Numerical modeling for evaluation of the thermal resistance of reflective airspaces with and without defects

The thermal resistances (R-values) of airspaces depends on the emittance of all surfaces around an airspace, dimensions, heat-flow direction, and the temperatures of the bounding surfaces. Assessing the energy performance of building envelope components and fenestration systems requires accurate results for the R-values of any enclosed spaces. The evaluation of reflective insulation R-values has evolved to include use of computational fluid dynamics and surface-to-surface radiation to quantify convective and radiative contributions to the heat transfer across airspaces of all types. This paper compares an advanced and validated model for calculating enclosed airspace R-values with the widely-used ISO 6946 and airspace R-values in the ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. The impact of construction and installation defects on the thermal performance of reflective insulation has not been previously evaluated. In this research, an advanced model was used to evaluate a construction defect and dimensional aspect ratios that one-dimensional methods do not address. Imperfect installation and defects that result in air movement into or through a reflective insulation assembly reduces the thermal resistance of the assembly. Additionally, the amount of thermal resistance reduction depends on the amount and temperature of invasive air or the size of internal defects that allows natural convection inside the reflective airspace. In this study, these performance issues are evaluated quantitatively using computer simulation techniques. The differences in results obtained using methods that are currently being used to evaluate the R-value and the advantages of the advanced method for evaluating the reflective insulation performance for different applications are discussed. For the case considered in this study, the results showed that the failure to achieve parallel surfaces results in less than a 5% decrease in thermal resistance. Also, the results showed that internal air gaps between airspaces result in negligible loss in R-value unless air gaps that allow circulation between airspaces are created.