EP2116753B1 - Thermal insulation product - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a product (insulation) for thermal insulation, in particular buildings and containers (such as tanks, pipes, etc.), this product being particularly suitable and intended for use at atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity ambient, and also relates to the process for obtaining it.

Insulation used for the thermal insulation of buildings (especially walls or roofs of buildings) is traditionally in the form of wound felts or panels made of mineral wool (glass or rock) up to 300 mm thick or more. For reasons, in particular, of size and flexibility of use, it has more recently appeared desirable to develop insulating products of smaller thickness without adversely affecting the desired properties, in particular thermal insulation.

Thus appeared in recent years so-called "thin" insulators formed of various layers that slow down the transfer of heat, generally including at least one layer reflecting infrared radiation in the form of a metal sheet (in particular an aluminum foil) usually associated with a polymer film (in particular based on polyolefin (s) or polyester) serving as a support or allowing its assembly to the other layer (s) of the insulation. Thin insulators with thermal performance equivalent to the aforementioned traditional products are however more expensive than the latter. In addition, the presence of metal reflective sheets does not generally allow the breathing of the substrates coated with the insulation (in particular does not allow the passage of water vapor, etc.).

An insulating product having a plurality of superposed layers based on fibers, fibers of at least one layer being coated with a metal layer, is also known from the document US 3357587 .

The present invention has sought to develop improved insulating products using reflective materials but which are both efficient and economically reasonable, in particular allowing the breathing of supports or structures coated with said products while presenting good thermal performance for a limited space requirement, these products being particularly suitable and intended for use at atmospheric pressure, at ambient temperature and humidity, in particular for the insulation of buildings.

This object is achieved thanks to the insulating product according to the invention as defined by claim 1.

The insulation according to the invention is advantageously in the form of a layered structure (or multilayer or stack of layers or sandwich structure) chosen from different types of layers, including at least one fibrous layer provided with a metal coating such as mentioned in the definition of the invention (said layer being referred to hereinafter as "metallized layer"). It may in particular comprise several of said metallized fibrous layers and it comprises one or more fibrous layers, in particular devoid of metal coating deposited directly on the surface of their fibers (this last layer (s) being designated ( s) hereinafter "non-metallized layer (s)"), the fibrous layers (metallized or not) being able to be distributed according to one or several layers (or beds) located at different levels (or with different thicknesses) of the insulation.

The insulation thus formed is particularly efficient and economical. In a particularly preferred manner, it comprises at least a third fibrous layer arranged so as to have an alternation of fibrous layer (s) metallized (s) and fibrous layer (s) (s) non-metallized (s) (to at least two non-metallized fibrous layers surrounding at least one metallized fibrous layer or, conversely and preferably at least two fibrous layers metallized surrounding at least one non-metallized fibrous layer), this alternation taking place on all or part of the thickness of the insulation.

In the following description, we will present characteristic elements that are generally valid for both a metallized fibrous layer and non-metallized.

Each fibrous layer mentioned in the definition of the invention may be in a form used where appropriate in the insulators, for example in the form of a mat or a felt, or in a form generally not valued as a material. insulation, such as a veil (the sails are optionally used in the insulators on the surface to obtain a particular appearance or a special touch quality). These forms of fibrous layer have the advantage of having a large porosity open to the outside, permeable to the diffusion of water vapor. In particular, this layer is in the form of a sheet of fibers (particularly son and / or filaments) entangled (forming a porous structure or "discontinuous"), these fibers can be cut or continuous (in general and advantageously there this is cut fiber). Although an ordered structure such as a fabric may optionally be conceivable, it is preferentially and generally a nonwoven type structure such as a veil, or optionally a mat, a felt etc. This nonwoven structure can nevertheless be associated with regularly arranged organized reinforcing elements, such as continuous yarns extending in one or more directions in the surface of the layer, especially in the form of parallel lines or a wire mesh, arranged perpendicularly or at a given angle between them, constituted for example by a grid which can be incorporated or associated with the nonwoven layer. The fibrous layer may be formed in a known manner, for example by dry process with deposition of fibers from a spinneret or other fiberizing device on a carpet and optionally junction of the fibers between them by mechanical fastening, in particular by needling, or chemical by means of a binder applied to the fibers (in particular to obtain mats or thick webs) or wetly from a suspension of fibers in a liquid filtered on a carpet (in particular to obtain sails).

