The Reflective Insulation Manufacturers Association International (RIMA-I) announced the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) published “Assessing the Effect of Air Intrusion on Reflective Insulation’s Performance with Horizontal Heat Flow,” a research paper. Hamed Saber, of the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and David Yarbrough, of R&D Services Inc. in Cookeville, Tenn., researched the effect of air intrusion on the R-value of reflective insulation in walls using an advanced multi-dimensional and validated computer model.
The advanced model was extensively used for several applications related to the reflective insulations, including the development of a reflective airspaces tool. The study provides full assessments for the performance of reflective insulation assemblies due to air infiltration or wind washing.
Reflective insulations are enclosed, reflective air spaces. Practical factors, however, can lead to unwanted air infiltration or wind washing. The effect on R-value depends on air changes per hour (a measure of the amount of air intrusion) and the difference in temperature between the incoming air and the insulation region without air intrusion. The research paper contains R-value changes for different cavity dimensions, temperature differences, air flow rates, and effective emittances.
Click here to download the study.
