Measurements of thermal properties of insulation materials by using transient plane source technique

The paper reports on the measuring technique and values of the measured thermal properties of some commonly used insulation materials produced by local manufacturers in Saudi Arabia. Among the thermal properties of insulation materials, the thermal conductivity (k) is regarded to be the most important since it affects directly the resistance to transmission of heat (R-value) that the insulation material must offer. Other thermal properties, like the specific heat capacity (c) and density (ρ), are also important only under transient conditions. A well-suited and accurate method for measuring the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of materials is the transient plane source (TPS) technique, which is also called the hot disk (HD). This new technique is used in the present study to measure the thermal conductivity of some insulation materials at room temperature as well as at different elevated temperature levels expected to be reached in practice when these insulations are used in air-conditioned buildings in hot climates. Besides, thermal conductivity values of the same type of insulation material are measured for samples with different densities; generally, higher density insulations are used in building roofs than in walls. The results show that the thermal conductivity increases with increasing temperature and decreases with increasing density over the temperature and density ranges considered in the present investigation.