Each fibrous layer mentioned in the definition of the invention may be formed of different types of fibers (mineral fibers including mineral wool such as glass wool or rock, etc., and / or optionally organic fibers such as polyester fibers, polyolefin, two-component organic fibers, etc.), the fibers possibly being of a single type or possibly being a mixture of fibers (for example a mixture of mineral fibers and organic fibers, and / or composite fibers). Preferably, at least a portion of the fibers of the layer, or, advantageously, all the fibers of the layer, are inorganic / mineral fibers, in particular glass fibers, for example and advantageously fibers of a glass having good reflection and / or absorption properties of infrared radiation (glass E, glass C, glass with a high alumina content, in particular greater than 18% by weight, etc.).

Generally, one or more fibrous layers mentioned in the definition of the invention also comprise at least one binder, which makes it possible, if necessary, to bind the fibers together, this binder generally being (but not necessarily) aqueous-based and generally comprising various organic compounds. (resin (s), additive (s), etc.), this binder being chosen so as to withstand, if appropriate, the temperatures of subsequent use. The binder content may be of the order of a few% or tens of% by weight relative to the layer, generally less than or equal to 30% (in the case of the web for example of the order of 15 to 30% by weight). weight of dry matter in relation to the veil).

Advantageously, at least one fibrous layer (in particular metallized) mentioned in the definition of the invention has a porosity (expressed by the volume fraction of air present in the layer, namely the proportion in% of the volume of air contained in the layer relative to the overall apparent volume of the layer) greater than 10% (and possibly up to 99% or more), preferably greater than 30%, especially greater than 50% and particularly preferably greater than 80 % (in particular between 90 and 99.8%) and / or has a basis weight of between 30 and 5000 g / m ² , in particular of the order of 30 to 1500 g / m ² , in particular of 30 to 500 g / m ² , m ² , for example of the order of 30 to 150 g / m ² , in particular of 50 to 120 g / m ² (for a layer in the form of a glass veil in particular).

At least the fibrous layer of a metallized layer as mentioned above also advantageously according to the invention a permeance to water vapor (measured according to ISO 12572) greater than 100 perm at 75% relative humidity and greater than 200 perm at 25% relative humidity.

Surprisingly, as it appears in the following description, the combination of such a porous / permeable fibrous layer with water vapor and its metal coating is a sufficiently reflective structure (although discontinuous) while making it possible the respiration of supports coated with said structure, which is not the case of known reflective products incorporating one or more metallized polymer sheets. Advantageously, the fibrous layer coated with at least one metal layer as mentioned in the invention (or the product incorporating said fibrous layer) retains good permeance to water vapor (little or no difference, in particular a reduction not exceeding 20%, generally not exceeding 10 or 15%) with respect to the uncoated fibrous layer (or respectively with respect to the product incorporating the uncoated fibrous layer), said metallized fibrous layer advantageously having a higher permeance at 90 perm at 75% relative humidity and above 190 perm at 25% relative humidity.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the insulating product according to the invention comprises, as fiber layer mentioned in the definition of the invention, at least one fiberglass web. This haze can be obtained by any technique known per se, in particular the so-called wet technique of preparing an aqueous suspension of chopped glass fibers, depositing this suspension in a film on a filter mat subjected to a suction to eliminate a part water from the deposited film, apply a binder composition (to hold the fibers together) on the wet film, dry the veil and crosslink the binder in an oven, then condition the veil in the desired manner, the product final being in the form of a fairly thin sheet (for example with a thickness of the order of 0.2 to 0.8 mm) generally packaged in rolls. This web or thin film material is traditionally of essentially isotropic structure (no preferential orientation of the fibers) and is qualified where appropriate by means of the "ratio isotropy "(ratio of the tensile strength of the web in the machine direction on the tensile strength of the web in the cross direction) generally of the order of 1 to 1.5, sometimes up to 2. The glass fibers used for the production of webs are preferably in the form of cut son, having for example a length of the order of ten millimeters, in particular from 6 to 30 mm, in particular from approximately 10 to 20 mm but can also be (at least partly) cut to a longer or continuous length.

