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A simple method for the estimation of thermal insulation thickness

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  • Bahadori, Alireza
  • Vuthaluru, Hari B.

Abstract

Selection and determination of optimum thickness of insulation is of prime interest for many engineering applications. In this study, a simple method is developed to estimate the thickness of thermal insulation required to arrive at a desired heat flow or surface temperature for flat surfaces, ducts and pipes. The proposed simple method covers the temperature difference between ambient and outside temperatures up to 250 °C and the temperature drop through insulation up to 1000 °C. The proposed correlation calculates the thermal thickness up to 250 mm for flat surfaces and estimates the thermal thickness for ducts and pipes with outside diameters up to 2400 mm. The accuracy of the proposed method was found to be in excellent agreement with the reported data for wide range of conditions where the average absolute deviation between reported data and the proposed method is around 3.25%. The method is based on basic fundamentals of heat transfer and reliable data. Therefore the formulated simple-to-use expression is justified and applicable to any industrial application.

Suggested Citation

  • Bahadori, Alireza & Vuthaluru, Hari B., 2010. "A simple method for the estimation of thermal insulation thickness," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 613-619, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:87:y:2010:i:2:p:613-619
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Ucar, Aynur & Balo, Figen, 2009. "Effect of fuel type on the optimum thickness of selected insulation materials for the four different climatic regions of Turkey," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(5), pages 730-736, May.
    4. Yu, Jinghua & Yang, Changzhi & Tian, Liwei & Liao, Dan, 2009. "A study on optimum insulation thicknesses of external walls in hot summer and cold winter zone of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(11), pages 2520-2529, November.
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    5. Kaynakli, Omer, 2014. "Economic thermal insulation thickness for pipes and ducts: A review study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 184-194.
    6. Kontoleon, K.J. & Giarma, C., 2016. "Dynamic thermal response of building material layers in aspect of their moisture content," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 76-91.
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    9. Bektas Ekici, Betul & Aytac Gulten, Ayca & Aksoy, U. Teoman, 2012. "A study on the optimum insulation thicknesses of various types of external walls with respect to different materials, fuels and climate zones in Turkey," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 211-217.
    10. Mavromatidis, Lazaros Elias & Bykalyuk, Anna & Lequay, Hervé, 2013. "Development of polynomial regression models for composite dynamic envelopes’ thermal performance forecasting," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 379-391.
    11. Sevindir, M. Kemal & Demir, Hakan & Ağra, Özden & Atayılmaz, Ş. Özgür & Teke, İsmail, 2017. "Modelling the optimum distribution of insulation material," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 74-84.
    12. Özkan, Derya B. & Onan, Cenk, 2011. "Optimization of insulation thickness for different glazing areas in buildings for various climatic regions in Turkey," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 1331-1342, April.
    13. Bahadori, Alireza, 2011. "Simple method for estimation of effectiveness in one tube pass and one shell pass counter-flow heat exchangers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 4191-4196.
    14. Bahadori, Alireza & Vuthaluru, Hari B., 2010. "Estimation of potential savings from reducing unburned combustible losses in coal-fired systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 3792-3799, December.
    15. Yildiz, Abdullah & Ali Ersöz, Mustafa, 2015. "Determination of the economical optimum insulation thickness for VRF (variable refrigerant flow) systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 835-844.
    16. Mavromatidis, Lazaros Elias & EL Mankibi, Mohamed & Michel, Pierre & Santamouris, Mat, 2012. "Numerical estimation of time lags and decrement factors for wall complexes including Multilayer Thermal Insulation, in two different climatic zones," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 480-491.

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