Development and investigation of thermal composite insulation from environmentally hazardous waste fly ash

Abstract

Researchers all over the world are working on developing fly ash (FL-A) utilization technologies and turning the environmentally hazardous waste into a useful product. In the present study, an attempt to develop FL-A thermal insulation was made. Three thermal composite insulation were prepared with combination of FL-A (40, 60 and 70%), Sand (40, 20 and 10%), Cement (10, 5 and 15%) and Perlite (10, 15 and 5%) with water curing. The sequence of preparation of mixture was modified to improve the samples strength, and investigated for thermal conductivity. The samples with 60% FLA showed the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.1388, 0.136, and 0.1601 W/mK for thicknesses of 30 mm, 50 mm, and 70 mm, respectively, compared to other samples. The optimal composition was obtained in the sample with a ratio of FL-A: S: C: P = 60:20:5:15. The minimum density (750 kg/m3) was obtained. An optimized composite specimen shows the best thermal resistance with the thermal conductivity (k = 0.1388 W/mK) measured by the thermal conductivity measurement apparatus. The properties of the composites will help in estimating their suitability and potential for various commercialized applications in thermal insulation, thus also utilizing waste and reducing environmental concerns.