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AVAILABLE
TECHNOLOGIES |
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Gas
Filled Panels
IB-801
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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
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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
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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. |
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STATUS:
- U.S. patent #5,270,092. Other patents pending.
- Licensed in the following fields of use: (i) building
insulation; (ii) insulated shipping containers; (iii) outdoor recreation equipment; (iv) insulating means of transportaton; and (v) appliances for industrial, commercial or agricultural use. Available for licensing in
all other fields of use, including (a) insulating appliances for residential use (refrigerators, freezers, hot
water heaters, etc.); (b) insulating ducts, climate conditioning equipment and their associated thermal distribution system.
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REFERENCE
NUMBER: IB-801,
1499 |
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CONTACT:
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Technology
Transfer Department
E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
MS 90-1070
Berkeley, CA 94720
(510) 486-6467 FAX: (510) 486-6457
TTD@lbl.gov |
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