Search results for "insulation"
showing 10 items of 61 documents
Building Energy Performance: A LCA Case Study of kenaf-fibres insulation board
2008
Abstract The paper presents a life cycle assessment of a kenaf-fibre insulation board following the international standards of the ISO 14040 series. Each life-cycle step has been checked, from kenaf production and board manufacture by an Italian firm, to use and disposal. The aim is to assess the board eco-profile and to compare, on the basis of a life-cycle approach, the energy and environmental benefits and drawbacks related to its employment into a typical residential dwelling. A comparison among various insulating materials has been carried out. The study focuses also on processes and input materials which cause the main environmental impacts of the product, and points out critical issu…
Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Insulating Sustainable Mortars with Ampelodesmos mauritanicus and Pennisetum setaceum Plants as Aggregates
2021
The use of natural fibers in cement composites is a widening research field as their application can enhance the mechanical and thermal behavior of cement mortars and limit their carbon footprint. In this paper, two different wild grasses, i.e., Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, also called diss, and Pennisetum setaceum, also known as crimson fountaingrass, are used as a source of natural aggregates for cement mortars. The main purpose is to assess the possibility of using the more invasive crimson fountaingrass in place of diss in cement-based vegetable concrete. The two plant fibers have been characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), helium picnometry and thermogravimetric an…
Integrazione di celle fotovoltaiche ibride nel vetromattone
2012
L’invenzione riguarda l’integrazione del vetromattone con celle solari ibride (organiche/inorganiche), conosciute come Dye-sensitized Solar Cell (DSC). La combinazione del vetromattone con le DSC consente di migliorare le prestazioni del prodotto originario rendendolo in grado di produrre energia pulita. Le caratteristiche di trasparenza e isolamento termo-acustico del prodotto possono essere regolate agendo sulla configurazione delle DSC. Il prodotto può essere assemblato a formare pannelli fotovoltaici per la realizzazione di facciate traslucide energeticamente “attive” in varie condizioni luminose (condizioni di luce diffusa o artificiale) e indipendentemente dall’angolo di radiazione so…
Experimental Evidence on the Thermal Performance of Opaque Surfaces in Mediterranean Climate
2013
The thermal insulation of buildings, intended as wrap feature which determines the dispersion of heat, the reference parameter is necessary to contain the thermal losses during the winter season. The transmittance of the opaque components, used as an indicator of the energy quality of a casing, together with the overall coefficient of dispersion, represents a proper descriptor of the behavior during the heating season. However, if a strong insulation in winter conditions brings only positive effects, the same cannot be said for the summer conditions. A high value of the insulation in the casing is convenient only when the gains free, either in the form of solar contribution that of endogeno…
Experimental Evidence on the Thermal Performance of Opaque Surfaces in Mediterranean Climate
2013
The thermal insulation of buildings, intended as wrap feature which determines the dispersion of heat, the reference parameter is necessary to contain the thermal losses during the winter season. The transmittance of the opaque components, used as an indicator of the energy quality of a casing, together with the overall coefficient of dispersion, represents a proper descriptor of the behavior during the heating season. However, if a strong insulation in winter conditions brings only positive effects, the same cannot be said for the summer conditions. A high value of the insulation in the casing is convenient only when the gains free, either in the form of solar contribution that of endogeno…
“The tale of the three little tits”: Different nest building solutions under the same environmental pressures
2020
Evolutionary selection pressures, and species-specific ecology and behavior, promote a great variability in the size and composition of nests. However, it would be expected that phylogenetically close species, with similar ecological needs, breeding at the same time in the same place, would also build similar nests. In contrast with this, previous studies have found differences in nest mass and composition among closely related sympatric species. These differences have been attributed to small differences in body size (smaller species building larger and/or more insulated nests), or to the different ways in which species perceive the environment (e.g. perceived predation risk). In this stud…
Thermal conductivity measurement of insulating innovative building materials by hot plate and heat flow meter devices: A Round Robin Test
2019
Abstract The characterization of thermal insulation properties of construction materials represents a fundamental step on the building insulation assessment. In recent years innovative materials have been introduced in the market to fulfill the continuously growing requirements of energy saving and sustainability, and their performance is not so reliable and mature as it happens for traditional insulators. The work presents a Round Robin Test realised among six European laboratories hosting hot plates devices to measure the thermal conductivity of four different materials: aerogel, vacuum insulation panels, polystyrene and birch wood fibre insulation boards. After the definition of the comm…
Simplified Hybrid PD Model in Voids
2011
In this paper a novel approach to model partial discharges (PD) activity taking place inside a spherical void in epoxy resin system has been traced. The approach is based on a time varying conductance of the inner void, subjected to multistress conditions: voltage, temperature and pressure. A simple lumped circuit macro-model simulates the global effects of PD activity: the different parameters influencing the discharge phenomenon in the void are taking into account by using a physical approach resulting in a time varying conductance inside the circuit. The evaluated PD activity has been compared with experimental and simulated one for the accessible and inaccessible part of the system. A d…
Simplified hybrid PD model in voids: Pattern validation
2013
The purpose of the present work is to show the validation of a new model to simulate the physical phenomenon of partial discharge (PD) produced in air voids inside insulating epoxy resin. The model has been developed on the basis of a new approach that combines the known circuit model of three capacitors with a model used to describe the behavior of the ionized channel inside of the inclusion during the discharge phenomenon, short-circuiting the capacity that represents the void. The approach is based on time-variable conductance of the void, subjected to multistress conditions: voltage, temperature and pressure. The new approach has been developed from a time variable conductivity model us…
Thermal conductivity of disperse insulation materials and their mixtures
2017
Development of new, more efficient thermal insulation materials is a key to reduction of heat losses and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Two innovative materials developed at Thermeko LLC are Izoprok and Izopearl. This research is devoted to experimental study of thermal insulation properties of both materials as well as their mixture. Results show that mixture of 40% Izoprok and 60% of Izopearl has lower thermal conductivity than pure materials. In this work, material thermal conductivity dependence temperature is also measured. Novel modelling approach is used to model spatial distribution of disperse insulation material. Computational fluid dynamics approach is also used to est…