REPORT TO DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

EGE UNIVERSITY
FOR
COURSE: CHE 386CONCEPTUAL DESIGN - II

PROJECT 2

INSULATION OF A HOUSE TO OPTIMIZE THE HEAT LOSSES

SUBMİTTED TO

Prof. Dr. Ferhan ATALAY

Prof. Dr. Firuz BALKAN
Prof. Dr. Saadet YAPAR
Assist. Prof. Dr. Serap CESUR

SUBMISSION DATE

29/03/10

GROUP MEMBERS

05068103 Berna KAYA

05078849 Demet ACARGİL
05078901 Ürün ARDA
05068017 Tayfun EVCİL
05068091 M. Serkan ACARSER
SUMMARY

In this project, the optimum insulation thickness for a house in Izmir was investigated.
First of all, the inner and outer surface temperatures of the house were assumed. Using these
assumptions, Rayleigh number of the room and the outside environment was calculated, and
Nusselt number was calculated afterwards. Inner and outer convection coefficients were
calculated as h i = 1.856 and h o = 1.888 W/m2K, and then the resistance of the wall was found
as 1.331 m2K/W. Afterwards, a certain insulation thickness was assumed, the overall heat
transfer coefficient was calculated and a number of trial-errors were performed to find the
optimum insulation thickness as 0.075 m.

Finally the total cost of the system was found by using the related equation as
8.351 $/m2. All calculations and tables were shown briefly in Appendix and Results parts of
this report.

i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary .............................................................................................................................. i

1. Aim................................................................................................................................. 1

2. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2

3. Results ........................................................................................................................... 3

4. Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 5

5. Nomenclature ................................................................................................................ 6

6. References ..................................................................................................................... 7

7. Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 8
1.0 AIM

The aim of this project is to investigate the insulation of a house such that the heat loss
is optimized.

1
2.0 INTRODUCTION

Glasswool is an insulating material, made from fibre glass, arranged into a texture
similar to wool. Glass wool is produced in rolls or in slabs, with different thermal and
mechanical properties.

Manufacturing process

After the fusion of a mixture of natural sand and recycled glass at 1,450 °C, the glass
that is produced is converted into fibres. The cohesion and mechanical strength of the product
is obtained by the presence of a binder that “cements” the fibres together. Ideally, a drop of
bonder is placed at each fibre intersection. This fiber mat is then heated to around 200 °C to
polymerize the resin and is calendared to give it strength and stability. The final stage
involves cutting the wool and packing it in rolls or panels under very high pressure before
palletizing the finished product in order to facilitate transport and storage. Glass wool having
better advantages compare to other insulation materials. But it is hazardous due to its duct &
very small glass particles which can travel into the human body during inheiling.

Uses

Glass wool is a thermal insulation that consists of intertwined and flexible glass fibres,
which causes it to "package" air, resulting in a low density that can be varied through
compression and binder content. It can be a loose fill material, blown into attics, or, together
with an active binder sprayed on the underside of structures, sheets and panels that can be
used to insulate flat surfaces such as cavity wall insulation, ceiling tiles, curtain walls as well
as ducting. It is also used to insulate piping and for soundproofing.

Studies of side effects

A 2002 summary by International Agency for Research on Cancer puts insulation

glass wool into Category 3 carcinogen, "not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans".
The summary found "inadequate evidence" of glass wool causing cancer in humans and
"limited evidence" of it causing cancer in experimental animals. Two unspecified "large"
studies reviewed in the summary showed "increased mortality" (6% in the "US cohort study")
from respiratory cancer in workers exposed to glass wool production. The longevity of
exposure did not affect mortality. Smoking habits were not factored out. Non-occupational
indoor settings were found to contain "much lower" fibres per volume unit.

Unspecified studies reviewed by Health Canada have shown that short time exposure
to glass wool may cause minor irritation of skin, eyes, nose and throat. According to Health
Canada, glass wool exposure does not present a significant health risk to the general
population.

2
 3.0 RESULTS

Table 1. Given Data

C f [$/kg] 0.9595 k ins [W/mK] 0.04

LHV [J/kg] 40604000 x b [m] 0.19
ηs 0.82 k b [W/mK] 0.72
0
D.D [ C Days] 1583 L [m] 2.8
T ∞ [0C] 5 T room (0C) 20
g [m/s2] 9.81 g 8.7 %
r 0.839 PW 1.187

Table 2. Physical Properties of Air at Interpolated Inside Surface Temperature (T si )

Temperature [0C] ρ [kg/m3] µ k ν Pr α

[Ns/m2] [W/mK] [m2/s] [m2/s]
250 1.3947 0.00001596 0.0223 0.00001144 0.72 0.0000159
291.9 1.199195 1.8055E-05 0.025652 1.5169E-05 0.709 2.143E-05
300 1.1614 0.00001846 0.0263 0.00001589 0.707 0.0000225

