What is Glass Wool – Definition

Glass Wool

Glass wool (originally known also as fiberglass) is an insulating material made from fibres of glass arranged using a binder into a texture similar to wool. Glass wool and stone wool are produced from mineral fibres and are therefore often referred to as ‘mineral wools’. Mineral wool is a general name for fiber materials that are formed by spinning or drawing molten minerals. Glass wool is a furnace product of molten glass at a temperature of about 1450 °C. From the melted glass, fibres are spun. This process is based on spinning molten glass in high-speed spinning heads somewhat like the process used to produce cotton candy. During the spinning of the glass fibres, a binding agent is injected. Glass wool is then produced in rolls or in slabs, with different thermal and mechanical properties. It may also be produced as a material that can be sprayed or applied in place, on the surface to be insulated.

Applications of glass wool include structural insulation, pipe insulation, filtration and soundproofing. Glass wool is a versatile material that can be used for the insulation of walls, roofs and floors. It can be a loose fill material, blown into attics, or, together with an active binder sprayed on the underside of structures. During the installation of the glass wool, it should be kept dry at all times, since an increase of the moisture content causes a significant increase in thermal conductivity.

Thermal Conductivity of Glass Wool

Thermal conductivity is defined as the amount of heat (in watts) transferred through a square area of material of given thickness (in metres) due to a difference in temperature. The lower the thermal conductivity of the material the greater the material’s ability to resist heat transfer, and hence the greater the insulation’s effectiveness. Typical thermal conductivity values for glass wools are between 0.023 and 0.040W/m∙K.

In general, thermal insulation is primarily based on the very low thermal conductivity of gases. Gases possess poor thermal conduction properties compared to liquids and solids, and thus makes a good insulation material if they can be trapped (e.g. in a foam-like structure). Air and other gases are generally good insulators. But the main benefit is in the absence of convection. Therefore, many insulating materials (e.g. glass wool) function simply by having a large number of gas-filled pockets which prevent large-scale convection.

Alternation of gas pocket and solid material causes that the heat must be transferred through many interfaces causing rapid decrease in heat transfer coefficient.

Example – Glass Wool Insulation

A major source of heat loss from a house is through walls. Calculate the rate of heat flux through a wall 3 m x 10 m in area (A = 30 m²). The wall is 15 cm thick (L₁) and it is made of bricks with the thermal conductivity of k₁ = 1.0 W/m.K (poor thermal insulator). Assume that, the indoor and the outdoor temperatures are 22°C and -8°C, and the convection heat transfer coefficients on the inner and the outer sides are h₁ = 10 W/m²K and h₂ = 30 W/m²K, respectively. Note that, these convection coefficients strongly depend especially on ambient and interior conditions (wind, humidity, etc.).

1. Calculate the heat flux (heat loss) through this non-insulated wall.
2. Now assume thermal insulation on the outer side of this wall. Use glass wool insulation 10 cm thick (L₂) with the thermal conductivity of k₂ = 0.023 W/m.K and calculate the heat flux (heat loss) through this composite wall.

Solution:

As was written, many of the heat transfer processes involve composite systems and even involve a combination of both conduction and convection. With these composite systems, it is often convenient to work with an overall heat transfer coefficient, known as a U-factor. The U-factor is defined by an expression analogous to Newton’s law of cooling:

The overall heat transfer coefficient is related to the total thermal resistance and depends on the geometry of the problem.

1. bare wall

Assuming one-dimensional heat transfer through the plane wall and disregarding radiation, the overall heat transfer coefficient can be calculated as:

The overall heat transfer coefficient is then:

U = 1 / (1/10 + 0.15/1 + 1/30) = 3.53 W/m²K

The heat flux can be then calculated simply as:

q = 3.53 [W/m²K] x 30 [K] = 105.9 W/m²

The total heat loss through this wall will be:

q_loss = q . A = 105.9 [W/m²] x 30 [m²] = 3177W

2. composite wall with thermal insulation

Assuming one-dimensional heat transfer through the plane composite wall, no thermal contact resistance and disregarding radiation, the overall heat transfer coefficient can be calculated as:

The overall heat transfer coefficient is then:

U = 1 / (1/10 + 0.15/1 + 0.1/0.023 + 1/30) = 0.216 W/m²K

The heat flux can be then calculated simply as:

q = 0.216 [W/m²K] x 30 [K] = 6.48 W/m²

The total heat loss through this wall will be:

q_loss = q . A = 6.48 [W/m²] x 30 [m²] = 194 W

As can be seen, an addition of thermal insulator causes significant decrease in heat losses. It must be added, an addition of next layer of thermal insulator does not cause such high savings. This can be better seen from the thermal resistance method, which can be used to calculate the heat transfer through composite walls. The rate of steady heat transfer between two surfaces is equal to the temperature difference divided by the total thermal resistance between those two surfaces.

See also:

Insulation Materials