Gas Filled Panels
APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:Appliances--R-14 per inch appliance insulation to replace CFC- blown foam; modular panels used in composite with non-CFC foam to boost performance or decrease wall thickness Transportation--High performance, lightweight GFPs offer strong potential for thermal and acoustic applications in electric/hybrid vehicles, RVs, airplanes, and other automotive/transportation insulation industries
ADVANTAGES:
Stiff GFPs for appliances: 1" thick R-12 GFP provides performance equivalent to 2" thick foam Gas-barrier materials technology is available commercially in shipping containers for the food packaging industry (see cargotech.com)
Reduces transportation and storage costs Replaces CFC-dependent insulations In tight spots, use of GFPs reduces the need to either sacrifice performance or to redesign In automobile, truck and RV door interior panels, use of GFPs combines thermal insulation and sound dampening into a single device Use in vehicle doors decreases manufacturing complexity by reducing required number of parts
ABSTRACT:
Gas Filled Panels (GFPs) are a new, advanced approach to ambient-temperature thermal insulation applications. They consist of infrared reflecting (low emissivity), multilayer baffles enveloped by a sealed barrier and filled with a low conductivity gas or air (at atmospheric pressure). The panels are easy to make, may either be transported in a collapsed state and inflated on location, or pre-filled for shipment. Innovative, thin, highly efficient insulations such as Gas Filled Panels are increasingly desirable as energy efficiency becomes more important and manufacturers resist increases in insulation thickness. Gas Filled Panel technology holds great promise in niche areas in appliances — such as refrigerator doors — where space constraints due to user features or mechanical components would otherwise cause design problems. For example, high-performance, krypton GFPs offer performance in 1 inch of space that is equivalent to 2 inches of insulating foam. Similarly, in cars, planes, and RVs, Gas Filled Panel technology holds the promise of thin, efficient, thermal insulation that functions as acoustic insulation as well.
Patents:
US 5,270,092
Type of Offer: Licensing
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