-:INSULATING MATERIAL:-

INSULATION

HEAT, SOUND AND ELECTRICITY are three energies that are useful to the mankind. However, if these are not
controlled, they produce uncomfortable or disastrous effects on human beings. Obviously for the proper use of these
energies, these need to be controlled / insulated.
The materials, which prevent or reduce the conduction of heat, sound or electricity, are called insulators. Thus we have
various insulating materials which according to the use desired, could be
a) Heat and Thermal Insulators
b) Sound insulators
c) Electrical insulators
Most of the insulating materials have all the three insulating properties but a few can have either one or two of these.

Areas where Insulation is required:

• Churches
• Performance Halls
• Restaurants
• Commercial Theatres
• Home Theatres, Studios and Listening rooms.
• Professional Sound, Recording and Broadcast Studios
• Schools, Universities and Gymnasiums
• Offices

The insulating materials used to prevent the transfer of heat & sound are
• Walls with hollow bricks
• Light weight concrete / Air entraining concrete
• Cork
• Quilt
• Rock wool
• Glass wool
• Fibre board
• Gypsum / POP Boards
• Coir
• Woollen carpets / PVC carpets
• Wooden flooring
• Thermocole

Heat insulation :
Heat flows either by conduction, convection or radiation. The disturbance caused by convection and radiation can be
controlled by preventing the trespassing air / radiating heat by creating the needed barriers like walls, ceilings etc.
These barriers should not conduct the heat through and hence is the need of heat insulators. It may also be noted that
thermal insulation is better achieved by porous and fibrous material. The air cavities in porous material will prevent the
conduction of heat. In the fibrous structure the conduction of heat is much less across the Fibers than along the fibers.

Sound insulation :
The sound insulation needs to be studied for following effects:
• Transfer of sound
• Reflection of sound resulting in reverberation or echo
• Sound absorption
Sound travels not only in air but also in solid or liquid medium. Sound created on one side of the partition will be
partly transferred to the other side of the partition, partly absorbed by the partition and partly reflected in same room.
This reflection of sound either gives an echo effect or reverberation of sound.
Echo effect - where a distinct repetition of sound is heard.
Reverberation of sound - where distinct repetition is not heard but the sound is keep on lingering for some time and
diminishes in a small fraction of second.
Due to this reflection of sound resulting in reverberation, we loose the clarity of sound.

Materials those are porous, soft and with uneven surface are effective for sound insulation.
If the walls, ceilings and floors are structured in such a way that incident sound is reflected with scattered effect the
echo and reverberation is minimized. This sound energy when falls on non-resilient, uneven soft & porous surface is
converted into heat energy and sound diminishes.

Properties of sound insulating materials:

1. Good sound absorbing capacity. It should be porous, relatively soft, non resilient and with uneven surface.
2. Material should be attractive.
3. Durable to prevailing atmospheric effects.
4. Should be fire proof.
5. Should not get affected by insects.
6. Light in weight
7. Cost should be economical

A good thermal insulator must have the following properties.

1. The coefficient of thermal conductivity should be low.
2. It should be stable chemically against the chemicals used by human beings and those in nature.
3. It should be mechanically strong against the stresses, impact and vibrations.
4. It must have sufficient resistance to moisture and other atmospheric effects.
5. It should be non-inflammable.

Insulating materials

1. Hollow bricks: Walls made in hollow bricks are very good heat insulators. Hollow bricks could be of Burnt-
Brick type or concrete blocks. Air is a bad conductor of heat and these cavities retard the heat transfer through
the wall. Porous bricks also have same properties.

2. Light weight concrete: Concretes having density less than 1920 kg /m3 are called Lightweight concretes.
Normal concrete where crushed stone or gravels are used have a density 2400 kg/ m3 . In lightweight concrete
instead of crushed stones/ gravels blast furnace slag is used. This blast furnace slag has very good compressive
strength and the concrete works out to be adequately strong.

3. Air entraining concrete / mortar / cement: Air entraining cement is used in concrete or mortar which creates
minute air bubbles in the mix. These air cavities assist the insulation. Air entraining cement is made by adding
organic agents like vinsol resin or darax to Portland cemant.

4. Cork: cork is made from the bark of cork oak tree. The bark of tree is cleaned, sized, ground and then baked.
While it is being baked, it oozes natural resin. This resin binds the powdered cork to form slab / sheet when
pressed or rolled. Cork is very light material having sp gr. 0.25. it is porous and not affected by moisture. It is
good sound insulator, heat insulator at temp below 70 C.
5. Quilt: Quilt is normally referred to some padded material like cotton pad stitched in linen cloth for bed covering
or body covering. This cotton quilt can be a good heat & sound insulators. However it is not termite resistant.
for heat & sound insulation a material called ‘Cobalt Quilt’ is used. This is created by sticthing treated Eelgrass
between very tough craft papers or canvas sheets. Eelglass is a marine plant containing silica & iodine. Silica
imparts the property of non-inflammability & iodine makes it termite proof. The grass is fibrous structure.

6. Rock wool: Rock wool or mineral wool is produced from flint stine which is a calcareous stone . The stone is
melted in a furnace at 1700 C. This molten stone while it is leaving the furnace is acted upon by a blast of
steam. This blast of steam converts molten mass into beads while getting solidified. These beads still in hot
condition are pressed to convert these into boards or blankets. Rock wool is soft, light & flexible but has some
resilient properties. It is available in market as boards, blankets .

7. Glass wool or Fiber glass: It is made from molten silica glass by forcing the same through apertures under
steam or air pressure. A thread like mass is obtained and is known as fiberglass or glass wool. It is fibrous in
structure and has a good tensile strength. It is durable.

8. Fiber board or Particle board: Fiberboards or particle boards are made from waste wood, grass, crushed
sugarcanes or similar substances. This raw material is either chipped into particles or crushed to fibers. These
fibers or chips are mixed with durable and strong resins like urea formaldehyde or Phenol formaldehyde. Then
these are either hot pressed or cold pressed to form the sheets. These boards can be of interior grade or exterior
grade. These boards are reasonably good heat insulators like plywood or wood. These boards are more used in
sound insulation for Acoustics purpose. This is done by having half perforated random holes on one side of the
board. Due to these random blind holes echoes and reverberations are reduced to a large level.
Finishing Insulating Material
1. MDF Wave panel:
Also be named as: Engraved MDF boards, MDF Wave Boards, MDF Fun boards
MDF carve panel made of medium density fibreboard (MDF) and can be painted.
It is warp defence, colour unfading, moisture proof and easy installation.
Suitable for all types of interior design concepts
Widely used for wall and ceiling decoration in hotel, entertainment place, shop, living room, bedroom etc.

2. Hole Acoustic Panels :

Acoustic Panels are consist of a laminate finished surface, base core board and black acoustic felt attached on
the back.
Can be used for Ceiling , Wall Paneling.

3. Fabric Wrapped Acoustic Panels

Slotted Hole Acoustic Panels are the ideal decorative wall and ceiling treatment for areas where sound and
noise control are a consideration.
They are suitable for almost every application including use in auditoriums, conference areas, libraries, schools,
offices, public buildings, or any area where acoustics, aesthetics, and value are a consideration.