SBIR Phase II: Vacuum Insulation Panels with Tensile Structural Elements

该小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将开发超薄高r值坚固真空隔热板（VIP）。热模型表明，对于半英寸厚的VIP， r值为40，每平方英尺的预期成本约为3美元。这项技术使用拉伸结构元件作为热阻抗，基于2011年的一项专利，该专利已获得芝加哥伊利诺伊大学的独家授权。与目前使用聚酯和铝箔层压板作为真空屏障的VIP技术不同，VIP的外部是不锈钢箔，预计将适合安装在工业和住宅结构中。铝箔在当前的vip中产生热短（边缘损耗），这可以大大降低其有效r值。使用不锈钢具有显著减少边缘损失以及增加抗穿刺的额外优势。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是大幅减少加热和冷却建筑物或用于运输易腐货物的冷藏卡车所需的能源。在运输中，一辆装有2英寸聚氨酯泡沫的冷藏大立方拖车的r值为~10，如果加上半英寸厚的VIP， r值可以增加到50。在美国，大多数冷藏拖车每小时消耗约1加仑柴油来保持货物的低温。由于每年约有33万辆冷藏拖车运行约1500小时，这意味着每年可节省80%的燃料，或占该国柴油总消耗量的近1%。紧凑和廉价的隔热材料可以更好地利用新住宅内的空间，并用于改造现有住宅，使其具有更有效的隔热材料。最后，2002年为美国住房和城市发展部准备的一份审查报告指出，低抗穿刺性是减缓真空隔热板在住宅市场采用的关键因素。拟议的创新将减轻这一因素，并加快在该市场的采用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an ultra-thin high-R-value robust vacuum insulation panel (VIP). Thermal models indicate that with a half-inch thick VIP, an R-value of 40 can be achieved with an expected cost of ~$3 per square foot. The technology uses tensile structural elements as thermal impedances and is based on a 2011 patent which has been exclusively licensed from the University of Illinois at Chicago. The VIP is expected to be suitable for installation in industrial and residential structures, since it has a stainless steel foil exterior as opposed to current VIP technology, which uses a laminate of polyester and aluminum foil as its vacuum barrier. The aluminum foil creates a thermal short (edge losses) in current VIPs which can greatly reduce their effective R-value. The use of stainless steel has the additional advantage of significantly reducing edge losses as well as increasing puncture resistance. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be a drastic reduction in the energy required to heat and cool buildings, or to refrigerate trucks used to transport perishable goods. In transportation, a refrigerated hi-cube trailer with two inches of polyurethane foam has an R-value of ~10, which can be increased to 50 by incorporating a half-inch-thick VIP. Most refrigerated trailers in the US consume ~1 gallon of diesel fuel each hour to keep their loads cold. Since there are ~330,000 refrigerated trailers operating for ~1,500 hours/year, this translates into a fuel savings of 80%, or nearly 1% of the total diesel fuel consumption in this country each year. Compact and inexpensive thermal insulation can allow better use of space inside new dwellings, and be used to retrofit existing dwellings with more effective insulation. Finally, a 2002 review prepared for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development cited low puncture resistance as a key factor slowing the adoption of vacuum insulation panels in the residential market. The proposed innovation will mitigate this factor and speed adoption in this market.