VALUE ADDITION FOR COIR FIBER AS THERMAL

INSULATION MATERIAL

Liyanaarachchi Kankanamge Thanuja Srimal

(09/8617)

Degree of Master of Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Moratuwa
Sri Lanka

March 2014
VALUE ADDITION FOR COIR FIBER AS THERMAL
INSULATION MATERIAL

Liyanaarachchi Kankanamge Thanuja Srimal

(09/8617)

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of
Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Moratuwa
Sri Lanka

March 2014
DECLARATION
Student
“I declare that this is my own work and this thesis does not incorporate without
acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a Degree or Diploma in any
other University or institute of higher learning and to the best of my knowledge and
belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another
person except where the acknowledgement is made in the text.

Also, I hereby grant to University of Moratuwa the non-exclusive right to

Signature:………….. ……. Date:……………………

Co-Supervisor
The above candidate has carried out research for the Master thesis under my
supervision.

Signature of the co-supervisor:……………. Date:……………………

Supervisor
The above candidate has carried out research for the Master thesis under my
supervision.

Signature of the supervisor:……………….. Date:……………………

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ABSTRACT:
The use of biodegradable natural fibres as thermal insulation material benefits to achieve a
sustainable living condition. Aim of this study was to evaluate the use of coir fibre as a
thermal insulation material. Sri Lanka is a largest producer of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.).
Coconut crops generate several waste, including coir fibre. The main use of coir fibre is as a
fibre material in mattress, ropes and brushes industries. In this work, composites were
produced exclusively by coir fibre with an addition of latex, coir pith and then along. The
composites developed were tested for their thermal conductivities to evaluate the
performances first with thermal conductivity apparatus and then with a specially designed
arrangement. Five samples of each composite were tested and their thermal conductivities
were averaged with an error. The experimental results showed that the thermal conductivity
of coir composite was comparable with the value of glass wool which is frequently being
used as a thermal insulator. These results shows a potential to use coir fibre as a thermal
insulation material in the form of composite.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Manufacturing Engineering is a rapid advancing field, which combines scientific
theory and technology to develop new processes for specific task.

All Master of Engineering postgraduates must complete a research project

First, I thank Professor M.A.R.V. Fernando, the supervisor of this project, Dr. B.
Sumith, co-supervisor of this research project for their guidance and co-operation
and I also thank Dr. Ruwan Gopura, Course Coordinator MEng/PG Dip. in MSE, Dr.
S.M. Piyasena the former coordinator, for their enthusiasts support and motivation
extended towards me in completing this research project.

My special thanks go to the Hayleys (Pvt.) Ltd at Galle, its staff members, who
gave me excellent support for the success of this work.

I thank all the other staff members of the Department of Mechanical

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT: ................................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: ......................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ iv
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Objectives of the Project ..................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE SURVEY ................................................................... 3
2.1 Properties of Coir Fibre ...................................................................................... 3
2.2 Current Insulation Materials ............................................................................... 3
2.3 Coir as an Insulation Material ............................................................................ 5
2.4 Thermal Conductivity Test ................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 03: DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE OF COIR MAT ........................... 8
3.1 Mat Preparation .................................................................................................. 8
3.2 Testing of Thermal Properties .......................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 04: ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING OF RESULTS ........................... 17
4.1 Thermal Conductivity Measuring ..................................................................... 17
4.2 Experiments Carried out on Apparatus Calibrating: ........................................ 17
4.3 Experiments Carried out initially on Coir Fibre Mats: ..................................... 18
4.4 Experiments Carried out on Prepared Coir Fibre Mats: ................................... 19
4.5 Glass Wool........................................................................................................ 22
4.6 Critical Thickness Required of Coir Mat Insulation......................................... 22
4.7 Coir Pith Inclusion for Coir Mat....................................................................... 27
CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................. 31
REFERENCES: ......................................................................................................... 32
APPENDICES: .......................................................................................................... 33
6.1 APPENDIX 01: (Method of calculation-calibration of setup) ......................... 33
6.2 APPENDIX 02: (Values for SS and Cu specimens) ........................................ 34

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6.3 APPENDIX 03: (Method of calculation-initial experiments) .......................... 37
6.4 APPENDIX 04: (Results for initial experiments) ............................................ 38
6.5 APPENDIX 05: (Thermal conductivity values for 1, 2 & 3 specimens) ......... 40
6.6 APPENDIX 06: (Thermal conductivity values for 9, 11 & 12 specimens) ..... 41
6.7 APPENDIX 07: (Thermal conductivity values for glass wool) ....................... 42
6.8 APPENDIX 08: (Critical thickness calculation for coir fibre insulation) ........ 43
6.9 APPENDIX 09: (Analysis of performance of insulation mat with coir pith)... 48

