Technology: Vacuum Insulation Systems - Possible Applications and Design Considerations
Vacuum insulation systems are one of the most important innovations in the construction sector. Within a conventional insulating material, thermal transport is mainly made up of thermal conduction through the enclosed gas (65-75%). Vacuum insulation systems therefore have to minimise the transmission of heat through the gas by evacuating the unit. To maintain the vacuum in this kind of insulation system over a long period, the evacuated space has to be surrounded by a gas-proof envelope. The enclosed space can either be empty or filled with a core material whose cells are entirely open and which can therefore be evacuated. Depending on the level of induced vacuum, the system must resist high atmospheric pressure (equivalent to up to about 10.3 tonnes/m2). Fig. 2: Overview of individual components and their possible combinations, and of light transmission offered by insulation systems.
