IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i11p3310-d569178.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental and CFD Investigation on the Application for Aerogel Insulation in Buildings

Author

Listed:
  • Santu Golder

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi 6204, Bangladesh)

  • Ramadas Narayanan

    (Centre for Intelligent Systems, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, 6 University Drive, Bundaberg, QLD 4670, Australia)

  • Md. Rashed Hossain

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi 6204, Bangladesh)

  • Mohammad Rofiqul Islam

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi 6204, Bangladesh)

Abstract

Reducing building energy consumption is a significant challenge and is one of the most important research areas worldwide. Insulation will help to keep the building’s desired temperature by reducing the heat flow. Additionally, proper insulation can provide an extended period of comfort, leading to reduced building energy requirements. Encapsulated air is the major aspect of most thermal insulation materials. Low thermal conductivity is a good characteristic of thermal insulation materials. Aerogel has low thermal conductivity, so it is suitable for glazing and insulation purposes. This research paper investigates the effectiveness of aerogel as an insulation material in buildings by incorporating a translucent aerogel-glazing system in the window and aerogel insulation in the wall of a building. Experimental investigation of a 10 mm thick aerogel blanket surrounded box was conducted to assess its performance. Additionally, a CFD simulation was conducted, and the results of temperature degradation for the wall showed good agreement with experimental results. Additionally, the CFD simulation of temperature decay was compared between the aerogel-glazed window and argon-glazed window. It was found that the aerogel-glazed window has slower temperature decay compared to the argon-glazed window. The results showed that integrating aerogel in the glazing system and wall insulation in a building has the potential to reduce the building’s energy consumption. Moreover, a numeric simulation was conducted, and showed that the building’s annual energy consumption is reduced by 6% with the use of aerogel insulation compared to fiberglass.

