Radiation Effects in Heat Transfer Mechanisms by Dispersive Materials: Numerical Analysis in Diffusive Enclosure Model of Thermal Insulation

Abstract

The current development of global warming and CO2 emission problems cannot be overlooked. Thus, global scale measures of efforts are becoming crucial. Thermal properties of insulation materials need to be considered as high performance thermal insulation systems are crucial for efficient energy saving. The most important parameter as indicator of a thermal insulation material is the effective thermal conductivity, but elements that affect the thermal insulation performance are rather complicated. Generally, conduction and radiation heat transfer are needed to be separately considered in precisely evaluating the thermal insulation performance as they coexist in the heat transfer process inside a multilayer insulation system. In this paper, numerical analysis of a complete diffusive enclosure model as a thermal insulation is observed to investigate the radiation effects by its dispersive heat transfer mechanisms. View factor of each relatively large dispersed material is derived in the enclosure model, where it is applicable to various shapes and any particular arrangements of dispersed materials. As this paper is the first part of a three-part working research paper, numerical analysis in this paper is carried out by assuming that the medium within the space inside the insulation system is taken to be nonparticipating, therefore conduction and convection effects during the heat exchange are negligible. This paper will be continued with application of the numerical analysis in observing radiation heating effects by wall-ceiling integration towards indoor environment and radiation–conduction heat transfer mechanisms in one-dimensional multilayer insulation system.