According to another embodiment, the insulating product according to the invention comprises as fibrous layer (in particular metallized) mentioned in the definition of the invention at least one mat of glass fibers or a thick glass veil which can be obtained preferentially. by the dry route, and whose thickness can be up to a few millimeters, for example of the order of 0.8 to 5 mm, in particular of 0.8 to 3 mm.

According to another embodiment, the insulating product according to the invention comprises as fiber layer (in particular metallized) mentioned in the definition of the invention at least one glass wool or rock wool, which can be obtained by techniques conventional fibers for the production of mineral wool, and whose thickness can be of the order of 5 to 200 mm, in particular of 10 to 200 mm (such as one of those traditionally used in insulators), with a density which can be of the order of 7 to 50 kg / m ³ , in particular 7 to 25 kg / m ³ , the layer thus being sufficiently flexible so that the insulating product is able to be packaged in roll.

Thus, in general, a product according to the invention comprises at least one metallized fibrous layer, of thickness that can be chosen in particular between 0.2 and 200 mm.

Preferably, the metallized fibrous layers may have a thickness of less than 10 mm, the non-metallized fibrous layers being chosen according to the invention so as to have a thickness of less than 10 mm, and in particular greater than 2 mm, in particular from minus 3 mm (in particular of the order of 3 to 6 mm, in particular 5-6 mm, especially for layers based on mineral fibers such as glass fibers, or organic fibers). The non-metallized fibrous layers are thus preferably chosen from the felt-like or fibrous mat materials which have intrinsic thermal insulation properties. But the limited thickness of the insulating non-metallized fibrous layers selected in this case makes it possible to benefit from a skin effect or radiative boundary layer lowering the local thermal conductivity (the thermal conductivity of the material over this thickness is lower than the thermal conductivity Apparently of a material of identical fibrous structure but of greater thickness) reducing further, in combination with the presence of the metallized fibrous layers which reduces the intensity of the incident radiation, the radiative heat flux transmitted in the insulator. By way of illustration, this skin effect is advantageously manifested on an optimum thickness of about 3 mm for an insolating glass fiber mat of about 10 kg / m ³ of density. This thickness will be even lower than the mattress is dense.

The non-metallized fibrous layer or layers also optionally present may be chosen from the same types of fibrous layers as those described for the fibrous layers mentioned in the definition of the invention; in particular they may be based on any insulating material based on mineral fibers, or organic of natural origin (plant or animal) or synthetic (polymer), such as mineral wool, for example glass wool or rockwool , or hemp wool, sheep, feathers, or fibers based on polymer (s) recycled (s) or not (for example polyester), etc., each layer being preferably in a flexible or semi-rigid form rollable, with a density of less than 50 kg / m ³ , the thickness of these layers being limited as explained above. This or these layers are preferably in the form of felt (s) and are preferably located in layers (s) intermediate (s) in the insulation, but it can also be sail (s) and / or at least one (Of these) layer (s) may constitute at least one outer face of the product.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the insulation comprises at least two webs of metallized fibers and at least one non-metallized fiber felt between the webs.

Also preferably, the total number of fibrous layers (metallized or not) in the insulation according to the invention does not exceed 20 layers (or layers).

The metal coating deposited directly on the (or on) the surface of at least a portion of the fibers of the metallized fibrous layer mentioned in the definition of the invention is advantageously a thin surface layer (or film) (in particular of thickness nanometer), this layer being directly deposited on the surface of the fibrous layer, in particular by a vacuum evaporation deposition technique as explained later. This metal layer continuously covers the surface of the exposed fibers on the outside of the layer. In this respect, it may appear continuous at a certain distance from the fibrous layer (respectively of the product), but the close or microscopic examination reveals a discontinuous surface conforming to the surface of the fiber network, the porosity of the coated fibrous layer. the metal layer being approximately preserved. The metal coating is generally provided on at least one face of the fibrous layer (at least one of the faces of larger dimensions), or even at least two faces (in particular can cover the two opposite faces of larger dimensions, which allows in particular to arrange the layer in the product without taking care of a particular orientation).

