Project

Performance Comparison of Insulating Materials

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Problem

The client manufactures large-sized metal pieces that reach high temperatures. While waiting to be used, the pieces gradually lose heat. A large waste of energy is required to raise its temperature again.

Objective

Know the thermal properties and performance of different insulating materials to create a system where metal parts are deposited and that are capable of maintaining their temperature over time.

ATRIA Solution

A preliminary study and selection of the most interesting insulating materials was carried out for the construction of the real system in the client’s facilities. The thermal and mechanical properties were evaluated, as well as the necessary price of each material. Finally, 3 insulating materials were chosen to carry out the tests in a scale pilot installation.

To carry out the thermal tests, metal pieces proportional to the real ones were used, which were heated to the working temperature in a furnace. Once hot, they were introduced into the scale pilot installation, built each time with a different insulating material. During the test, thermocouples were used to record the temperature of the metal parts, as well as the temperature of the air inside the scale installation. With the collected data it was possible to verify the thermal behavior of each material and its insulating properties.Additionally, the mechanical properties of the insulating materials were measured before and after the temperature tests. In this way it was possible to know if the materials weakened with temperature. For this, a universal testing machine (MUE) was used.

Finally, with the data obtained from the tests, a theoretical study was carried out in which the behavior that the insulating materials would have in the real installation was estimated. In this way it was possible to obtain the cooling curve of the real metal parts with different insulation conditions.