will be chosen for its ability to perform several of these functions at once.
Building insulation materials are the building materials that form the thermal envelope of a building or otherwise reduce heat transfer.
Cellulose insulation is plant fiber used in wall and roof cavities to insulate, draught proof and reduce noise. Building insulation in general is low-thermal-conductivity material used to reduce building heat loss and gain and reduce noise transmission.
Spray foam is a chemical product created by a chemical reaction of two component parts, commonly referred to as side A and side B. Side A contains very reactive chemicals known as isocyanate. Side B contains a polyol, which reacts with isocyanates to make polyurethane, and a mixture of other chemicals, including catalysts, flame retardant, blowing agents and surfactants. These react when mixed with each other and expand up to 30-60 times its liquid volume after it is sprayed in place. This expansion makes it useful as a specialty packing material which forms to the shape of the product being packaged and produces a high thermal insulating value with virtually no air infiltration.
Insulated shipping containers are a type of packaging used to ship temperature sensitive products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, organs, blood, biologic materials, vaccines and chemicals. They are used as part of a cold chain to help maintain product freshness and efficacy. The term can also refer to insulated intermodal containers or insulated swap bodies.
Pipe Insulation is thermal or acoustic insulation used on pipework.
Rigid panel insulation, also referred to as continuous insulation, can be made from foam plastics such as polyurethane (PUR), polyisocyanurate (PIR), and polystyrene, or from fibrous materials such as fiberglass, rock and slag wool. Rigid panel continuous insulation is often used to provide a thermal break in the building envelope, thus reducing thermal bridging.
Insulated pipes are widely used for district heating and hot water supply. They consist of a steel pipe called "service pipe", a thermal insulation layer and an outer casing. The insulation bonds the service pipe and the casing together. The main purpose of such pipes is to maintain the temperature of the fluid inside the service pipes. Insulated pipes are commonly used for transport of hot water from district heating plants to district heating networks and for distribution of hot water inside district heating networks.
Insulating glass (IG) consists of two or more glass window panes separated by a space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope. A window with insulating glass is commonly known as double glazing or a double-paned window, triple glazing or a triple-paned window, or quadruple glazing or a quadruple-paned window, depending upon how many panes of glass are used in its construction.
Dynamic insulation is a form of insulation where cool outside air flowing through the thermal insulation in the envelope of a building will pick up heat from the insulation fibres. Buildings can be designed to exploit this to reduce the transmission heat loss (U-value) and to provide pre-warmed, draft free air to interior spaces. This is known as dynamic insulation since the U-value is no longer constant for a given wall or roof construction but varies with the speed of the air flowing through the insulation. Dynamic insulation is different from breathing walls. The positive aspects of dynamic insulation need to be weighed against the more conventional approach to building design which is to create an airtight envelope and provide appropriate ventilation using either natural ventilation or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. The air-tight approach to building envelope design, unlike dynamic insulation, results in a building envelope that provides a consistent performance in terms of heat loss and risk of interstitial condensation that is independent of wind speed and direction. Under certain wind conditions a dynamically insulated building can have a higher heat transmission loss than an air-tight building with the same thickness of insulation. Often the air enters at about 15 °C.
Foam glass is a porous glass foam material. Its advantages as a building material include its light weight, high strength, and thermal and acoustic insulating properties. It is made by heating a mixture of crushed or granulated glass and a blowing agent such as carbon or limestone. Near the melting point of the glass, the blowing agent releases a gas, producing a foaming effect in the glass. After cooling the mixture hardens into a rigid material with gas-filled closed-cell pores comprising a large portion of its volume.
Aerogels are a class of synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component for the gel has been replaced with a gas, without significant collapse of the gel structure. The result is a solid with extremely low density and extremely low thermal conductivity. Aerogels can be made from a variety of chemical compounds. Silica aerogels feel like fragile styrofoam to the touch, while some polymer-based aerogels feel like rigid foams.
References
- ↑ US9487953B2,Nagarajan,"Vacuum insulated panel",published 2013
- ↑ US6863949B2,Ehrmanntraut,"Foil-enveloped evacuated thermal insulation elements",published 2000
- ↑ "The Thermal Conductivity of Air at Reduced Pressures and Length Scales". November 9, 2002.
- ↑ Vacuum insulation in the building sector: systems and applications (PDF), Annex 39: High performance thermal insulation (HiPTI), The IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC, formerly known as ECBCS) Programme, 2005, retrieved October 10, 2011
- ↑ Fricke, J; Heinemann, U; Ebert, HP (March 14, 2008), "Vacuum insulation panels—From research to market", Vacuum, 82 (7): 680–690, Bibcode:2008Vacuu..82..680F, doi:10.1016/j.vacuum.2007.10.014
- ↑ Rockwool roll (PDF), Rockwool, retrieved October 10, 2011