Table 3. Physical Properties of Air at Interpolated Outside Surface Temperature (T so )

Temperature [0C] ρ [kg/m3] µ k ν Pr α

[Ns/m2] [W/mK] [m2/s] [m2/s]
250 1.3947 1.6E-05 0.0223 1.14E-05 0.72 1.59E-05
279.075 1.259036 1.74E-05 0.024626 1.4E-05 0.712 1.97E-05
300 1.1614 1.85E-05 0.0263 1.59E-05 0.707 2.25E-05

Table 4. Calculated Values for Assumed Insulation Thickness (x ins =0.075)

Calculation of h i
β i [K ] -1
Ra Nu hi
0.00342 4.992*10^9 202.659 1.856
Calculation of h o
β o [K-1] Ra Nu ho
0.00358 5.99*10^9 214.762 1.888
Calculation of U
R tw R ins U
1.331 1.875 0.311

3
 Table 5. Calculated Values for Given Range of Insulation Thicknesses

CI x insassumed x inscalculated U q" q" conv1 q" conv2 q" cond CT

[$/m3] [m] [m] [W/m2K] [J/m2] [J/m2] [J/m2] [J/m2] [$/m2]
108.11 0.03 -0.01166 0.480325 7.204881848 4.08462159 4.060992 10.50411 5.4922173
104.73 0.04 -0.01099 0.428831 6.432462925 4.08462159 4.060992 8.426374 6.1970161
101.35 0.05 -0.01029 0.387308 5.809626176 4.08462159 4.060992 7.034862 6.880905
96.85 0.06 -0.0093 0.353117 5.296756581 4.08462159 4.060992 6.037795 7.464319
91.89 0.075 -0.00813 0.311826 4.677382648 4.08462159 4.060992 4.979221 8.3517388
88.51 0.1 -0.00728 0.260966 3.914484977 4.08462159 4.060992 3.853266 10.072859

4
4.0 DISCUSSION

The object of this report is to investigate the optimum insulation thickness of a house.
During this report, many assumptions were made. First of all, we assumed that the
temperatures at the wall surface, the room, and the outside were uniform, and that they do not
change. We also assumed that the heat in air travelled by free convection both in the room and
outside. The thickness of the insulation is affected by the type of fuel used, how long the
insulation is built to last, the type of the material used, the location of the house, the climate of
the region and the size of the house.

Firstly, we assumed a surface temperature for both inside the house and the outside
environment. A film temperature was calculated for the properties of air. The Rayleigh
number for both inside and outside was calculated as Ra in =4.99x109 and Ra out =5.99x109; the
regimes were found as turbulent regimes both inside and outside. However, this is is not
sensible because the air regime of the inside cannot be turbulent. With these results, the
Nusselt numbers were determined, and convective heat transfer coefficients were obtained as
h i = 1.856 and h o = 1.888 W/m2K.Using the brick data, the resistance of the wall was found
R tw =1.331 m2K/W, a thickness for the insulation was assumed as 0.075 mand then the R ins
was determined as 1.875 m2K/W. Using both resistances, the overall heat transfer coefficient
was obtained as 0.311 W/m2K. The heat fluxes for both inside and outside were calculated;
this required a series of trial-errors. When the desired values were found as q” conv1 = 4.084
J/m2 , q” conv2 = 4.06 J/m2, q” cond = 4.979 J/m2, q”= 4.677 J/m2 and we calculated the cost of our
insulation material as 8.35 $/m2 at the thickness determined.

Our assumed insulation thickness and the calculated insulation thickness do not match,
and our calculated insulation thickness was -0.00813 m. On the other hand, the assumed and
the calculated thicknesses were expected to be equal not a negative value. At normal
conditions the negative insulation thickness can not be accepted, but this situation is a result
of manipulating the temperatures of inside and the outside surfaces of the room up to their
decimal points during the calculations. This result is reasonable as the assumed thickness is
greater than our calculated thickness, and the heat fluxes of the room and the outside are
nearly equal in this case. Also, the thickness of our choosing is not the cheapest of what’s
available, but it’s optimal because it fulfills the needs of the house.

Today’s design may be optimum for a person’s needs, but this does not guarantee the
needs of tomorrow. For this reason, one must take the inflation, the changing technology, the
changing needs of humans and the changing climate.

