The thermophysical behaviour of cork supports doped with an innovative thermal insulation and protective coating: A numerical analysis based on in situ experimental data

In this work, the thermal potentialities of insulation panels made of cork have been explored by means of a numerical approach based on experimental data. A comparative analysis between the panel in unaltered state, and then covered with an innovative shield coating (COIB 250 (R)) was carried out. In addition, a defect simulating an inner detachment of the panel was fabricated to understand its behaviour during a daily solar thermal load. The site was selected ad hoc to avoid any shadow cast effect on the panel itself and any conduction phenomenon from the surrounding area. The external floor on which the panel was mounted was completely isolated from the soil. Two similar days with clear sky conditions were selected, real meteorological data recorded by a weather station installed near the inspected site and data deriving from a NASA software were used respectively for the ambient temperature and for the solar radiation, in order to provide a solid discussion of the findings. Results show how a cork panel, usually employed in civil engineering as an insulation system, may benefit a lot of a shield coating. The latter product tends also to minimize the impact of a subsurface detachment during the thermal conduction via heat transfer; this behaviour will be in-depth clarified in this work. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.