GB2569862A

GB2569862A - An improved thin insulation system

Info

Publication number: GB2569862A
Application number: GB1817782.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thierry Laurent; Duran Maxime
Original assignee: Orion Financement SA
Current assignee: Orion Financement SA
Priority date: 2017-10-31
Filing date: 2018-10-31
Publication date: 2019-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-31
Also published as: PL427609A1; GB201817782D0; FR3072985A1; NL2021905B1; ES2711229A1; PL241683B1; ES2711229B2; GB2569862B; BE1025683A1; FR3072985B1; BE1025683B1; DE202018106205U1; NL2021905A

Abstract

A thermal insulation system for thermally insulating a building, comprises at least two superposed sheets (100, 200) of thermal insulation, each of said sheets of thermal insulation being made up of two films (110, 120) that are superposed and bonded together so as to form pouches (130), each of the pouches (130) containing synthetic fibers (140), the system being characterized in that at least one of said sheets (100,200) includes a separator film (150) bonded in part in contact with a film of a sheet (100, 200) in such a manner as to define a set of bubbles (156), whereby the sheets of each pair of adjacent sheets (100, 200) are separated by a set of bubbles. The system has two layers made up of fibre filled pockets with a layer of air filled bubbles in between.

Description

AN IMPROVED THIN INSULATION SYSTEM

GENERAL TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of multilayer insulating products for use particularly but not exclusively for providing buildings with thermal and acoustic insulation.

STATE OF THE ART

The thermal insulation of a building is an essential aspect of its energy consumption.

The various solutions in existence generally address several difficulties, in particular in terms of size, weight, cost, and ease of installation, and also in terms of effectiveness of thermal performance, in particular with respect to drafts, which makes it necessary to encapsulate traditional fiber insulating material with under-roof screens and a vapor-barrier screen.

Nevertheless, in order to optimize the effectiveness with which any particular one of those difficulties is addressed, those various solutions commonly lead to making concessions on the others.

Thus, in patent application FR 16/54337 (now published as FR 3 051 209) the Applicant has proposed multilayer insulation in which the various layers of insulating material are separated by air spaces. The insulation is then formed as a plurality of disjoint sheets, which are positioned so as to be spaced apart between two assembly regions, thereby forming sheets of air greatly contributing to improving the insulating properties of the assembly.

The present disclosure seeks to improve such a system, by encouraging the formation of air spaces and to encourage making them uniform, while simplifying assembly constraints for forming such air spaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To this end, the present invention proposes a thermal insulation system for thermally insulating a building, the system comprising at least two superposed sheets of thermal insulation, each of said sheets of thermal insulation being made up of two base films that are superposed and bonded together so as to form pouches, each of the pouches containing synthetic fibers, the system being characterized in that it further comprises at least one separator film made up of two individual films that are bonded together in part so as to present an alternation of bonded portions and of non-bonded portions between the two individual films, so as to define a plurality of sealed cavities, said separator film being bonded at least in part in contact with a base film of one of the sheets so that a plurality of sealed cavities extend from a base film of each of the pouches, and so that a plurality of sealed cavities are positioned between the adjacent sheets.

The separator film bonded in part in contact with the base film of the sheet thus defines a structure forming a gas separator, with the gas being encapsulated in the bubbles formed in this way. This structure may be thermoformed.

In an example, the separator film is bonded in part to a base film making up a sheet, the separator film being bonded in part in such a manner as to present an alternation of bonded portions bonded to a film making up a sheet, and of non-bonded portions that are not bonded to said base film making up a sheet.

A separator film may be formed by an individual film that is bonded in part with the base film of one of the sheets so that the bubbles are formed between the individual film and the base film as a result of them being bonded together in part.

In an example, the separator film may be made up of two individual films that are bonded together in part, so as to present an alternation of bonded portions and of non-bonded portions between the two individual films. Under such circumstances, the bubbles are formed between said non-bonded portions and the resulting separator film assembly can be bonded to the base film, optionally in part.

In general manner, the fact that the separator film is bonded in part means that the bubbles are obtained by this partial bonding, whether it involves bonding the separator film in part to the base film of the sheet, or bonding together in part the two individual films making up the separator film.