5
5.0 NOMENCLATURE

g: Gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

r: Rate of return (%)

PW:Present worth ($)

η:Efficiency (%)

C f : Cost of fuel ($/kg)

C I :Cost of insulation ($/m3)

LHV:Lower Heating Value (J/kg)

DD: Degree days (°C days)

x ins : insulation thickness (m)

x brick :thickness of brick (m)

T out: Temperature of outside environment (°C)

T in: Temperature of room(°C)

Ts i :Inside surface temperature (°C)

Ts o : Outside surface temperature (°C)

T f : Film temperature (°C)

h in :Inside convection coefficient (W/m2K)

h out :Outside convection coefficient (W/m2K)

k ins : Conduction coefficient of insulation material (W/mK)

k brick : Conduction coefficient of brick (W/mK)

Ra in :Rayleigh number of room

Ra out :Rayleigh number of outside

α: Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

ν: Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

β: Expansion coefficient (K-1)

Pr: Prandtl Number

6
6.0 REFERENCES

1. Incropera, P.F., DeWitt, D.P., 2007, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 6th Ed.,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Canada .
2. www.wikipedia.org
3. http://www.yapimerkezi.org/Tugla-Duvar-Kalinliklari.html
4. http://www.izocam.com.tr/izocam/Urunler/Cam-Yunu.aspx

7
 7.0 APPENDIX

1− g 1 − 0.087
=r = =
g 8.7% ; r = 0.84
1+ g 1 + 0.087
(1 + r ) N − 1 (1 + 0.84)10 − 1
=PW = N =
10 ; PW = 1.188
r *(1 + r ) N 0.84*(1 + 0.84)10
( See Table 1)

h *L
@ Tf NuL = For the decision of the regime, Rayleigh Number should be calculated .
k
g β (T∞ − Ts ) L3
RaL =
να
= T=
Troom ∞ ,i 20o=
C 293K
=
T∞ ,o 5=
o
C 278 K

Assuming Tsi = 18 o C = 291K

293+ 291 1 1
Tf = = 292 K ; β= = = 0.0034
2 T f 292
for air @ T f
=
Cp 1006.84 J kgK ; µ 0.000018
= Ns m 2 ; α 21.44*10−6 m 2 s
ν =
15.178*10 −6
=
m 2 s ; k 0.02566 W mK ; Pr 0.709
for brick
kbrick =
0.72 W mK ; xbrick 0.19m
=
2
g 9.81 m s ; L 2.8 m
If RaL ≥ 109 (Turbulent )
9.81*0.0034*(20 − 18) * 2.83
RaL = −6 −6
4.5*109
(15.178*10 ) *(21.44*10 )
=
RaL 4.5*109 ≥ 109 So our regime is Turbulent

8
 2
 
 0.387 RaL1/6 
=
NuL 0.825 + 
9/16 8/27
 1 + ( 0.492 / Pr )  
   
2
 
 0.387 *(4.5*109 )1/6 
NuL =
0.825 +  =
196.59
9/16 8/27
 (
 1 + 0.492 / 0.709 )  
  
hi * L NuL * k
Nu=
L → h=
i
k L
196.59*0.02566
=hi = 1.8 W m 2 K
2.8

Assuming Tso = 8o C = 281 K

278 + 281 1 1
Tf = = 279.5 K ; β= = = 0.00357
2 T f 279.5
for air @ T f
=
Cp 1006. 59 J kgK ; µ 0.0000174
= Ns m 2 ; α 19.8*10−6 m 2 s
ν =
14.1*10 −6
=
m 2 s ; k 0.02466 W mK ; Pr 0.7123
for brick
kbrick =
0.72 W mK ; xbrick 0.19m
g =
9.81 m s2 ; L 2.8m
g β (Ts − T∞ ) L3
RaL =
να
9.81*0.00357 *(8 − 5) * 2.83
RaL = 8.3*109
(14.1*10−6 ) *(19.8*10−6 )
=
RaL 8.3*109 ≥ 109 So our regime is Turbulent

2
 
 0.387 RaL1/6 
=
NuL 0.825 + 8/27 
 1 + ( 0.492 / Pr )9/16  
   
2
 
 0.387 *(8.3*109 )1/6 
NuL =
0.825 + 8/27  =
237.993
 1 + ( 0.492 / 0.7123)9/16  
   
ho * L NuL * k
Nu=
L → h=
o
k L
237.993*0.02466
ho = 2.096 W m 2 K
2.8

9
 To check our T assumptions, we will calculate “q”

Firstly we calculate heat loss of room, “q conv,1 ”

q ''conv,1 = hi ∆T ∆T = T∞ ,i − Ts ,i

= 1.8*(20 − 18)
q ''conv,1 = 3.6 W m 2

Secondly we calculate heat loss of the outside, “q conv,2 ”

q ''conv,2 = h0 ∆T ∆T = T∞ ,o − Ts ,o

q= =
''conv,2 2.096*(8 − 5) 6.28 W m 2

q ''conv,1 ≠ q ''conv,2 So our assumption is NOT correct.