Suggested Citation

  • Santu Golder & Ramadas Narayanan & Md. Rashed Hossain & Mohammad Rofiqul Islam, 2021. "Experimental and CFD Investigation on the Application for Aerogel Insulation in Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:11:p:3310-:d:569178
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/11/3310/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/11/3310/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ramadas Narayanan & Edward Halawa & Sanjeev Jain, 2019. "Dehumidification Potential of a Solid Desiccant Based Evaporative Cooling System with an Enthalpy Exchanger Operating in Subtropical and Tropical Climates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Ramadas Narayanan & Edward Halawa & Sanjeev Jain, 2018. "Performance Characteristics of Solid-Desiccant Evaporative Cooling Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Abdul Mujeebu, Muhammad & Ashraf, Noman & Alsuwayigh, Abdulkarim, 2016. "Energy performance and economic viability of nano aerogel glazing and nano vacuum insulation panel in multi-story office building," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 949-956.
    4. GhaffarianHoseini, AmirHosein & Dahlan, Nur Dalilah & Berardi, Umberto & GhaffarianHoseini, Ali & Makaremi, Nastaran & GhaffarianHoseini, Mahdiar, 2013. "Sustainable energy performances of green buildings: A review of current theories, implementations and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 1-17.
    5. Christoffer Rasmussen & Peder Bacher & Davide Calì & Henrik Aalborg Nielsen & Henrik Madsen, 2020. "Method for Scalable and Automatised Thermal Building Performance Documentation and Screening," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-23, July.
    6. Paulos, Jason & Berardi, Umberto, 2020. "Optimizing the thermal performance of window frames through aerogel-enhancements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    7. Cuce, Erdem & Cuce, Pinar Mert & Wood, Christopher J. & Riffat, Saffa B., 2014. "Toward aerogel based thermal superinsulation in buildings: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 273-299.
    8. Irati Uriarte & Aitor Erkoreka & Pablo Eguia & Enrique Granada & Koldo Martin-Escudero, 2020. "Estimation of the Heat Loss Coefficient of Two Occupied Residential Buildings through an Average Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kuang-Sheng Liu & Xiao-Feng Zheng & Chia-Hsing Hsieh & Shin-Ku Lee, 2021. "The Application of Silica-Based Aerogel Board on the Fire Resistance and Thermal Insulation Performance Enhancement of Existing External Wall System Retrofit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Natalia Pawlik & Barbara Szpikowska-Sroka & Artur Miros & Bronisław Psiuk & Agnieszka Ślosarczyk, 2023. "Effect of Drying Control Agent on Physicochemical and Thermal Properties of Silica Aerogel Derived via Ambient Pressure Drying Process," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Ákos Lakatos, 2022. "Novel Thermal Insulation Materials for Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-4, September.
    4. Mary K. Carroll & Ann M. Anderson & Sri Teja Mangu & Zineb Hajjaj & Margeaux Capron, 2022. "Aesthetic Aerogel Window Design for Sustainable Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ramadas Narayanan & Subbu Sethuvenkatraman & Roberto Pippia, 2022. "Energy and Comfort Evaluation of Fresh Air-Based Hybrid Cooling System in Hot and Humid Climates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Berardi, Umberto & Nosrati, Roya Hamideh, 2018. "Long-term thermal conductivity of aerogel-enhanced insulating materials under different laboratory aging conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 1188-1202.
    3. Zhou, Yuekuan, 2022. "A multi-stage supervised learning optimisation approach on an aerogel glazing system with stochastic uncertainty," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    4. Win-Jet Luo & Dini Faridah & Fikri Rahmat Fasya & Yu-Sheng Chen & Fikri Hizbul Mulki & Utami Nuri Adilah, 2019. "Performance Enhancement of Hybrid Solid Desiccant Cooling Systems by Integrating Solar Water Collectors in Taiwan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-18, September.
    5. Mesloub, Abdelhakim & Ghosh, Aritra & Touahmia, Mabrouk & Albaqawy, Ghazy Abdullah & Alsolami, Badr M. & Ahriz, Atef, 2022. "Assessment of the overall energy performance of an SPD smart window in a hot desert climate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    6. Berardi, Umberto, 2015. "The development of a monolithic aerogel glazed window for an energy retrofitting project," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 603-615.
    7. Pacheco-Torgal, F., 2017. "High tech startup creation for energy efficient built environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 618-629.
    8. Shuo Liu & Chang-Ho Jeong & Myoung-Souk Yeo, 2020. "Effect of Evaporator Position on Heat Pump Assisted Solid Desiccant Cooling Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Villa-Arrieta, Manuel & Sumper, Andreas, 2018. "A model for an economic evaluation of energy systems using TRNSYS," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 765-777.
    10. Zhou, Yuekuan & Zheng, Siqian, 2020. "Uncertainty study on thermal and energy performances of a deterministic parameters based optimal aerogel glazing system using machine-learning method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. Pathomthat Chiradeja & Surakit Thongsuk & Santipont Ananwattanaporn & Atthapol Ngaopitakkul & Suntiti Yoomak, 2023. "A Study on Transparent Type Envelope Material in Terms of Overall Thermal Transfer, Energy, and Economy for an Office Building Based on the Thai Building Energy Code," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, July.
    12. Yang, Jiangming & Wu, Huijun & Xu, Xinhua & Huang, Gongsheng & Xu, Tao & Guo, Sitong & Liang, Yuying, 2019. "Numerical and experimental study on the thermal performance of aerogel insulating panels for building energy efficiency," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 445-457.
    13. Rashidi, Hamidreza & GhaffarianHoseini, Ali & GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein & Nik Sulaiman, Nik Meriam & Tookey, John & Hashim, Nur Awanis, 2015. "Application of wastewater treatment in sustainable design of green built environments: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 845-856.
    14. Alam, M. & Singh, H. & Suresh, S. & Redpath, D.A.G., 2017. "Energy and economic analysis of Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIPs) used in non-domestic buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 1-8.
    15. Jam Shahzaib Khan & Rozana Zakaria & Siti Mazzuana Shamsudin & Nur Izie Adiana Abidin & Shaza Rina Sahamir & Darul Nafis Abbas & Eeydzah Aminudin, 2019. "Evolution to Emergence of Green Buildings: A Review," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, January.
    16. Lei Jiang & Weiqing Liu & Haiping Liao & Jiabao Li, 2020. "Investigation of the Geometric Shape Effect on the Solar Energy Potential of Gymnasium Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-21, December.
    17. Fan, Ruijin & Wan, Minghan & Zhou, Tian & Zheng, Nianben & Sun, Zhiqiang, 2024. "Graphene-enhanced phase change material systems: Minimizing optical and thermal losses for solar thermal applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    18. Vera, Sergio & Pinto, Camilo & Tabares-Velasco, Paulo Cesar & Bustamante, Waldo, 2018. "A critical review of heat and mass transfer in vegetative roof models used in building energy and urban enviroment simulation tools," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 752-764.
    19. Solarte-Toro, Juan Camilo & Romero-García, Juan Miguel & Martínez-Patiño, Juan Carlos & Ruiz-Ramos, Encarnación & Castro-Galiano, Eulogio & Cardona-Alzate, Carlos Ariel, 2019. "Acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for energy vectors production: A review focused on operational conditions and techno-economic assessment for bioethanol production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 587-601.
    20. Davide Del Curto & Valentina Cinieri, 2020. "Aerogel-Based Plasters and Energy Efficiency of Historic Buildings. Literature Review and Guidelines for Manufacturing Specimens Destined for Thermal Tests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:11:p:3310-:d:569178. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.