Advanced Building Materials & Composites

Topic 3
Thermal Insulation of buildings

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Why building insulation is important?

Modes of heat transfer

Indoor issues with outdoor heat/cold
• Cooling/heating energy requirements

• Thermal discomfort
 Principles to control heat flow in buildings

1. Control the conduction heat through building envelope: Use of thermal insulation, Thermal break and

multiple glazing.

2. Control the radiation heat through building envelope: Use of white and bright surfaces; reflective or

retroreflective coatings.

3. Control the convection heat through building envelope: Use of air barrier Systems.
Thermal insulators
• ‘Insulation’ refers to reduction in the rate of heat transfer from / to buildings
• Restricting heat transfer from warmer to cooler areas is the principle.

• A lot of energy use can be curtailed either to heat or cool a building interior by
application of proper insulation.
• This helps to achieve human comfort condition.

• Materials having low thermal conductivity are good insulators

• Unit of measurement U-value - lower the value better the thermal performance
• U value measures the transmission of heat through any material
• Unit is - W/m²K
• Thermal conductivity is independent of material thickness.

• "U" Value has an inverse relationship to thermal resistivity value or "R" Value
Example for Thermal Insulation
Example for Thermal break
Example for Thermal break
Example for Thermal break
Example for multiple glazing
Example for bright and reflective
surfaces
 Cellulose
Heavily recycled material like newspaper, paper pulp, organic wastes (85%)
Boric acid or Ammonium sulphate retards spread of fire (15%)
Least cost in making and lowest embodied energy

• Moist installation through nozzle

• Batt form
2.9-3.8
m2-K/W per inch

Usually installed within a framing fixed on inner side of external wall

Later covered by a finish material

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 Fiber glass
Fiber glass is made of fine strands of glass.
they trap air, an insulator
Strands are discontinuous and do not allow heat to flow by conduction

Available in batt form and in roll form in varying thickness

Dry type of installation
Easy to install within the framework
High resistance to microbiological attack

Health hazards due to handling of fine glass strands

Fiberglass and rock wool are not flammable

Rock wool/ mineral wool - made from heated stone fiber strands

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osWeSqCXpcE
Polyurethane foam spray https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1jPx9xQeXk

• Thermoset Polymer having an closed cellular structure and available as

foam.
• Contains low conductive gas Chlorofluorocarbon as the entrapped gas (CFC gas) in place
of air R value is much high (6 – 7)

• Used in wall cavities

• Used for pipe insulation

Other insulations:
Extended Polystyrene (EPS) Thermocol
Extruded polystyrene (XEPS)

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Reflective insulation
Reflective insulation reduces heat transfer through radiation
By placing a surface that reflects thermal radiation.

The surface reflects most of the thermal radiation toward the air
space, preventing it from being absorbed by the material.

1. Metal sheet with backing Aluminum sheet covering AC ducts

2. Reflective glass is essentially ordinary float glass

with a metallic coating that cuts off solar heat

Reflective glass
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Some methods of insulation
1. Earthen pots Insulation System – a traditional method of thermal insulation

A series of inverted earthen pots are laid over pre-treated roof.

The air entrapped acts as insulator
The roof is then finished with plain concrete

2. Cool roofing - Simple lime wash at low cost functions as reflector of solar radiation
(upto 80%). Reflective paints may also be applied at higher cost.

3. White ceramic tiles as roofing for thermal comfort

4. Wood is a natural insulator due to air pockets within its cellular structure
Wood lining on walls and on ceiling is effective
Wood lining is recommended in hilly regions

5. Use of straw on flat roof (during summer/ dry climate)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVCckOBiIhE
and sloped roof acts as thermal barrier

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Sound insulation

Cork-sheet Straw-board Rock wool

Air filled materials like boards of natural fiber, fiberglass, mineral wool

They need to be spaced between the inner wall with or without an airgap with a panel cover
• Suspended from ceiling
• Separated from wall with wood framing

Different thicknesses of porous absorbers absorb different frequencies of sound

(source: Wikimedia commons)

Sound insulation

Fiber glass/ mineral wool infill

Plywood
Perforated metal sheet
Perforated board Slat resonators

Standard concrete blocks with slotted

cavities of same volume and size
act as sound insulation
Green roof and green wall
Green roofs reduce the heat flux through the roof

Shading the outer surface of the building envelope has

been shown to be more effective than internal insulation

Proper drainage is required

Proper waterproofing is necessary
 Drainage

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Gypsum: Applications
Plaster of Paris (Gypsum plaster) – 75% dehydrated gypsum
As finish: Gives very smooth finish on interior wall surface, moulded forms
Anti microbial, rust preventive, lightweight in comparison to cement plaster

Gypsum board
• As ‘dry wall’ partition wall
• As ‘rapid wall’ with GFRG panel
• As false ceiling in air conditioned rooms like labs
GFRG wall
Gypsum board has a relatively low R-value–usually listed
as 0.5 like many earthen materials

Gypsum board to serve as a thermal barrier for flammable or ignitable

materials like it covers foam insulation used in thermal insulation
Gypsum: Applications

Smooth reflective ceiling

with gypboard in Board Room
Wall with perforated
gypsum board covering

Perforated tiles with 50mm

Glasswool insulation
Pictures: self
What are composites
Composites are an engineered combination of materials that
result in a finished material with better overall properties than the
starting constituents. Composites are extremely durable.

