Chapter One Introduction

Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 General.
Thermal insulation has been contributing to energy conservation and will
increase its role in the coming years. As we know that the energy will become
the backbone of life in the 21
st
century and conservation of it is of great
importance of engineering application for all countries [17].
This study is concern in measuring Thermal properties by the means of
uarded!"ot!#late Apparatus$ which is widely accepted as a primary method
to determine the thermal conductivity of insulation materials$ and will use two
types of measurement methods% the first is a steady!state methods and the
second is unsteady!state method$ and will be describes in later chapters .
&ound insulation problems in buildings are of two general types$ namely '1(
prevention of sound through partitions and floors and '2($ isolation of
machinery vibration and noise including the prevention of transmission of air!
born sounds. The first problem is discussed in this thesis and the second is
another related sub)ect$ namely$ architectural acoustics and noise *uieting
within rooms and spaces which is not of this thesis attent.
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Chapter One Introduction
1.2 Common Reeds
a. Description
#hragmites australis 'the scientific name of common reeds( is a tall
perennial wetland grass ranging in height from three to thirteen feet. &trong
leathery hori+ontal shoots$ called rhi+omes$ growing on or beneath the ground
surface give rise to roots and tough vertical stalks. These stalks support broad
sheath!type leaves that are one!half to two inches wide near the base$ tapering
to a point at the ends. The foliage is gray!green during the growing season$
with purple!brown plumes appearing by late ,une. The plant turns tan in the
fall and most leaves drop off$ leaving only the plume!topped shoot. A non!
invasive species is sometimes confused with common reed. -t can be
distinguished from common reed by its sparse flowering structure and long
narrow leaves [ ].
b. Habitat
.ommon reed thrives in sunny wetland habitats. -t grows along drier
borders and elevated areas of brackish and freshwater marshes and along
riverbanks and lakeshores. The species is particularly prevalent in disturbed or
polluted soils found along roadsides$ ditches and dredged areas [ ].
c. Life History
.ommon reed spreads to a new area by sprouting from a rhi+ome fragment
or from seed. /ew upright stems grow from the rhi+ome each spring.
0hi+omes spread hori+ontally in all directions during the growing season.
1lowering begins in late ,une$ and seeds are formed by August. -n early
autumn$ foods reserves move from leave and stems to the rhi+ome system.
The leaves die and fall off$ with only the dead brown vertical shoots
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Chapter One Introduction
remaining. The accumulation of dead leaves and stems$ as well as the
pervasive rhi+ome system$ prohibits the growth of desirable plant species [ ].
1.3 Definition of Thermal and Sound nsulations.
1.3.1 Thermal Conducti!ity Coefficient.
The thermal conductivity coefficient '23m 4.( is the *uantity of heat which
passes in unit time through unit area of a slab of indefinite e5tent and of unit
thickness when unit difference of temperature is established between its faces
[6].
1.3.2 Sound nsulation.
&ound -nsulation 'd7( is the capacity of structure to prevent sound from
reaching a receiving location. &ound energy is not necessarily absorbed%
impedance mismatch$ or reflection back toward the source$ is often the
principal mechanism [18].
1." #unction of Thermal nsulations.
-nsulation is used to perform one or more of the following functions9
1. :nergy conservation9 conserving energy by reducing the rate of heat
flow is a primary reason for insulating surfaces. -nsulation materials
that will be perform satisfactory in the temperature range of '!2;< to
1===(4. is widely available.
2. #ersonal protection and comfort9 A surface that is too hot poses a
danger to people who are working in that area of accidentally
couching the hot surface and burning themselves. To prevent this
danger and to comply with >ccupation &afety and "ealth
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Chapter One Introduction
Administration '>&"A( standards$ the temperature of hot surfaces
should be reduced to below ;=4. by insulating them.
8. .ontrol surface temperature of personal and e*uipment protection.
?. .ontrol the temperature of commercial and industrial processes.
6. -ncrease operation efficiency of heating3 ventilation3 cooling$
plumbing$ steam$ process and power systems.
