Properties, applications and thermal investigation of aerogels

Abstract

Among the variety of products for thermal insulation in industry the aerogel blankets have received significant attention because of their unique properties and wide range of applications. This paper presents the basic properties, fields of application and results of experimental study of Pyrogel XT, which is a type of high temperature aerogel blanket. It is formed of silica aerogel and reinforced with glass fiber batting. In comparison with traditional insulating materials Pyrogel XT is much more efficient thermal insulation with wide temperature range of application (-40÷650ºC). It also has the lowest thermal conductivity of any known solid material. Experimental investigation of thermophysical properties of Pyrogel XT was carried out by using traditional and modern research methods. The traditional method utilized a simplified single-plate Poensgen apparatus. The modern approach was performed on a Unitherm TM model 2022 thermal conductivity instrument which uses a guarded heat flow meter method according to ASTM E1530 standard. Results obtained from both devices were compared and analyzed.

Investigation of thermophysical properties of heat-insulating barrier manufactured by incremental rapid prototyping method

“…By measuring the temperature difference across the specimen (between the upper and the lower surface plates in contact with the specimen) along with the output from the heat flux transducer, thermal conductivity of the specimen can be determined when its thickness is known. A unitherm 2022 instrument is used to measure the thermal conductivity in the range of 0.1-40 W/(m⋅K) and in the temperature range of 20-300°C [10]. The specimen of the test material has a shape of a cylinder with a diameter of 50.8 mm and a height depending on the expected coefficient of thermal conductivity.…”