The metal coating may be for example based on aluminum, copper, zinc, silver, titanium, chromium, nickel, and / or other metals or metal compounds (for example conductive metal oxides such as tin-doped indium oxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide, antimony-doped tin oxide, etc.), especially good conductors of electricity, and / or alloys between these metals (for example a nickel / chromium or silver / copper alloy, etc.), etc., pure (metal used) or almost pure or possibly doped or alloyed (for example to protect the layer of the effects of corrosion or for reasons of ease of deposition or adhesion, etc.). Although the coating of the fibrous layer by a single metal layer is generally sufficient, the fibrous layer mentioned in the definition of the invention may also optionally be coated with several layers, these layers may be of the same material (metal) or different materials (metal or not, at least one of the layers being metallic according to the invention). The additional layer or layers are preferably of similar structure to the metal layer previously described, namely, continuously coating the surface of the fibers exposed on the outside of the layer. They may nevertheless be of generally discontinuous structure, that is to say that they are deposited in islets on the surface of the fibrous layer. For example, if appropriate, a first metal layer may be surmounted by another layer, for example protection against corrosion (for example a layer of silica), or biocide (for example a layer of copper or silver) etc.

The insulating product according to the invention generally comprises one or more (for example up to 10 or more) fibrous layers provided with at least one metal coating as mentioned in the definition of the invention, said fibrous layers possibly being internal (For example in the middle of the product) and / or in at least one of the faces of the product (or on each of its two opposite faces of larger dimensions), the performance generally increasing with the number of fibrous layers coated according to the incorporated / present invention.

• de la mousse, ou autre matière cellulaire, organique ou minérale, atténuant les échanges thermiques, par exemple une structure à cellules, de type par exemple « film à bulles » ou « blister » (les cellules renfermant notamment de l'air et/ou au moins un matériau permettant d'augmenter le pouvoir isolant du produit, tel qu'un gaz rare, un aérogel, de la silice pyrogénée, etc), etc ,
• une autre couche réfléchissante non déposée sur une couche fibreuse (par exemple sous forme d'une feuille ou film ou couche le cas échéant initialement indépendante ou autoportante ou libre, c'est-à-dire n'ayant pas besoin d'une autre couche en support, ou éventuellement sous forme d'une couche déposée sur une autre couche support telle qu'un ou des feuillets plastiques, etc.),
• éventuellement un film à base de matière(s) organique(s) synthétique(s) (notamment polymères),
• de la colle,
• une grille d'accrochage pour faciliter la pose ou la tenue du produit.

The insulating product according to the invention may optionally comprise other layers of a nature to provide in particular a thermal insulation function, and / or to confer on the product of the mechanical strength, and / or to allow the connection between the layers of the product , and / or to improve the quality to the touch or to facilitate the handling of the product. By way of nonlimiting examples, it will be possible to choose at least one of:

• foam, or other cellular material, organic or mineral, reducing heat exchange, for example a cell structure, of the type for example "bubble film" or "blister" (the cells containing in particular air and / or at least one material making it possible to increase the insulating power of the product, such as a rare gas, an airgel, pyrogenic silica, etc.), etc.,
• another reflective layer not deposited on a fibrous layer (for example in the form of a sheet or film or layer, if appropriate initially independent or free-standing or free, that is to say not needing another layer in support, or possibly in the form of a layer deposited on another support layer such as one or more plastic sheets, etc.),
• optionally a film based on synthetic organic material (s) (in particular polymers),
• glue,
• a hooking grid to facilitate the installation or holding of the product.

In addition, one or more layers of the insulator may be additive, especially when one or more properties and / or functions are sought (presence for example of an infra-red opacifier), and / or comprise one or more binders and and / or oils and / or silicones, etc. Where appropriate (in particular on one and / or the other face of the insulator), one or more layers (in particular a fibrous layer in the form of a web) may be surfaced or reinforced and / or reinforced (especially for not tear) for example by the addition of a grid of organic or inorganic fibers (glass fibers).