;. #revent or reduce damage to e*uipment from e5posure to fire or
corrosive atmospheres [11].
1.$ Classification of thermal insulation %&'.
There are many types of insulation available in the market$ and
sometimes selecting the right kind of insulation can become a confusing )ob.
Therefore$ it is helpful to classify the insulations in some ways to have a better
perspective of them.
-nsulation materials can be classified broadly as capacitive$ reflective$ and
resistive materials. The thick masonry walls used in the past relied on heat
storage capacity of the walls and can be viewed as capacitive insulation. They
slowed down the flow of heat from one medium to another by simply
absorbing the heat and then releasing it slowly. Today it is no longer practical
to build such massive structures$ and thus capacitive insulations are not used
in buildings.
0eflective insulation such as a piece of aluminum foil placed on a window
glass is based on reflecting in the incident radiation back by using highly
reflective surfaces. 0eflective insulations are effective against radiation but
not for conduction or convection. Therefore$ they are mostly used in evacuated
spaces. 2hen we say insulation$ we normally mean resistive insulation that is
made of a material of low thermal conductivity and offers effective resistance
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Chapter One Introduction
to heat flow despite its small thickness. -nsulations e5hibit considerable
variations in their structure$ but they can be classified into four main groups9!
a. Granular insulation(
.alcium silicate$ perlite$ and vermiculate are the best known granular
insulations. #erlite can be used in the temperature range '16 to <16(4..
.alcium silicate can be used in the temperature range '16 to <16(4.$ and may
absorb water when it gets wet.
b. Cellular insulation(
.ellular insulation has closed cell and is made of cellular materials such as
polystyrene$ polyurethane$ cork$ plastic foams and other polymers. The
polyurethane has upper service temperature of 1=64.$ polystyrene of 1864.$
and polyisocynurate of 16=4..
c. #ibrous insulation(
1ibrous insulation is composed of small! diameter gibers that fill in an air
space. The fiber can be organic$ such as% wool or other animal hair$ cotton$
cloth$ wood$ and dry vegetable fivers$ or inorganic$ such as% mineral wool$
glass$ and ceramic fibers.
d. Reflecti!e insulation(
0eflective insulations are based on reflecting the thermal radiation on the
surface back by using highly reflective surfaces. 0eflective insulation can be
used itself to minimi+e heat flow by radiation.
1.& Thermal nsulation Testin) %1*'.
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Chapter One Introduction
The thermal conductivity of insulation materials that are in the form of
blocks$ sheets$ slabs$ blankets$ loose!fill insulations and comments$ when
designed for mean temperature up to 1===4.$ usually is measured by a
guarded hot plate apparatus as standardi+ed under American &ociety for
Testing and @aterials 'A&T@( .!177. @ethods for measuring thermal
performance of pipe insulation have been described and have been
standardi+ed under A&T@ .!886. .onsiderable effort over the past thirty
years has been developed to more rapid methods of measuring thermal
conductivity. A&T@ .!61< has been promulgated for the heat flow meter
apparatus. This apparatus is usually built for measurements at one mean
temperature$ which can be from '1= A ;==(4.. The thermal conductivity probe
also has been used for rapid thermal performance determinations. "eat flow
through a wall$ floor$ roof$ and other built Aup structure can be calculated from
the known thermal conductivities of the component materials or by employing
a standardi+ed guarded hot bo5 as described in A&T@ .!28;. The guarded hot
bo5 is probably the best means for determining the value of the reflective
insulations for building applications as they are applied. @ethods for
measuring the thermal performance of high temperature insulations$ up to a
mean temperature of 18==4. have been described$ and one has been
standardi+ed under A&T@ .!1<2 and .!2=1. Transient methods for
measurements of thermal conductivity generally involve a measurement of
time needed by an initial temperature wave to pass through part of the
specimen. The time of the passage is controlled by the thermal diffusivity of
specimen$ by Baser flash Apparatus 'B1A(.
1.+ ,ethods for ,easurin) Thermal Transport properties of
,aterials.
