Abstract
Silica aerogel is an open-pored porous transparent material with
optical and thermal properties that makes the material very
interesting as an insulation material in windows. A number of
different aerogels have been investigated for their optical and
thermal performance. High thermal resistance of aerogel was found
for all the investigated samples and the samples showed very high
solar as well as light transmittance. However all the investigated
aerogel samples showed a tendency to scatter the transmitted light
resulting in a reduced optical quality when the aerogels are
integrated in glazings. This phenomenon is considered being the
main obstacle to incorporate the material in clear glazings but a
significant improvement of the optical quality of aerogel has been
observed during the last five years. A number of prototypical
evacuated 500x500x28 mm aerogel double glazed units employing a
new edge seal technique were manufactured and characterized for
their optical and thermal properties. As expected the same
scattering of light was found in the aerogel glazings as in the
aerogel samples, but excellent thermal performance was found,
indicating a glazing type that from a thermal point of view is
without competetion in heating dominated climates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Solar Energy |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Pages (from-to) | 259-267 |
| ISSN | 0038-092X |
| Publication status | Published - 1988 |