Paper Conference

Proceedings of eSim 2016: 9th Conference of IBPSA-Canada

     

Evaluation of thermal bridges in vacuum insulation panel assemblies through steady state testing in a guarded hot box

Brock Conley, Cynthia A. Cruikshank

Abstract: Vacuum insulated panels (VIPs) offer high RSI-value insulation for building envelopes, where typical panels can be rated as high as RSI-4.16 per cm [R-60 per inch], however significant amounts of thermal bridging exist along their edges. A single layer of VIPs was evaluated by simulation and experiment using a steady-state guarded hot box. The thermal bridges were characterized, and an accurate reduction in RSI-value at points of interest, such as corners and edges, were found by using heat flux plates and embedded thermocouples. A second layer was implemented in three different configurations to study the edge thermal bridge effects and how different orientations affect performance. It was found that the non-homogenous VIP layers contained thermal bridges that caused a substantial RSI-value reduction, and can reach a 36% reduction in RSI-value when compared to the center of panel, and through using a different orientation of a second VIP layer can reduced the difference between maximum and minimum heat flux from 36% to 7%.
Pages: 346 - 354
Paper:
esim2016_23-148