HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER MODELING IN VACUUM INSULATION PANELS, TOWARDS LONG TERM THERMAL PERFORMANCE SIMULATION

A Vacuum Insulation Panel is a very efficient thermal insulation system for buildings, but its durability has to be carefully examinated to ensure a long term performance. Heat and mass transfer models for VIPs are detailed in this paper: the parallel fluxes model for thermal conductivity, the sorption-diffusion and dual mode models for gas permeation. The limits of the Sorption-Diffusion model are illustrated thanks to experimental data. Long term simulations are conducted based on these models. They show a long term behavior hard to predict from short term expriments if the mass transfer mechanisms are not well understood.