Effect of hydrophobic nano-silica on the thermal insulation of fibrous silica compacts

The particle's surface property plays an important role on controlling the thermal insulation performance of fibrous silica compacts. In the present study, the effect of addition of hydrophobic silica on the thermal conductivity of the fibrous silica compacts is investigated. The measurement was conducted using laser flash method and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method. The thermal conductivity of fibrous silica compacts is only 0.042 W/m K. The addition of 5% hydrophobic silica further reduces the thermal conductivity of fibrous silica compacts to 0.033 W/m K. The thermal conductivity reaches a constant value with higher hydrophobic silica content. The flexural strength decreases with the increase of hydrophobic silica content. A compromise between the thermal insulation and strength is needed. The performance of fibrous silica compacts shows strong dependence on the surface structure of glass fibers.