Effect of the placement of aerogel insulation in the heat transfer properties

Nowadays, the thermal insulation both of existing and new buildings is one of the most important actions for reducing the energy loss of buildings and to reduce the emission of green house gases. In the European Union, buildings account for about 20–40% of the total final energy consumption. Examination of the thermal properties (e.g., effective thermal conductivity) of building materials and structures are very important both for the manufacturers and for the consumers. Several possibilities are available for measuring this parameter of materials. The mainly used thermal insulating materials are the plastic foamy and mineral wool materials; moreover, the nanotechnological insulators (e.g., aerogel, hollow nanospheres) are requiring spaces for themselves also. One promising them for the future is the silica aerogel-based slabs. Aerogels are nanoporous lightweight materials that were discovered more than 70 years ago. Nowadays, their applications are truly widespread. Firstly, in this article thermal transmittance measurements of wall structures will be presented with calibrated chamber method. These measurements were accomplished through an inbuilt plaster/brick/plaster wall construction individually. After that, it was covered with a 0.013-m-thick aerogel layer at first in a cold and then in the warm side. Comparison of the heat fluxes, insulation capabilities and effective thermal conductivities measured by the above-mentioned method will be presented. The change in the retardation time and in the surface temperatures will be also discussed. Secondly, in order to investigate the conductive effect, thermal conductivity measurements with Holometrix lambda 2000 apparatus were accomplished too.