Thermal and sound insulation performance assessment of vacuum insulated composite insulation panels for building façades

Composite insulation panels (CIPs) currently used in building façades require significant design changes e.g. increased thickness to realise higher thermal and sound insulation performance. This study deals with the manufacturing and characterisation of smart façade panels for achieving higher thermal and sound insulation dual characteristics in one panel without a significant increase in thickness. Prototype panels were manufactured using vacuum insulation core (VIC) combined with mass loaded vinyl (MLV) layers. Thermal transmission and weighted sound reduction index (R_w) was experimentally measured in the laboratory. The results were compared with a control panel made with extruded polystyrene (XPS) core. The VIC panel showed a 51% improvement in the centre of panel U-value compared to control XPS core panel of the same thickness. Integrating the two MLV layers inside of aluminium skins either side of the vacuum insulation panel led to 3dB improvement in R_w from 32 dB to 35 dB which could be further improved by optimising the MLV layer positioning in the CIP and better bonding between the MLV and the vacuum insulation panel. This shows that vacuum insulation core panels combined with MLV offers a solution to achieve smart building façade with excellent thermal and sound insulation performance.