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Rubber insulation tube ............................................................................... 3
Figure 2.2: Glass wool ................................................................................................. 4
Figure 2.3: Heat flow in the apparatus ......................................................................... 6
Figure 2.4: Heat flow in the apparatus ......................................................................... 7
Figure 3.1: Hydraulic press machine ........................................................................... 8
Figure 3.2: The furnace ................................................................................................ 9
Figure 3.3: Coir mat sample preparation unit .............................................................. 9
Figure 3.4: Mat thickness ........................................................................................... 10
Figure 3.5: Mat thickness ........................................................................................... 10
Figure 3.6: Mat preparation manually........................................................................ 11
Figure 3.7: Prepared mat for testing ........................................................................... 11
Figure 3.8: Coir fibre mat .......................................................................................... 11
Figure 3.9: White/ bleached coir fiber mat ................................................................ 12
Figure 3.10: Brown coir fiber mat ............................................................................. 12
Figure 3.11: Thermal conductivity apparatus ............................................................ 13
Figure 3.12: The used experimental setup ................................................................. 14
Figure 3.13: The modified experimental setup .......................................................... 15
Figure 3.14: Rubber insulation tube ........................................................................... 16
Figure 3.15: Coir insulation tube ............................................................................... 16
Figure 4.1: Thermal conductivity values ................................................................... 18
Figure 4.2: Thermal conductivity values for SS and coir .......................................... 19
Figure 4.3: Thermal conductivity values for SS and coir .......................................... 21
Figure 4.4: Thermal conductivity values for SS and coir .......................................... 22
Figure 4.5: Temperature variation of water in the beaker (with coir insulation) ....... 23
Figure 4.6: Temperature variation of water in the beaker (without coir insulation) .. 23
Figure 4.7: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 1cm thick coir insulation
.................................................................................................................................... 24
Figure 4.8: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 2cm thick coir insulation
.................................................................................................................................... 24

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Figure 4.9: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 3cm thick coir insulation
.................................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 4.10: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 4cm thick coir
insulation .................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 4.11: Tem. variation of water in the beaker for 5cm thick coir insulation ..... 26
Figure 4.12: The graph of coir fibre insulation thickness and the conductivity ........ 27
Figure 4.13: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 5g coir pith added coir
insulation .................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 4.14: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 10g coir pith added coir
insulation .................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 4.15: Temperature variation of water in the beaker for 15g coir pith added coir
insulation .................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 4.16: Tem. variation of water in the beaker for 20g coir pith added coir
insulation .................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 4.17: The graph of coir pith mass vs. thermal conductivity ........................... 30
Figure A.1: Heat flow configuration .......................................................................... 33
Figure A.2: Heat flow configuration .......................................................................... 37
Figure A.3: Heat transfer direction ............................................................................ 45

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Properties of coir fibre ................................................................................ 3
Table 2.2: Properties of rubber insulation material ...................................................... 4
Table 2.3: Advantages & disadvantages of rubber insulation material ....................... 4
Table 2.4: Properties of glass wool insulation material ............................................... 5
Table 4.1: The results for the experiments done using standard specimens provided17
Table 4.2: The standard thermal conductivity values for the standard specimens
(Values are obtained from manual of the thermal conductivity apparatus) ............... 18
Table 4.3: The specifications of specimens (For E6, E7, and E8 & E9) ................... 18
Table 4.4: The Thermal conductivity values obtained from the experiments
(According to the calculations and data given in Appendix 04) ................................ 19
Table 4.5: Table of specimen compositions............................................................... 20
Table 4.6: The specifications of specimens used (For E10, E11 & E12) .................. 20
Table 4.7: The thermal conductivity values obtained from experiments (According to
calculations and data given in Appendix 05) ............................................................. 20
Table 4.8: The specifications of specimens used (For E13, E14 & E15) .................. 21
Table 4.9: The thermal conductivity values obtained from experiments (According to
the calculations and data given in Appendix 06) ....................................................... 21
Table 4.10: Test results of the glass wool on the thermal conductivity apparatus..... 22
Table 4.11: Table of heat transfer values obtained .................................................... 26
Table 4.12: Test results of the coir pith added mat on the thermal conductivity
apparatus .................................................................................................................... 29
Table A.1: Experiment 1: Apparatus calibration ....................................................... 34
Table A.2: Experiment 2: Apparatus calibration ....................................................... 34
Table A.3: Experiment 3: Apparatus calibration ....................................................... 35
Table A.4: Experiment 4: Apparatus calibration ....................................................... 35
Table A.5: Experiment 5: Apparatus calibration ....................................................... 36
Table A.6: Experiment 6: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 1 .............. 38
Table A.7: Experiment 7: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 2 .............. 38
Table A.8: Experiment 8: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 3 .............. 39
Table A.9: Experiment 9: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 4 .............. 39

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Table A.10: Experiment 10: Thermal conductivity neasuring of specimen 1 ........... 40
Table A.11: Experiment 11: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 2 .......... 40
Table A.12: Experiment 12: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 3 .......... 40
Table A.13: Experiment 13: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 9 .......... 41
Table A.14: Experiment 14: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 11 ........ 41
Table A.15: Experiment 15: Thermal conductivity measuring of specimen 12 ........ 41
Table A.16: Experiment 16: Thermal conductivity measuring for glass wool .......... 42
Table A.17: Values of the variables ........................................................................... 44
Table A.18: Table of thermal conductivity values obtained ...................................... 47
Table A.19: Values of the variables ........................................................................... 49
Table A.20: Table of thermal conductivity values obtained ...................................... 51

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