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Chapter One Introduction
>ver the years a number of methods have been developed to measure
thermal transport properties of many different materials. To keep up with the
*uick development of new materials and the ever!increasing importance of
accommodating new applications$ better accuracy and precision of
measurement$ variations of older methods and the introduction of completely
new techni*ues have been more common recently. Today it is often not
enough to get appro5imate data from te5tbooks$ but measurements of real
samples are necessary. &mall variations in composition$ processing parameters
and utili+ation conditions change the behavior and properties$ and if new
materials are to be used at their optimum potential$ accurate measurements are
essential [11].
1.+.1 The -arliest ,ethods.
The earliest group of measurement techni*ues is the steady!state
techni*ues. .ommon for all these is that the operator tries to establish a
temperature gradient over a known thickness of a sample$ and to control the
heat flow from one side to the other. A one!dimensional flow has been
employed most fre*uently$ but also other geometrical arrangements are used.
@ost commonly used are the variants with the general name uarded "ot
#late$ "#. The name refers to an arrangement to prevent heat leaving the
system through the edges of the sample.
This is done by a guard$ i.e. a heated barrier around the sample periphery.
All of these techni*ues apply a fairly simple mathematical model for how heat
is transported through the material. The method is also the basis of many
standard methods$ described by A&T@ and similar institutes. -n principle it is
possible for a laboratory to build their own "#$ after the guidelines given in
the standards$ but it is probably more common to purchase commercial
e*uipment.
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Chapter One Introduction
There are several drawbacks inherent in these techni*ues9
! To minimi+e the heat loss to the surroundings$ the sample si+e tends to
be large. The larger the sample area$ the less important is the
circumference.
! &ince the method is often only used for insulating materials$ which
clearly have a low thermal diffusivity$ it takes long time to establish a
steady state temperature gradient over the sample thickness.
! Temperature gradients are often *uite large$ sometime 6=!;=4.. At best
then$ a thermal conductivity value represents an average over this
temperature range$ but if there are phase changes or reactions taking
place$ these will not be obvious through thermal conductivity
calculations.
! @ost seriously$ though$ with the steady state techni*ues is the *uality of
contact resistance between the thermocouple and the sample surface. A
difference here will create an error that cannot be compensated for. This
error tends to over estimate the insulating properties of a material. The
contact resistance becomes worse at higher temperatures$ better
conductors$ and for rougher surfaces. This is also the reason the
uarded "ot #late is not a standard for materials with a conductivity
over 223m4C [11].
1.+.2 Transient Techni.ues.
Among the transient techni*ues$ which in contrast to the steady!state
techni*ues measure a response at the same time as a signal is sent out to create
heat in the sample$ there are methods for measuring thermal diffusivity$
thermal conductivity$ or both diffusivity and conductivity. A well!known and
often used transient method for thermal diffusivity is Baser 1lash. -t is not
often applied for polymeric materials or other materials with low diffusivity$
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Chapter One Introduction
and will therefore not be dealt with here at any length. ,ust very briefly$ it is
suited for homogeneous$ solid$ good conducting materials like metals. -t can
be used at high temperatures$ and is *uick.
&ince the result from the measurement is diffusivity$ one needs to obtain a
value for heat capacity from another measurement to finally calculate thermal
conductivity. /aturally$ error propagation from the two measurements can lead
to lower accuracy in the final result [11].
a. Hot /ire.
Transient methods more commonly used for polymers and also li*uids are
often developed from a method named "ot 2ire. -n this method$ the
e*uipment is fairly simple. A metal wire of defined diameter and length is
contacted in both ends by electrical connectors$ placed in contact with the
sample material$ and a current is run through the wire. The resistance creates
heating of the wire$ and the cooling efficiency of the sample material
determines how the temperature rises in the wire. The temperature!time
response is used to calculate the sample conductivity. &implicity of hardware
and design makes it an ideal method for some li*uids. 7ut measuring solid
samples is very difficult$ the reason again being the contact resistance. A
li*uid can easily wet the curved wire surface$ but it is tremendously difficult to
make a good contact on a solid material [11].
b. Hot Strip.