Also preferably, the product according to the invention comprises only breathable layers, that is to say layers which are permeable to the diffusion of water vapor, in particular porous or perforated (for example based on fibers, and / or open-cell foam, and / or in the form of a perforated film, etc.) or having a permeability to the diffusion of water vapor in at least appropriate ambient conditions (for example an adaptive hygroregulating membrane, typically based on polyamide or another polymer, such as the product sold under the name VARIO by the company SAINT-GOBAIN ISOVER).

In a particular embodiment, the product according to the invention mainly comprises, or even only, essentially mineral-based layers (with the possible exception of binder (s) and / or additive (s) and / or layers or films layer coating) which achieves high levels of fire resistance. Organic layers can however be tolerated if they contain fire retardant additives or are otherwise fire resistant, the total amount of organic material being preferably limited depending on the desired level of fire resistance.

The layers forming the product are laid one on top of the other and can be joined together in different ways, in particular the different sheets, films or other (initially) independent layers can be assembled by gluing, stitching, sewing, needling, possibly by welding (thermal, ultrasound) in the presence of suitable materials (eg polymers) in one or more layers or by the provision of a fusible interlayer (such as a hot-melt layer or a polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate layer) ). The superposed layers may optionally be held together inside an envelope (so-called encapsulation technique) with or without joining the layers together. The envelope is made of a packaging material, such as a plastic or other film, preferably permeable to air, which may be in tubular form closed or not at the ends. Preferably, the independent layers are made integral by localized or pointwise bonds (by sewing, needling, etc.), for example by lines or points, in various specific locations of the product (for example at the edges or at regular intervals along the length product) especially to maintain a certain flexibility of the product (allowing for example its winding) and avoid thermal bridges.

The insulating product according to the invention is preferably of small thickness, its thickness not exceeding in this case 100 mm, and being advantageously less than 50 mm, although advantages are always observed for thicknesses up to 200 mm. . The thickness of each fibrous layer provided with at least one metal coating as defined according to the invention is generally less than about 40 mm and preferably less than 8 mm, in particular less than 5 mm (especially for a layer in the form of a veil), the thickness of each metal layer deposited on a fibrous layer is generally less than 2 μm and in particular less than 1 μm, for example of the order of 500 nm or more.

The insulating product according to the invention may be in the form of a sheet (generally multilayer) or a sheet or panel (generally multilayer), preferably flexible, and may optionally be packaged wound.

The particular structure of the insulating (reflective) product according to the invention, due in particular to the presence of fibrous layers coated with a metal layer as previously mentioned, makes it possible to obtain good thermal insulation properties at the same time as a breathable structure (permeable to the diffusion of water vapor) if appropriate (if it is devoid of other non-breathable layers), having a good mechanical resistance at the same time as thermal and if necessary incombustible (especially when the fibrous structure is formed of mineral fibers), the insulation also remaining economically advantageous.

The improved thermal performance of the insulation according to the invention results in values of thermal conductivity λ advantageously less than about 35 mW / mK, and preferably less than about 32 mW / mK (for comparison, the wool mattresses conventional minerals have a thermal conductivity λ commonly greater than 35, in particular of the order of 40 mW / mK). The thermal conductivity λ (in W / mK) represents the amount of heat passing through the insulation (one meter thick, per m ² and when the temperature difference between the two faces is 1 ° K) . The thermal conductivity values λ (compared with identical pressure and temperature, in particular at atmospheric pressure (1 bar) and ambient temperature (between 10 and 25 ° C.) are measured on the model of the ISO 8301 standard). The performance gain in terms of thermal conductivity related to the presence of at least one fibrous layer coated with at least one metal layer according to the invention can range in particular up to 20% (less in thermal conductivity) compared to same product does not have such a fibrous layer, this gain is generally at least 1% (case of the addition of the fibrous layer to a product already high performance), the insertion into an existing insulation product of a layer fibrous coated with at least one metal layer as mentioned according to the invention to reduce the thermal conductivity of said product being also referred to in the present invention.

In parallel, the insulating product according to the invention generally reflects on the order of at least 30%, or even at least 40%, of the incident infrared radiation (wavelengths between 5 and 22 μm, the measurements being made according to the technical regulation ACERMI RT A).

