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Heat Transfer for Home Insulation 

Heat Transfer Conceptual Analysis

This project investigated how compression affects thermal conductivity of different insulators. This determines whether they have a critical insulation thickness, and what that critical insulation thickness may be. ​

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Experimental data with 4 thermocouples gave values for temperature and, since the location of the thermocouples as well as the amount of compression was known, critical insulation thickness could be calculated. 

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Basic Equations

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Sample Calclulation

Experimental Setup

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Sections Analyzed

 MATLAB Analysis

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Sample Analysis - 0.5 in Cellulose with 20 W heat input

Results

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These graphs show the relationship between insulation thickness, thermal conductivity, and heat input. As you can see, the lowest thermal conductivity varies with insulation thickness.

 

At 0.25 inches, fiberglass has the lowest thermal conductivity

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At 0.5 inches, cellulose has the lowest thermal conductivity

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At 1 inch, cellulose again has the lowest thermal conductivity

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