| Thermal insulation is used to maintain comfortable temperatures inside buildings and reduce energy loss to the external environment. A variety of materials have been used as thermal insulation, and new products are constantly being developed. The thermal properties of these materials must be assessed to determine appropriate applications. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) developed the Standard Test Method for Steady-State Thermal Transmission Properties by Means of the Heat Flow Meter Apparatus (ASTM C518), which specifies that the test should be conducted on a sample that is at least 300 x 300 mm When an insulation manufacturer develops a new product, usually, a small quantity of an experimental product is produced and samples with the minimum size required for heat flow meter tests are not always available. It is also not feasible to build a new apparatus or modify an existing apparatus, with different size heat flow sensors, every time a different size sample needs to be tested. The research reported in this thesis examined a new method for testing thermal conductivity using smaller samples of six commercial insulation material, and correlate results to testing of the standard size samples. The tests were carried out using the heat flow meter apparatus, and results were subsequently analyzed using the finite element modelling tool, HEAT3. |