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Chapter One Introduction
The ne5t step in the development of transient methods is the "ot &trip. -t is
very tempting to say that the wire was flattened out to a strip. A strip can of
course make a much better contact to a sample surface. &ince the strip also has
a dimension of area$ the measurements can in this case give both diffusivity
and conductivity. &trips work in the same manner as the wire A a current run
through the strip creates heating and the sample properties determine how heat
is conducting into the sample. @etal strips can only be used on non!
electrically conducting materials$ and the sample surfaces have to be rather
smooth to give good readings. @any commercial methods today are based on
strips and strip theory. @ost of them provide strips put on a background or
substrate$ which is then held against the sample surface. "alf of the resulting
response then comes from the backing material and only half from the
unknown material$ which lowers the sensitivity [11].
c. Transient 0lane Source1 Hot Dis2.
The most recent development of the strip is the transient plane source$ or
T#& techni*ue. -t is also called the ustafson #robe$ or the "ot Eisk. The
main difference versus the strip is that the T#& sensor can be regarded as a
strip wound into a number of concentric circles$ and then insulated on both
sides by a thin polymer with good chemical resistance and mechanical
properties. -n practice$ the concentric circles have been made into a double
spiral$ so the current can be led from one end to the other. Eifferently from the
strip$ the T#& sensor is placed between two pieces of the sample material$ so
all influence on the warming of the sensor during the measurement comes
from the sample on both sides [11].
1.13 History of the Guarded Hot40late 5pparatus
[21].
1=
Chapter One Introduction
1.13 ntroduction to sound insulation.
The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that the
noise perceived by the occupants or people nearby is kept down to a level that
will not threaten their health and will allow them to sleep$ rest and work in
satisfactory conditions. The *uantities that define the acoustical *uality of
constructions in buildings are airborne and impact sound insulation between
rooms$ airborne sound insulation of facades$ reverberation time of rooms and
noise level caused by technical installations [<].
The noise control starts from the definition of the target level. The target
levels in buildings are not standardi+ed but some general rules can be
presented. 1or e5ample$ in living rooms$ the A!weighted noise level should
not e5ceed 8= d7 in the daytime. This concerns both domestic noise from
neighborhood and environmental noise. The recommended A!weighted sound
level in office rooms$ classrooms or conference rooms is 86...?6 d7.
-n control rooms in the industrial workplaces$ the range is 66F7= d7$
depending on the need for concentration of the workers. -n industrial halls and
other noisy buildings$ the average noise level should be limited to <6 d7.
>therwise$ the risk of hearing impairment is considerably increased and
hearing protectors should be used. -n such environments$ noise can be a safety
risk$ as well [D].
Airborne sound insulation is the most important physical *uantity defining
the acoustical *uality of buildings. Eepending on the activities in the rooms$ it
may be necessary to place sound insulation re*uirements to the surrounding
walls$ either to isolate the room from the neighboring noisy spaces or vice
versa.
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Chapter One Introduction
-n dwelling houses$ the sound reduction inde5 '&0-( should be at least 0G66
d7. .onstructions fulfilling this re*uirement are well established and accepted
construction products can easily be found from handbooks.
>n the other hand$ real sound insulation problems e5ist in work
environments$ in public buildings$ in ships or offshore where noise levels
produced or tolerated by people are not well defined. The '&0-( of the wall
structure should be designed on the basis of the measured or estimated noise
levels on the noisy side of the wall$ and the target level on the other side of the
wall [8=].
1.12 5im of the present Study.
The aims of this study were focused on9!
1. 1abrication of guarded!hot plate apparatus '"#( based on American
&ociety for Testing and @aterials 'A&T@ .!177( H 7ritish &tander '7&
12;;?( to measure the thermal conductivity of insulation material 'straw
panels(.
2. @easuring the thermal conductivity of straw panels with different stalk
straw orientation.
8. The thermal insulation coefficient compared with other materials to
determine usefulness of the straw panels as illustrated in appendi5 7.
?. @easuring the sound reduction inde5 for straw panels.
6. The sound reduction inde5 compared with polystyrene as reference
material.
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