In an example, each sheet presents a separator film that is bonded in part to one of the base films making up said sheet, the sheets being superposed in such a manner that a single separator film (comprising one individual film or two individual films) is interposed between two adjacent sheets.

In an example, said bubbles are filled with a gas selected from the following gases: air; nitrogen; oxygen; argon; xenon; neon; and carbon dioxide.

In an example, the films making up the sheets are bonded by stitching, adhesive, welding, or calendaring, optionally being offset from one another.

In an example, the synthetic fibers comprise fibers of polyester, typically presenting weight per unit length lying in the range 0.2 denier to 25 denier, more precisely in the range 0.5 denier to 15 denier, or more precisely in the range 3 denier to 12 denier.

The proposed thermal insulation system further typically comprises at least one diaphragm forming a cover on at least one face of the sheets. Two diaphragms can thus be provided forming an overall cover around the sheets, or else one diaphragm covering one face of one of the sheets as a partial cover, the opposite face of the other sheet also acting as a diaphragm.

SUMMARY OF THE FIGURES

Other characteristics, objects, and advantages of the invention appear from the following description, which is purely illustrative and non-limiting, and which should be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 to 4 show several aspects of examples of the thermal insulation system in an aspect of the invention.

In all of the figures, elements that are in common are identified by identical numerical references.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 to 4 show several examples of a thermal insulation system in an aspect of the invention.

The system of the invention is made up of thermally insulating sheets. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example sheet.

The sheet 100 as shown is made up of two superposed base films 110 and 120.

These two films 110 and 120 are bonded together so as to form pouches 130; the bonding between the two films 110 and 120 is thus performed so as to define portions where the two films 110 and 120 are not bonded together, these portions defining the pouches 130.

The two films 110 and 120 may be bonded together by stitching, adhesive, welding, or calendaring. The bonding may be performed discretely or continuously, using patterns of straight lines, curved lines, or any other suitable paths or patterns, e.g. a lozenge-shaped pattern .

The bonding may be performed in a longitudinal direction and/or in a transverse direction, thereby defining pouches that may be defined over all or part of their peripheries.

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a middle axis X100 of the sheet 100, this middle axis X100 passing through the zones of bonding between the two films 110 and 120.

This middle axis X100 thus defines a longitudinal direction of the sheet 100.

The pouches 130 have a maximum dimension measured along this middle axis X100 lying in the range 1 cm to 60 cm, more precisely in the range 2 cm to 20 cm, or indeed 1 cm to 10 cm, or indeed equal to 5 cm.

This thus means that the zones of bonding between the two films 110 and 120 are spaced apart by a maximum lying in the range 1 cm to 60 cm, more precisely in the range 1 cm to 20 cm, or indeed in the range 1 cm to 10 cm, or indeed equal to 5 cm, along this middle axis X100.

Each of the pouches 130 contains synthetic fibers 140 in its internal volume, these synthetic fibers 140 thus filling the internal volume of each of the pouches 130, at least in part. The synthetic fibers typically present three-dimensional crimping; they are commonly said to be conjugated. Such synthetic fibers presenting three-dimensional crimping serve to enhance the bulking that is described below. The fibers are typically made of two materials.

The pouches 130 may also include other elements or materials serving typically to improve the thermal conductivity or the inertness of the insulation.

The fibers 140 arranged inside the pouches 130 may for example be polyester or polyolefin (polyethylene and/or polypropylene) fibers, optionally combined with fibers of vegetal or animal origin, e.g. fibers of wood, of flax, or of wool. When the fibers 140 are polyester fibers, these fibers 140 typically present linear weight lying in the range 0.2 denier to 25 denier, more precisely in the range 0.5 denier to 15 denier, or more precisely in the range 3 denier to 12 denier.

The synthetic fibers 140 arranged within the pouches 130 may be fibers that are hollow or solid, and they may be siliconized.

The films 110 and 120 are typically metallized films based on polyethylene or polypropylene, and they are of emissivity as measured on the metallized face in application of the EN 16012 standard that typically lies in the range 0.02 to 0.2, more precisely in the range 0.05 to 0.07. The metallizing may be provided by aluminum, for example.

The thermal insulation sheet 100 typically presents surface density lying in the range 20 g/cm² to 250 g/cm², and more precisely in the range 20 g/cm² to 110 g/cm².