At a microscopic level, the constituent materials remain distinct

within the finished structure.

Wood is a natural composite of cellulose fibers in a lignin matrix.

Engineered wood is wood fibers, strands or veneers bound using adhesives

What are composites
Composites have two phases

Matrix phase – that holds or contains the

reinforcement

Filler Phase– in form of fiber, sheet or particles

strong & less dense, lighter
Fibers may be continuous or discontinuous within a matrix

Need based Alternative materials with specific properties can be imparted

It may be economical depending on area of application
Applications : building facade
Composites have low thermal expansion do not corrode or rot – external applications
Structurally integrated panels (SIPs) – used for precast wall panels for highrises
Panels core: foam of EPS or Polyurethane
Structural facings: Oriented strand board, Corrugated metal sheets
Purpose: Thermal insulation, light weight

Vacuum Insulated Panel (VIP) - a gas-tight enclosure surrounding a rigid core

Pultruded composite panel - These are resin-coated glass fibers through a heated die
Can take any desired shape keeping it watertight
Thermoplastic polymer (polyester, polyurethane and vinyl ester epoxy) matrix
with glass fiber reinforcement matrix
Application: building external facade & door window frames

Aluminum Composite Panel

used for external cladding or facades of buildings
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Other Applications
Piping systems in high rises have Fiber-reinforced plastic. This allows water
to move through high-pressure systems while preventing erosion.
Reinforcements could be glass, carbon fiber, aramid etc.
water carrier for Duct work and ventilation, saline environment
Other areas: Elevator cables, Underground pipes, door window frames
Composites offer energy saving capabilities as it has low thermal conductivity
Composites have low thermal expansion
Composites do not corrode or rot in wet environment

Glass and aramid fibers

as reinforcing matrix
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Composites in structural systems
• Longer spans
• Thinner slabs – steel deck provides
shuttering, lesser height, economical
Composite beam
• More slender column – space saving

• More design opportunities like column

Composite column
free space
• Lesser weight, speedy construction

• No shuttering required Steel deck

• Services can be accommodated below steel deck

Composite slab
Application in highrise buildings
Thank you!

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Solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC)
• The solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) is the total fraction of available solar radiation that is transmitted through the window as heat gain. It
is expressed as a value between 0 and 1, which gives the proportion of energy from the sun that passes through the window (including
frame) into an interior space.
• For example, a SHGC value of 0.6 means that 60% of the solar radiation will pass through the window to the interior and 40% will be
excluded.
• Windows for passive solar heating must have a high SHGC so the solar radiation is able to enter through the glazing system. Conversely,
windows designed primarily for passive solar cooling must have a low SHGC, as the glazing must exclude a large amount of the solar
radiation.

Shading coefficient
• The shading coefficient (SC) is an older means of assessing the total amount of solar radiation passing through a glazing system (not
including the frame) and is not commonly used now and has been replaced in literature by the SHGC. It is derived by comparing the solar
radiant heat transmission properties of any glazing system against the solar radiant heat transmission properties of 3 mm clear glass, which
has an SHGC of 0.86 (86%) and is given a shading coefficient of 1.0.
• The shading coefficient is calculated by the equation SC = SHGC / 0.86.
• For example, for glazing with a SHGC of 0.6, we have 0.6 / 0.86 = 0.69, so the shading coefficient (SC) is 0.69.

https://www.level.org.nz/passive-design/glazing-and-glazing-units/measuring-glazing-performance-key-concepts/

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• Solar reflectance (SR) is the ratio between the solar energy globally
reflected by a surface and the total incident solar energy.
Traditionally, roofing materials’ SR can be between 0.05 and 0.5 (e.g.,
0.05 for black membrane roofs, 0.08–0.5 for metal roofs, and 0.2 for
clay tiles).
• Cool materials have a high SR (generally higher than 0.65) calculated
across the entire solar spectrum.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/solar-reflectance

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Nano material applications
Application of TiO2– self cleaning glass

Application of Carbon nano tube increases the compressive strength of cement mortar,
nano-silica (SiO2) improves durability of concrete

Copper nano tubes in steel for stress control and cracking

Vanadium and Molybdenum applications in nano layer on steel improves strength

Lignocellulose of wood is nano fibers (1 – 100nm) used in reinforcement to the concrete,

coating for woods, and nano filler for polymer composites.

Nano technology for fire protection in glass using interlayer of fumed silica (SiO2)
which turns rigid and opaque when heated.

Application of Carbon nano tubes and polypropylene gives fire resistance to concrete

Dye- sensitized nano TiO2 layer improves photovoltaic efficiency of solar collectors

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