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Silica aerogel particles are composed of more than 90% air trapped within a highly porous structure. Photo courtesy of Cabot Corp.
The infrared photo illustrates the surface temperatures of the tanks. The tank on the left is coated with a standard coating and the tank on the right is coated with an aerogel-based HiTIC. The contents of both vessels are controlled to 60 C, however the tank with the HiTIC has a cooler surface temperature. Photo courtesy of Cabot Corp.
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thermal conductivity measurement [e.g., 300 mW/(m-K)], the end result is a coating with a thermal conductivity measurement between 30 to 50 mW/ (m-K), which is up to 10 times more insulating than standard paint, says Pidhurney. When applied to piping, tanks, valves, and other steel structures in industrial facilities as part of a complete insulating coating system, the aerogelcontaining HiTICs, which can be formulated as acrylic or epoxy coatings, are able to lower surface temperatures to protect against the potential risk of burns from skin contact as well as reduce the substrates thermal conductivity to help maintain temperatures of stored or conveyed materials, says Andy Hoffman, Tnemec market support manager, Industrial Market. These aerogel-based coatings can be applied at a very high dry film thickness (DFT) per coat. The insulating capability of insulating coating systems with the HiTICs is comparable to bulk insulation in terms of their R-value/in. T h e R-value/in for the epoxy and acrylic HiTIC is 2.9 and 4.1, respectively. This compares to an R-value/in of 3.2 to 3.8 for loose-fill cellulose, 2.2 to 2.7 for loosefill fiberglass, and 3.0 to 3.3 for loose-fill rock wool.1 The HiTIC coating systems are able to withstand substrate temperatures up to 400 F (204 C) and can be spray-applied to surfaces with temperatures <200 F (93 C), Hoffman adds. For safe-touch applications, a typical insulating coating system includes an intermediate coat of
NACE International, Vol. 51, No. 10
A pipe flange is coated with the aerogel-based HiTIC. Photo courtesy of Tnemec.
an acrylic HiTIC with a DFT of 50 to 60 mils (1.3 to 1.5 mm). For thermal efficiency, an intermediate coat of a HiTIC would be applied at varying thicknesses depending on the projects conditions. In a laboratory demonstration using two small steel tanks filled with water, Cabot researchers tracked energy savings from the application of a HiTIC. One tank was insulated with 200 mils (5 mm) of the HiTIC epoxy and a control tank was coated with a standard coating. The water in the tanks was heated to a constant temperature of 60 C. The amount of energy required to maintain that temperature within each tank was monitored with temperature probes and kilowatt totalizers. Over the three days of testing, the insulated tank used ~45% less energy than the control tank. In addition, the insulated tank exhibited significantly lower surface temperatures. According to the Cabot researchers, these HiTICs show promise for situations where insulation is not used on highly conductive substrates due to the con-
straints of traditional cladded insulation products, which may include complex geometry that makes it difficult to wrap a structure with blanket-type insulation, or service or environmental conditions that make a structure susceptible to CUI. One potential application of the HiTICs, the researchers note, is insulating large, bulkliquid storage tanks to reduce condensation. These tanks, often hundreds of feet in diameter, experience consistent condensation that forms on the inside surface of the steel roof. This condensation causes corrosion to occur, which greatly reduces the life of the tank. Coating the exterior of the roof with a HiTIC could keep the internal roof surface temperature above the dew point and reduce the likelihood that condensation would form. Contact Hilary Banda, Cabot Corp. e-mail: Hilary.Banda@cabotcorp.com.
Reference
1 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Savers: Loose-Fill Insulation, http://www.energysavers. gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index. cfm/mytopic=11650 (August 28, 2012). October 2012 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE 13