The thermal insulation sheet 100 typically presents thickness lying in the range 2 mm to 30 mm, as measured in application of the EN 823 standard while applying a pressure of 25 pascals (Pa).

A separator film 150 is bonded in part to one of the films making up the sheet 100 (the film 120 in the example shown).

This separator film 150 defines bubbles filled with a gas, and thus extending from the outside face of the film 120.

The separator film 150 is bonded in part to the film 120, and may also be metallized so as to present emissivity, as measured on the metallized face in compliance with the EN 16012 standard, that lies typically in the range 0.02 to 0.2, more precisely in the range 0.05 to 0.07. The metallizing may be provided by aluminum, for example.

It is thus possible to distinguish between bonded portions 152 that are bonded to the film 120, e.g. by adhesive, thermoforming, welding, or any other appropriate means, and non-bonded portions 154 that are themselves not bonded to the film 120. These bonded and non-bonded portions 152 and 154 are in alternation, such that the non-bonded portions 154 are surrounded by gastight bonded portions 152.

The non-bonded portions 154 typically present an area that is greater than their projection onto the film

120, so as to define a gas-filled internal volume, thereby forming sealed cavities or bubbles 156.

The bubbles 156 are typically filled with air, or with some other inert gas such as for example: argon, xenon, or carbon dioxide, or indeed a mixture of any of these gases with dinitrogen.

These various gases are in particular advantageous compared with air because of their lower thermal conductivity, while remaining completely inert.

In a variant, each of the films making up the sheet 100 is bonded in part to a separator film so as to define bubbles that are filled with gas on both sides of the pouches 130 of the sheet 100.

The insulating system as described above is typically made as follows.

A film 120 is provided.

A separator film 150 is provided that is bonded in part to the film 120, e.g. by thermoforming, so as to define sealed cavities or bubbles between these two films 120 and 150.

The resulting assembly may be referred to as a gas separator.

Thereafter, the fibers 140 and the film 110 are provided.

The film 110 is welded in part to the film 120 so as to form pouches 130 encapsulating the fibers 140, thereby forming a sheet 100 as described above.

As shown in Figure 4, which is a view analogous to a portion of Figure 2, but in a variant, the separator film 150 may be made up of two individual films 150A and 150B, that are bonded together in part so as to present sealed cavities or bubbles between these two individual films. In other words, the separator film may be preformed with bubbles and may be bonded in part or otherwise to the film 120. Specifically and by way of example, the film 150 may be thermoformed (the individual film 150 is thermoformed and bonded in part to the individual film

150A, which may be flat as in the example shown, or else it may likewise be thermoformed), and the individual film 150A is bonded in part to the film 120, e.g. by localized welding 150'. Nevertheless, it is possible to make provision for the film 150A to be bonded continuously to the film 120.

In one aspect of the invention, the insulating system comprises at least two sheets 100 as described above .

These sheets 100 may be assembled together by welding, stitching, adhesive, or calendaring, or by any other appropriate means.

Figure 2 thus shows such a system having two sheets 100 and 200. Figure 3 is a detail view of a region III of Figure 2, which region is boxed in Figure 2. These two sheets are typically as described above with reference to Figure 1. Numerical references for the sheets 200 are incremented by 100 compared with the references used for Figure 1.

As can be seen in this figure, the two sheets 100 and 200 are adapted so as to be superposed one on the other. In this example they are identical and superposed symmetrically in translation along an axis perpendicular to the axis X100 of the first sheet 100.

As can be seen in the figures, the bubbles 156 formed by the spacing film 150 thus serve to guarantee spacing between the pouches 130 and 230 of the two sheets 100 and 200.

Specifically, since the bubbles 156 interposed between the two sheets 100 and 200 are filled with gas, they serve to maintain spacing between the film 120 of the first sheet 100 and the film 210 of the second sheet 200.

This spacing between the two sheets 100 and 200 is thus formed by the bubbles 156 and also by empty zones between two successive bubbles 156. These empty zones are filled with air from the surroundings.

Taking this alternation of bubbles 156 and of empty zones into consideration, the separator film 150 thus serves to form an air space reliably between the pouches 130 and 230 of the two sheets 100 and 200.

