The Model and Experiment for Heat Transfer Characteristics of Nanoporous Silica Aerogel

Abstract

Nanoporous silica aerogel insulation material is both lightweight and efficient; it has important value in the fields of aerospace, petrochemicals, electric metallurgy, shipbuilding, precision instruments, and so on. A theoretical calculation model and experimental measurement of equivalent thermal conductivity for nanoporous silica aerogel insulation material are introduced in this paper. The heat transfer characteristics and thermal insulation principle of aerogel nano are analyzed. The methods of SiO2 aerogel production are compared. The pressure range of SiO2 aerogel is 1Pa-atmospheric pressure; the temperature range is room temperature-900K. The pore diameter range of particle SiO2 aerogel is about 5 to 100 nm, and the average pore diameter range of about 20 ~ 40 nm. These results show that experimental measurements are in good agreement with theoretical calculation values. For nanoporous silica aerogel insulation material, the heat transfer calculation method suitable for nanotechnology can precisely calculate the equivalent thermal conductivity of aerogel nano insulation materials. The network structure is the reason why the thermal conductivity of the aerogel is very low. Heat transfer of materials is mainly realized by convection, radiation, and heat transfer. Therefore, the thermal conductivity of the heat transfer path in aerogel can be reduced by nanotechnology.