The invention also relates to a method for improving the thermal performance (including reduction of thermal conductivity) of an insulating product in layer (s), without reducing the ability of the product to breathe, this method of inserting (or comprising at least one step of incorporating, in and / or on the surface of said product, at least one fibrous layer provided with at least one metal coating deposited directly on the surface of at least a portion of the fibers of said fibrous layer . As indicated above, the gain obtained can be significant, for example several% and up to at least 20%.

The subject of the invention is also a process for obtaining an insulating product according to the invention, said process comprising at least one step of depositing a metal layer on a fibrous layer (intended to form part of the insulating product, said layer is then assembled where appropriate to one or other layers to form the insulation).

The metal layer is preferably deposited on the fibrous layer by a vacuum evaporation technique (of PVD, CVD, optionally assisted by plasma, etc.), activated (for example by cathodic arc, sputtering, beam sputtering). ion or electron, by laser) or not, this technique of evaporating the material to be deposited, from 'targets' arranged around the load, by a thermal effect (temperatures above the melting temperature of the metal and less than its boiling point, assisted if necessary by an electric arc, an electron beam, etc.), the evaporated particles (or if appropriate, especially when the evaporation is activated, the ionized metal vapor) condensing in a continuous thin homogeneous layer (depending on the support to be coated) strongly adhesive on the substrates (here the fibrous layer) to be coated placed in a vacuum chamber. The resulting metallic deposit, of nanometric or micrometric type, for example based on aluminum, copper, etc. (as detailed in more detail above), produces a metallization at the surface of the fibrous layer serving as a support (in the case of a fiber layer in the form of haze, the assembly formed by the support layer and the reflective deposit is thus in the form of a metallized, for example aluminized, foil).

Surprisingly one can thus obtain the metallized fibrous layer mentioned in the present invention, in particular despite the porosity of the support (fibrous layer) and the pre-existing fear that the binder or other residues related to the support disturb the deposition of the layer metal (for example by desorption of water) and adversely affect its quality (the binder in particular does not disturb the final deposition of the metal layer).

The deposition of each metal layer may optionally be carried out online during manufacture or after manufacture of the fibrous layer, for example by unrolling the fibrous layer, coating it by vacuum evaporation and then rewinding it on a support, these three operations taking place continuously in the same vacuum chamber, rewinding the fibrous layer coated, unexpectedly, not altering it.

As indicated above, the method may comprise a step of assembling the different layers of the insulation by means of various operations such as gluing, seaming, seaming, needling, seaming ), located (s) or continuous (s), wrapping (in an envelope permeable to air in particular), etc. The method may finally comprise a finishing and conditioning step, for example comprising a cutting step when the layers are assembled in line in the form of an endless band. Preferably, the insulation is flexible enough to be packaged as a roll which can be contained in a suitable packaging material.

The following comparative examples illustrate the present invention without limiting it. In each of these examples, an insulating product is considered formed of 6 layers of glass wool with a density of 14 kg / m ³ and a thermal conductivity of 33.4 mW / mK each of 8 mm thick.

In the first example used as a reference (product not in accordance with the invention), the insulating product is only formed of the 6 aforementioned layers.

In the second example, illustrating the present invention, is intercalated between each previous layer an intermediate layer (5 interlayers in all, the insulation then being formed of two types of layers arranged alternately), each intermediate layer being formed of a metallized glass fiber fleece 0.8 mm thick. This veil is manufactured according to the invention from a veil marketed under the reference APH75 by Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics (and having a porosity of approximately 95%, a basis weight of 75 g / m ² and a permeance of 150 perm at 75% relative humidity and 210 perm at 25% relative humidity, this veil having intrinsically no significant property infra-red reflection, the latter being barely 5%), that 2 μm thick aluminum metal layer is deposited on one of its faces by the technique of evaporation under vacuum. In a Balzers evaporator where an aluminum atmosphere is produced at a pressure of 2.10 ^-5 mbar and a temperature lower than 30 ° C, the glass veil is scrolled with one side exposed to the aluminum atmosphere at a speed adapted to obtain a deposition rate (growth rate of the aluminum layer on the fibers) of the order of 2 nm / s, the temperature of the web being less than 50 ° C.

