Investigation of Long-Term Thermal Insulation Performance of Vacuum Insulation Panels with Various Enveloping Methods

To practically apply vacuum insulation panels (VIPs)
to buildings or home appliances, VIPs have demanded long-term
lifespan with outstanding insulation performance. Service lives of
VIPs enveloped with Al-foil and three-layer Al-metallized envelope
are calculated. For Al-foil envelope, the service life is longer but edge
conduction is too large compared with the Al-metallized envelope. To
increase service life even more, the proposed double enveloping
method and metal-barrier-added enveloping method are further
analyzed. The service lives of the VIP to employ two enveloping
methods are calculated. Also, pressure increase and thermal insulation
performance characteristics are investigated. For the metalbarrier-
added enveloping method, effective thermal conductivity
increase with time is close to that of Al-foil envelope, especially, for
getter-inserted VIPs. For double enveloping method, if water vapor is
perfectly adsorbed, the effect of service life enhancement becomes
much greater. From these methods, the VIP can be guaranteed for
service life of more than 20 years.

• Inseok Yeo
• Tae-Ho Song

• Vacuum insulation panels
• Service life
• Double enveloping
• Metal-barrier-added enveloping
• Edge conduction.

[1] 2011 Buildings Energy Data Book, (2011), U.S. Department of Energy.
[2] X. Wang, N. Walliman, R. Ogden, C. Kendrick, (2007), “VIP and their
applications in buildings: a review”, Proceedings of the Insitution of Civil
Engineers, Construction materials 160, pp. 145-153. [3] J. Fricke, (2005), “From Dewars to VIPs-one century of progress in
vacuum insulation technology”, Proceedings of the 7th International
Vacuum Insulation Symposium, EMPA, pp. 5-14.
[4] P. Mukhopadhyaya, K. Kumaran, N. Normandin, D. V. Reenen, J.
Lackey, (2008), “high-performance vacuum insulation panel:
development of alternative core materials”, Journal of Regions
Engineering, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 103-123.
[5] J. Kuhn, J. P. Ebert, M. C. Arduini-Schuster, D. Büttner, J. Fricke, (1992),
“Thermal transport in polystyrene and polyurethane foam insulations”,
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 35, No. 7, pp.
1795-1801.
[6] J. Fricke, H. Schwab, U. Heinemann, (2006), “Vacuum insulation panels
– Exciting thermal properties and most challenging applications”,
International Journal of Thermophysics, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 1123-1139.
[7] J. Kwon, C. H. Jang, H. Jung, T.H. Song, (2010), “Vacuum maintenance
in vacuum insulation panels exemplified with a staggered beam VIP”,
Energy and Buildings Vol. 42, pp. 590-597.
[8] H. Schwab, U. Heinemann, A. Beck, H. Ebert, J. Fricke, (2005),
“Permeation of different gases through foils used as envelopes for
vacuum insulation panels”, Journal of Thermal Envelope & Building
Science, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 293-317.
[9] H. Simmler, S. Brunner, (2005), “Vacuum insulation panels for building
application basic properties, aging mechanisms and service life”, Energy
and Buildings, Vol. 37, pp. 1122-1131.
[10] U. Heinemann, (2008), “Influence of water on the total heat transfer in
'Evacuated' insulations”, International Journal of Thermophysics, Vol. 29,
pp. 735-749.
[11] G. Garnier, D. Quenard, B. Yrieix, M. Chauvois, L. Flandin, Y. Brechet,
(2007), “Optimization, design, and durability of vacuum insulation
panels”, 8th International Vacuum Insulation Symposium 2007.
[12] S. Brunner, T. Stahl, K. Ghazi Wakili, (2012), “An example of
deteriorated vacuum insulation panels in a building façade”, Energy and
Buildings, Vol. 54, pp. 278-282.
[13] L. Murray, (2005), “The impact of foil pinholes and flex cracks on the
moisture and oxygen barrier of flexible packaging”, Polymers,
Laminations, Adhesives, Coatings, and Extrusions Conference, Las
Vegas, USA.
[14] H. Jung, I. S. Yeo, T. H. Song, (2014), “Al-Foil-Bonded Enveloping and
Double Enveloping for Application to Vacuum Insulation Panels”,
Energy and Buildings, Vol. 84, pp. 595-606.