International Appliance Manufacturing 2008 - (Page 45) Designing Your Appliance for Optimum Thermal Performance Traci L. Aloi, Appliance Application Development Manager, Lydall Engineered Materials, Green Island , NY 12183 Appliance engineers have many elements to consider when designing new models. Unfortunately, the answers for many of these thermal questions come too late. Neglecting thermal performance in the initial design phase can result in less than ideal solutions, bandage fixes, difficult to manufacture/assemble solutions, and higher final costs. Perhaps the lack of emphasis given to optimizing insulation comes from a perception that all insulations are “created equal” and does not provide a “marketable” advantage. Lydall knows differently and has the data to support it. Could you market a larger cavity? a cooler surface? more energy efficient? a smaller footprint? the best “value” appliance? a better self-clean? fewer service calls? a more environmentally friendly appliance? Chosing the right insulation is a critical component in achieving these goals. Some heated questions for appliance manufacturers: • How often do you think about the effects of insulation and the overall thermal performance of your appliance? • What materials are available? • What material(s) make the most sense for your application? • Have we considered thermal design trade-offs? • Is there an expert to help? • Do we know what partners are available? Thermal resistance The most critical physical property of an insulating material is the k-value, or thermal conductivity. Quite often, people refer to insulation efficiency by R-value. R-value is simply a function of material thickness(t) and k-value(k) where: R=t/k. However, understanding the k-value is more important when considering high temperature insulation material options. Figure 1 demonstrates the Figure 1: Thermal Performance of Lydall Engineered Materials International Appliance Manufacturing 2008 45
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