Preparation and characterization of a type of green vacuum insulation panel prepared with straw core material

Abstract

The Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP), regarded as the most promising high-performance thermal insulation material, still has application limitations because of its high cost. In this paper, VIPs using natural straw as the core material are prepared. The fiber saturation point (FSP) is important in order to determine the optimum for the use of renewable straw materials as a potential VIP core. The microstructure of straw core material, together with the relationship between the moisture content, the diametral compression strength, and the thermal conductivity of as-prepared straw VIPs are investigated. Compression characteristics of straw core material and heat insulation mechanism within the straw VIP envelope enclosure are analyzed. Total thermal conductivity of a straw VIP is sensitive to both the inner pressure and the moisture content of straw core material. The optimum drying process for straw VIPs is heating the straw core material at a temperature of 120 °C for 60 min, with its center-of-panel value being about 3.8 mW/(m·K).