An assessment of reflective thermal insulation products and systems, carried out on behalf of the Department of Energy, indicated that there were a number of significant short- and long-term issues and problems relating to their thermal performance that needed to be addressed. The specific short-term recommendations included the establishment of a detailed study of laboratory methods with the objectives of identifying constraints of current methods and analytical techniques and providing an expansion of the existing data base.
The detailed program, which has been devised and is currently being carried out to address these issues, will be described. This involves a series of approximately 100 guarded hot box (ASTM C 236) experiments to be performed on well-characterized test panels containing reflective insulation materials and typical products. All test panels will contain additional internal temperature instrumentation so that the necessary information regarding the actual thermal performance of the reflective insulation material can be obtained from the results of the systems test. The experimental matrix includes tests to measure the effect of airspace mean temperature and temperature difference, cavity emittance and aspect ratio, stud thermal resistance, heat flow direction, and the interaction between multiple airspaces within a single cavity.
Citation: Symposium, ASHRAE Trans., vol. 95, pt. 2
Product Details
- Published:
- 1989
- Number of Pages:
- 6
- File Size:
- 1 file , 790 KB
- Product Code(s):
- D-27244
