Thin high-performance thermal insulation sheet has ultra-low thermal conductivity

Panasonic Automotive and Industrial Systems Europe has unveiled a thermal insulation sheet which is claimed to be the thinnest insulation solution currently available on the market. The NASBIS (Nano Silica Balloon Insulation Sheet) high-performance thermal insulation sheet comes with a thickness of 50µm, 100µm, 500µm, or 1000µm and an ultra low thermal conductivity of 0.018W/mK to 0.024W/mK. This very low thermal conductivity of convection is achieved thanks to a pore diameter which is smaller than mean free path of air (68nm). It is made from a material called aerogel, which is a synthetic porous material derived from a gel, but in which the normal liquid component of it has been replaced with gas. In addition to its ultra low thermal conductivity, aerogel benefits from a low sound propagation of 120m/s, low bulk density of 0.050g/cm3 up to 0.250g/cm3, high transparency of 90% up to 94% at 10mmt, a refractive index like air of 1.015 up to 1.055, as well as high porosity of 90% up to 98%. “The flexibility and fantastic heat insulation performance of the ultra thin NASBIS thermal insulation sheet make it the ideal solution for applications where it is important to cancel a heat spot in a narrow space, e.g. in mobile phones”, says Satoshi Endo, product manager, Thermal Solutions and Ceramic Devices at Panasonic.