Wooden stud walls with aerogel thermal insulation. Material properties and HAM-simulations
Paper i proceeding, 2013
This study evaluates the heat and moisture performance of wooden stud walls with aerogel blankets as the main insulation.
There is always a risk that a newmaterial will create problems if it is applied in the same way as conventional materials.To predict
and prevent such problems, it is of essential interest to analyze aerogel applications from a heat and moisture perspective. In this
study, thermal conductivity and the vapor diffusivity of aerogel blankets were measured. The work found that the aerogel blankets
can be compressed and that compression actually lowers the thermal conductivity. The measured results were used as input in
numerical simulations. Four different wall layouts were modeled and compared to a wall with conventional insulation. The simulations
showed that the thickness of a wooden stud wall could be decreased to 60% with aerogel blankets instead of conventional
insulation, with the same thermal transmittance. Also, the position of the aerogel layers had a large influence on the moisture
condition in the wall. The aerogel wall in the study with the best moisture performance has a homogeneous aerogel layer outside
of the wooden studs and the studs are in line, forming a continuous thermal bridge through the wall. The moisture performance
of the best aerogel wall in the study was as good as the studied wall with conventional insulation.
aerogel blanket
Aerogel
wooden stud wall
building insulation
thermal properties