The coated veil is characterized by an ability to reflect infra-red radiation at 40% of the incident infrared radiation (metallized side, for wavelengths between 5 and 22 microns, the measurements being made according to the technical regulation ACERMI RT A), the permeability of the coated web being approximately conserved, said coated web having a permeance of 100 perm at 75% relative humidity and 205 perm at 25% relative humidity.

The insulating product of the present example illustrating the invention is manufactured by superposition of a layer of mineral wool, then of an aluminized veil with its face coated on the top, then this stacking sequence is repeated 4 times, and the we finish with a layer of mineral wool.

The product obtained has a final thickness of 52 mm.

The thermal conductivity, measured according to the ISO 8301 standard, on 300mmX300mm test pieces of these products, is 33.4 mW / mK for the reference example, and 31.7 mW / mK for the example according to the invention is a gain in thermal performance of 5%.

It is also observed that the reflection and transmission properties of the infra-red radiation of the metallized veil used are preserved over time. In particular, after aging in a climate drying oven at 54 ° C., and 95% humidity for 15 days, the transmission and the infrared reflection measured on the metallized film remain unchanged (in particular the metallic side infrared reflection remains high, from order of 40% for wavelengths in particular between 5 and 22 microns, the measurements being made according to technical regulation ACERMI RT A).

The insulation according to the invention is particularly suitable for use inside the building envelopes, especially in the attic, on the walls or roofs inside the houses, for the insulation of containers (heater water, tank, pipe, etc.), etc., this insulation being particularly suitable and intended for use at atmospheric pressure, at ambient temperature and humidity.

Claims (13)

1. Thermal insulation product, formed from a layered structure containing at least one fibrous layer provided with at least one metallic coating deposited directly on the surface of at least one portion of the fibres of said fibrous layer, and containing at least one non-metallized fibrous layer, characterized in that the non-metallized fibrous layer has a thickness greater than 2 mm and less than 10 mm and a density of less than 50 kg/m³, and in that the fibrous layer of the metallized fibrous layer additionally has a water vapour permeance of greater than 100 perm at 75% relative humidity and greater than 200 perm at 25% relative humidity.
2. Insulating product according to Claim 1, characterized in that said metallized fibrous layer is a nonwoven, in particular is a web or a mat or a felt.
3. Insulating product according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that at least one portion of the fibres of said metallized fibrous layer comprises mineral fibres, in particular glass fibres, all the layers of the product preferably being mineral based.
4. Insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said metallized fibrous layer has a porosity of greater than 10%, preferably of greater than 30%, and particularly preferably of greater than 80% and/or has a basis weight of between 30 and 5000 g/m², for example of the order of 30 to 500 g/m² for a glass web.
5. Insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the metallic coating of said metallized fibrous layer consists of a single metallic layer on one face of the layer, or else of at least two metallic coatings each deposited directly on one surface of the fibrous layer.
6. Insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the metallic coating is based on aluminium, copper, zinc, silver, titanium, chromium, nickel, or an alloy of these metals with one another, and/or on other metals or metallic compounds.
7. Insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises an alternation of metallized fibrous layers and of non-metallized fibrous layers.
8. Insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that its thickness does not exceed 100 mm, the number of fibrous layers preferably not exceeding 20 layers.
9. Insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it is flexible enough to be packaged in the form of a roll.
10. Process for obtaining an insulating product according to one of Claims 1 to 9, said process comprising at least one step of depositing a metallic layer on a fibrous layer.
11. Process according to Claim 10, characterized in that the deposition of each metallic layer is carried out in-line during the manufacture or after the manufacture of the fibrous layer, for example by unrolling the fibrous layer, coating it via vacuum evaporation and then rewinding it onto a support, these three operations taking place continuously in the same vacuum chamber.
12. Process according to either of Claims 10 and 11, characterized in that it comprises at least one step of superposing a non-metallized fibrous layer with the metallized fibrous layer, and assembling the superposed layers.
13. Use of a product according to one of Claims 1 to 9, as thermal insulating material at atmospheric pressure, at ambient temperature and humidity, in particular as insulating material for the walls of buildings.