Such spacing between the pouches 130 and 230 of the two sheets 100 and 200 serves to improve the thermal insulation properties of the system. The air space formed in this way by the succession of bubbles 156 and of empty zones acts specifically as an insulator. Consequently, the proposed assembly presents thermal insulation properties that are better than those of a similar assembly that does not have the separator film 150.

By way of illustration, the Applicant has made products in which the assembly made up of the films 110 and 120 and of the fibers 140 presents thermal conductivity lying in the range 29 watts per meter kelvin (W.m^-1.K^-1) to 36 W.m^-1.K^_1, whereas the assembly formed by the film 120 and the separator film 150 together with the bubbles 156 as formed in this way presents thermal conductivity of about 28 W.m^-1.K^-1. In this example, the bubbles are bubbles of air, and the film 150 is made up of two individual films 150A and 150B, the individual film 150B being metallized. Forming the air bubbles 156 thus serves to reduce the thermal conductivity of the assembly to a value that is close to the thermal conductivity of air.

The bubbles 156 also serve to make forming of the air space between the sheets 100 and 200 reliable, by ensuring minimum spacing between the pouches 130 and 230 of two adjacent sheets.

In a variant of the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the two sheets 100 and 200 can be positioned in such a manner that their respective separator films 150 and 250 are both interposed between the pouches 130 and 230 of the two sheets 100 and 200. In such a configuration, the volume of gas formed between the pouches 130 and 230 of the two sheets 100 and 200 can be increased substantially.

It can be understood that the thermal insulation system may comprise an arbitrary number of superposed sheets, and the example shown in Figures 2 and 3 with two sheets 100 and 200 is not limiting. By way of example, it is possible to propose a thermal insulation system having three or four superposed sheets, or more generally any appropriate number of sheets for obtaining the desired thermal insulation properties, providing there is at least one separator film interposed between two successive sheets.

The various sheets making up the insulation system are typically positioned between two diaphragms forming a cover around the sheets so as to make the system easier to handle, or they may be covered by a diaphragm on one face only, the film forming the other face then acting as the diaphragm on said other face.

The insulation system as proposed is typically mounted between two elements such as rafters. The portion of the insulation system between two sets of successive rafters thus presents an air space structure because of the bubbles formed by the separator film.

Claims

1. A thermal insulation system for thermally insulating a building, the system comprising at least two superposed sheets (100, 200) of thermal insulation, each of said sheets of thermal insulation being made up of two base films (110, 120) that are superposed and bonded together so as to form pouches (130), each of the pouches (130) containing synthetic fibers (140), the system being characterized in that it further comprises at least one separator film (150) made up of two individual films that are bonded together in part so as to present an alternation of bonded portions and of non-bonded portions between the two individual films, so as to define a plurality of sealed cavities (156), said separator film (150) being bonded at least in part in contact with a base film of one of the sheets (100, 200) so that a plurality of sealed cavities extend from a base film (110, 120) of each of the pouches (130), and so that a plurality of sealed cavities are positioned between the adjacent sheets (100, 200).

2. A thermal insulation system according to claim 1, wherein the separator film (150) is bonded in part to a film (120) making up a sheet (100), the separator film (150) being bonded in part in such a manner as to present an alternation of bonded portions (152) bonded to a film making up a sheet, and of non-bonded portions (154) that are not bonded to said film making up a sheet.

3. A thermal insulation system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each sheet (100, 200) presents a separator film (150, 250) that is bonded in part to one of the films (120, 230) making up said sheet, the sheets (100, 200) being superposed in such a manner that a single separator film is interposed between two adjacent sheets .

4. A thermal insulation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said sealed cavities (156) are filled with a gas selected from the following gases: air; nitrogen; oxygen; argon; xenon; neon; and carbon dioxide.

5. A thermal insulation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the films (110, 120, 210, 220) making up the sheets (100, 200) are bonded by stitching, welding, adhesive, or calendaring.

6. A thermal insulation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the synthetic fibers (140) comprise fibers of polyester, typically presenting weight per unit length lying in the range 0.2 denier to

25 denier, more precisely in the range 0.5 denier to

15 denier, or more precisely in the range 3 denier to 12 denier.

7. A thermal insulation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising at least one diaphragm forming a cover on at least one face of the sheets (100, 200) .