Category: Transient Plane Source
Author(s): Arild Gustavsen, Bjorn Petter Jelle, Linn Ingunn C. Sandberg, Tao Gao
Keywords: embodied energy, Hollow silica nanospheres, life cycle assessment, Nano Insulation Materials, Thermal Conductivity, thermal insulation, Transient plane source (TPS) technique
Abstract: This article reported on the synthesis, characterization, life cycle assessment (LCA) of nano insulation materials (NIMs) that are made of hollow silica nanospheres (HSNSs). The transient plane source (TPS) technique was used to determine the thermal properties of the HSNSs. The thermal conductivity of the HSNSs is quite low at 0.02 W/mK because thermal conductivity is predominantly size-dependent at the nanometer scale. The HSNS NIMs were found to be comparable to silica aerogels for thermal insulation applications, as they have great flexibility in modifying their properties if their corresponding structural parameters are tuned.
Reference: Applied Materials & Interfaces (2013), 5:761-767
DOI: 10.1021/am302303b