Trident™ Thermal Conductivity Application Highlight High Temperature Testing of Rock Wool Insulation

This application highlights addresses the measurement of rock wool insulation at elevated temperautes (up to 600ºC) using the Transient Plane Source (TPS) method. Insulation is a material type used to reduce heat transfer in a system and maintain desired temperature conditions. Insulation materials are employed across a wide range of temperature-dependent applications and the type of insulation used is highly subject to the system requirements. The governing factor used in quantifying insulative performance is thermal conductivity, sometimes expressed in its reciprocal form as a function of thickness called R-value (or thermal resistance). Insulations are traditionally tested using steady-state methods such as Heat Flow Meters/Guarded Hot Plates. These methods' common limitations are the long test times, restrictive sample sizes and fixed testing condition requirements. Herein, we highlight the measurement of a rock wool insulation as a function of temperature using a transient-based method.