2nd assumption Tsi = 17.8o C = 290.8 K

293+ 290.8 1 1
Tf = = 291.9 K ; β= = = 0.003426
2 T f 291.9
for air @ T f ; ( See Table 2)
=
Cp 1006. 838 J kgK ; µ 0.00001805
= Ns m 2 ; α 21.43*10−6 m 2 s
ν =
15.169*10 −6
=
m 2 s ; k 0.02565 W mK ; Pr 0.7091
for brick
kbrick = 0.72 W mK ; xbrick = 0.19m
g = 9.81 m s 2
If RaL ≥ 109 (Turbulent )
9.81* 0.003426*(20 − 17.8) * 2.83
RaL = −6 −6
4.992*109 ; ( See Table 4)
(15.169*10 ) *(21.43*10 )
=RaL 4.992*109 ≥ 109 So our regime is Turbulent

10
 2
 
 0.387 RaL1/6 
=
NuL 0.825 + 
9/16 8/27
 1 + ( 0.492 / Pr )  
   
2
 
 0.387 *(4.992*109 )1/6 
NuL =
0.825 +  =
202.659
9/16 8/27
 (
 1 + 0.492 / 0.7091)  
  
hi * L NuL * k
Nu=
L → h=
i
k L
202.659*0.02565
hi = 1.856 W m 2 K ; ( See Table 4)
2.8

2nd assumption Tso = 7.15o C = 280.15 K

278 + 280.15 1 1
Tf = = 279.075 K ; β= = = 0.003583
2 T f 279.075
for air @ T f ; ( See Table 3)
=
Cp 1006. 58 J kgK ; µ 0.0000174
= Ns m 2 ; α 19.7 *10−6 m 2 s
ν =
14*10 −6
=
m 2 s ; k 0.02462 W mK ; Pr 0.7124
for brick
kbrick = 0.72 W mK ; xbrick = 0.19m
g = 9.81 m s
2

g β (Ts − T∞ ) L3
RaL =
να
9.81*0.003583*(7.15 − 5) * 2.83
RaL = 5.992*109 ; ( See Table 4)
(14*10−6 ) *(19.7 *10−6 )
=RaL 5.992*109 ≥ 109 So our regime is Turbulent

2
 
 0.387 RaL1/6 
=
NuL 0.825 + 8/27 
 1 + ( 0.492 / Pr )9/16  
   
2
 
 0.387 *(5.992*109 )1/6 
NuL =
0.825 + 8/27 
=
214.762
 1 + ( 0.492 / 0.7124 )9/16  
   
ho * L NuL * k
Nu=
L → h=
o
k L
214.762*0.02462
ho = 1.88 W m 2 K ; ( See Table 4)
2.8

11
 To check our T assumptions, we will calculate “q”

Firstly we calculate heat loss of room, “q conv,1 ”

q ''conv,1 = hi ∆T ∆T = T∞ ,i − Ts ,i

= 1.856*(20 − 17.8)
q ''conv,1 = 4.084 W ; ( See Table 5)
m2

Secondly we calculate heat loss of the outside, “q conv,2 ”

q ''conv,2 = h0 ∆T ∆T = T∞ ,o − Ts ,o

= =
q ''conv,2 1.88*(7.15 − 5) 4.06 W ; ( See Table 5)
m2

Then we calculate q cond & q total

Different x values for glasswool were iterated in the given range.

=
Assume =
xins 0.075 CI 91.89 $
m3
∆T
q ''cond = ∆T = Ts ,i − Ts ,o
 xins xbrick 
 + 
 kins kbrick 
(17.8 − 7.15)
=q ''cond = 4.979 W 2 ; ( See Table 5)
 0.075 0.19  m
 + 
 0.04 0.72 
q ''total = U ∆T ; ∆T = T∞ ,1 − T∞ ,2
1 1
U = ; U = 0.311
1 xb xins 1 1 0.19 0.075 1
+ + + + + +
hi k k ho 1.856 0.72 0.04 1.888

= =
q ''total 0.311*(20 − 5) 4.677 W ; ( See Table 5)
m2

Our q values are equal to each other so our assumption is correct (x=0.075)

DD *86400* C f
= C=
cost A
x
η s *( Rtw + ins ) * LHV
k

C f = fuel cost ( $ kg )

12
 Cins = CI * x

CI = cost of insulation ( $m )
3

Total heating cost

=
CT C A PW + CI x
∑=
R Rtw + Rins
1 xb 1 1 0.19 1
Rtw = + + = + + =1.331 ; ( See Table 4)
hi k ho 1.856 0.72 1.888
DD* 86400* C f
CT = * PW +CI * x
xins
η s * (Rtw + )* LHV
k
1583* 86400* 0.9595
CT = * 1.187 + 91.89 * 0.075
0.075
0.82 * ( 1.331+ )* 40604000
0.04
CT = 8.351 $ 2 ; ( See Table 5)
m

13