Chapter 2 Introduclion lo Conduction

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100

300

500
1000
Temperature (K)

2000

4000

FIGURE 2.5 The temperature dependence of the thermal

conductivity of selected solids.

uve thermal conductivity, which depends on the thermal conductivity and

surface radiative properties of the solid material, as well as the nature and volumetric fraction of the air or void space. A special parameter of the system is its
bulk density (solid mass/total volume), which depends strongly on the manner
in which the solid material is interconnected.
If small voids or hollow spaces are formed by bonding or fusing portions of
the solid material, a rigid matrix is created. When these spaces are sealed from
each other, the system is referred to as a cellular insulation. Examples of such
rigid insulations are foamed systems, particularly those made from plstic and
glass materials. Reflective insulations are composed of multilayered, parallel,
thin sheets or foils of high reflectivity, which are spaced to reflect radiant energy back to its source. The spacing between the foils is designed to restrict the
motion of air, and in high-performance insulations, the space is evacuated. In all
types of insulation, evacuation of the air in the void space will reduce the effective thermal conductivity of the system.
It is important to recognize that heat transfer through any of these insulation
systems may include several modes: conduction through the solid materials; conduction or convection through the air in the void spaces; and, if the temperature
is sufficiently high, radation exchange between the surfaces of the solid matrix.
The effective thermal conductivity accounts for all of these processes, and vales
for selected insulation systems are summarized in Table A.3. Additional background information and data are available in the literature [2, 3].