Preparation and characterization of vacuum insulation panels with hybrid composite core materials of bamboo and glass fiber

Abstract

Thermal insulation materials of vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) are manufactured utilizing an efficient and cost-effective hybrid multi-level network composite core material made from natural and sustainable bamboo fiber (BF) as a raw material and glass fiber (GF) as a reinforcing agent. The morphological, textural structural, gas permeability, and tensile strength properties of the core materials, as well as the thermal insulation performance of VIP, are examined. The results showed that both the bamboo and glass fibers are uniformly dispersed in the core material and achieved a three-dimensional (3D) network structure. The inclusion of glass fiber may significantly alter the core material's structure, resulting in a considerable decrease in the thermal conductivity of VIP. VIP constructed entirely of bamboo fiber BGF0 has relatively high thermal conductivities of 12.62 mW/(m·K), which can be reduced to 4.81 mW/(m·K) while maintaining excellent aging performance by using hybrid composite core material BGF50.