High-Performance Thermal Insulation for Building Envelope Construction

近年来，对全球变暖和气候变化的担忧已经影响到我们日常活动的方方面面，建筑环境也不例外。建筑消耗了我们国家总能源需求的40%，加拿大是世界上人均能源消耗最高的国家之一。提高建筑环境能源效率的最具成本效益的方法是在外部建筑围护结构中增加隔热层。很自然地，新更新的加拿大国家建筑能源法规（NECB）和各种绿色建筑评级系统（LEED， Net-Zero等）正在促进在外部建筑围护结构中增加隔热材料的使用。因此，这些发展为高性能和环保型绝热材料的研究提供了新的动力。这项研究计划的主要目标是在加拿大建筑围护结构中开发和整合环保型高性能隔热材料。本项目前5年的研究重点将放在以真空技术为基础的真空绝热板和纳米多孔气凝胶绝热材料上。气凝胶基绝热材料的热电阻率是闭孔泡沫绝热材料的两倍，vip的热电阻率是闭孔泡沫绝热材料的五到十倍。未来五年将开展四项主要任务，它们是：(1)开发可替代的低成本vip核心材料，(2)从可再生生物资源中开发生物基vip，(3)确定vip的长期性能，以及(4)评估和管理新型和高绝热建筑围护结构的湿热性能。这个项目的研究方向是由于我参与了几个国家和国际组织/协会（ULC， SCC， ISO， ASTM， IEA-EBC等）。这项研究计划的成果将对加拿大人和加拿大建筑行业产生深远的影响。研究成果将有助于加拿大人建造更多节能建筑，降低住房和供暖成本，减轻导致气候变化的因素，并为加拿大建筑业提供廉价、环保和高性能的隔热技术。

In recent times, concerns over global warming and climate change have been influencing every aspect of our day-to-day activities, and built environment is no exception. Buildings consume up to about 40% of our total national energy demand and Canada has one of the highest per-capita energy consumption in the world. The most cost-effective way to enhance the energy efficiency of built environment is the addition of thermal insulation in exterior building envelopes. Quite naturally, the newly updated National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) and various green building rating systems (LEED, Net-Zero etc.) are promoting increased use of thermal insulations in exterior building envelope constructions. Consequently these developments are providing fresh impetus to the research on high-performance and environment-friendly thermal insulations. The principle goals of this research program are to develop and integrate environment-friendly high-performance thermal insulations in Canadian building envelope constructions. The primary focus of the first five years of this research program will be on the vacuum technology based vacuum insulation panel (VIP) and nanoporous aerogel insulation. Aerogel based thermal insulations have about two times and VIPs have about five to ten times higher thermal resistivity than closed-cell foam insulation. There are four major tasks that will be carried out during the next five years and they are: (1) development of alternative low-cost core materials for VIPs, (2) development of bio-based VIPs from renewable bio-resources, (3) determination of long-term performance of VIPs, and (4) assessment and management of hygrothermal (i.e. moisture and thermal) performance of novel and highly insulated building envelopes. The research direction of this program is motivated by my involvement with several national and international organizations/associations (ULC, SCC, ISO, ASTM, IEA-EBC etc.).The outcomes from this research program will have profound impacts on both Canadians and Canadian construction industry. The outcomes will help Canadians to build more energy efficient buildings, reduce housing and heating costs, and mitigate the elements causing climate change, and also provide inexpensive, environment-friendly and high-performance thermal insulation technologies to the Canadian construction industry.