Compartmented Vacuum Insulation Panel for Puncture Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) used in construction face challenges such as vulnerability to piercing, cutting, and drilling, which compromise their thermal insulation performance due to the need for robustness against handling damage and installation methods, and existing compartmentalization solutions lead to reduced thermal efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A compartmentalized vacuum insulating panel design featuring a flexible bridging element with rectilinear waveform and multiple seals between sheets, creating separate evacuated compartments filled with self-supporting insulation, which reduces heat conduction and maintains vacuum integrity by isolating compartments from each other.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If VIPs are made robust against piercing, cutting, and drilling damage, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for compartmentalization and sealed regions
Solution Approach 1:
The VIP is divided into multiple separate evacuated compartments by bridging elements that extend between the inner and outer sheets. Each compartment is independently sealed, creating a segmented structure where punctures in one compartment do not compromise adjacent compartments. This segmentation directly addresses the robustness requirement while managing the complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Bridging elements serve as intermediary structures that both define compartment boundaries and provide attachment points for seals. These bridging elements extend between the inner and outer sheets, creating a mechanical framework that facilitates the creation of sealed regions without requiring complex integrated sealing systems.
2Reliability
If sealed regions are added around compartments to prevent vacuum loss, then reliability is improved, but thermal insulation performance deteriorates due to heat conduction through sealant material
Solution Approach 1:
The sealant material is applied locally only at the edges of the bridging elements where they contact the inner and outer sheets, rather than creating continuous sealed regions across entire compartment boundaries. This localized sealing approach minimizes the volume of thermally conductive material while maintaining vacuum integrity at critical seal points.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of sealing entire compartment boundaries, the invention applies seals partially - only at the edges of bridging elements where they contact the sheets. This partial sealing action is sufficient to maintain vacuum integrity while minimizing the thermal conduction path through sealant material.
3Loss of energy
If VIP thickness is reduced to meet thermal efficiency requirements, then energy efficiency is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to increased vulnerability to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The thin VIP structure is segmented into multiple compartments by bridging elements, which provide internal structural support. This segmentation allows the overall panel to maintain thin profile for thermal efficiency while the bridging elements and compartment walls provide localized reinforcement against punctures and damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The VIP employs composite construction with inner and outer sheets, bridging elements, and sealant materials working together. This composite structure achieves the required robustness in a thin profile by distributing mechanical loads across multiple materials and structural elements rather than requiring a single thick layer.
4Reliability
If compartmentalization is implemented to isolate puncture damage, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to multiple seals and bridging elements
Solution Approach 1:
The bridging elements serve dual functions: they define compartment boundaries and provide attachment surfaces for seals. By merging these two functions into a single structural element, the invention reduces the number of separate components that would need to be manufactured and assembled, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining compartmentalization benefits.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances thermal insulation performance by minimizing heat conduction across the panel, reducing the impact of punctures on adjacent compartments, and allowing for efficient production and robust installation while maintaining the panel's structural integrity and thermal efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum applied before sealing. The vacuum is essential to the panel's thermal insulating performance
Implementation Method 2
the core wrapped in a flexible, gas-tight envelope and a vacuum applied before sealing. Thermal conductivity properties of VIPs are typically of the order of 0.005 W/mK
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum insulating panel comprise a first sheet of a flexible material, a second sheet of a flexible material and a bridging element of a flexible material extending in a generally rectilinear waveform between the first and the second sheets. The bridging element and the sheets define therebetween a plurality of separate generally rectilinear evacuated compartments containing a self-supporting insulating element. The bridging element comprise first flat regions extending along the inside face of the first sheet, second flat regions extending along the inside face of the second sheet, and connecting regions extending between the first and second flat regions, There are seals between the flat regions of the bridging element and the inside face of the sheets. If one compartment is punctured only that compartment is affected. The seals prevent loss of vacuum in adjacent compartments.