Experimental and Numerical Examination of Naturally-Aged Foam-VIP Composites

• Main Authors: Kaushik Biswas, Rohit Jogineedi, Andre Desjarlais
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: vacuum insulation panels; natural aging; temperature-dependent properties; numerical simulations
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/13/2539

This article describes an aging study of a foam-vacuum insulation panel (VIP) composite insulation board installed on a test wall in a natural exposure test facility through a 30-month period. Silica-based VIPs with a polymeric barrier film were used in this study. The study results showed the effectiveness of a VIP-based insulation to reduce the heat gains and losses through a wall compared to regular rigid foam insulation of the same thickness. However, the long-term performance monitoring indicated a gradual decline in the thermal performance of the foam-VIP composite. In addition, one-dimensional numerical models were created to simulate the in situ behavior of the foam-VIP composite. One model utilized constant thermal conductivities of the test wall components and another utilized temperature-dependent thermal conductivities; the latter used measurements of conductivity over temperatures ranging from −15 to 55 °C. The results of the simulations emphasized the need to use both temperature and time-dependent material properties for accurately predicting the long-term performance of VIP-based insulation systems.