NICHIAS Technical Report

NICHIAS Technical Report 2016 No. 2

Volume 2 No.373 2016

〈Product introduction〉

High-strength low-thermal conductivity insulation material

TOMBO No.4350-GH “ROSLIM Board GH”
TM TM

Energy-saving Products Technical Development Department,

Industrial Product Division

1. Introduction
Our product, the high-strength low-thermal
conductivity insulation material TOMBOTM No.
4350-GH “ROSLIMTM Board GH” (Figure 1) won
Japanese Award for Chairman of Energy Sav-
ing Center in the Product/Business category of
the 2015 Annual “Energy Saving Grand Prize
Contest” held by General Incorporated Founda-
Figure . Finished goods made from TOMBO
TM

tion “Energy Saving Center” (sponsored by the

No.-GHROSLIM Board GH
TM

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)

Effective usage of energy is a big challenge contributing to energy saving in high perfor-
for the industrial sector. One of those challeng- mance industrial furnaces, and space saving in
es is the use of industrial thermal insulation in private use fuel cells. It has been sold to many
high temperature ranges of between 400 to customers since it was released on the market
1000℃. While there are some industrial thermal due to its superior thermal insulation property,
insulation materials which have high thermal high strength, and energy saving properties.
insulation ability, most of them have low
2. Outline of the product
strength, have problems in their processing ca-
pability and handling ability, so their usage has “ROSLIMTM Board GH” is a high-strength low
been limited. thermal conductivity insulation material that is
TOMBO TM
No.4350-GH “ROSLIM TM
Board GH” composed of siliceous material having a nano-pore
received the award as it was recognized to structure incorporating thermal resistant
have far superior thermal insulation ability than reinforcement fiber and radiation scattering
conventional thermal insulation materials, while material. It has the following superior features.
having the strength and high workability to al- 1) Superior thermal insulation property which
low it to be easily handled by anybody. exceeds that of still air.
In this report, we introduce the TOMBO TM
2) Good handling ability that surpasses conven-
No.4350-GH “ROSLIM TM
Board GH”(Hereafter tional low heat conductivity insulation mate-
called ROSLIM TM
Board GH), which has been rials.

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NICHIAS Technical Report 2016 No. 2

3) Superior workability that does not require

special tools.

2.1 Structure and physical property

Table 1 shows the physical properties of
“ROSLIMTM Board GH” and Figure 2 shows a
Pore diameter:
comparison of the heat conductivity of various Less than mean
free path of still air
thermal insulation materials. 50nm

Figure . Inner structure of ROSLIM Board GH (TEM image)

TM
Table . Various physical properties of ROSLIM Board GH
TM

Mean free path of still air: nm (normal temperature), nm ()

Density [kg/m3] 250

Thermal
at 400 0.030 smaller size than the mean free path of still air,
conductivity at 600 0.036 thus realizing the suppression of heat conduc-
[W/(m K)]
at 800 0.044 tion via gas.
Compressive In addition, in the high temperature zone, the
strength [MPa]
1.02
(10 compressive radiation scattering material scatters and atten-
strain)
uates radiation heat, realizing superior low
Thermal shrinkage at 800 24 hrs 0.6
factor [ ] thermal conductivity, half of that of still air.
at 1000 24 hrs 2.5
Maximum service 1000
temperature [ ] 2.2 Superior workability and handling ability
Figure 4 shows a machined product and an ex-
0.35
ample of handling a large size plate of “ROSLIMTM
Low

General thermal insulation materials

Ceramic fiber board
0.30 Rock wool
Board GH”.
Because conventional low thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity (W/(m･K))

Calcium silicate board

Ceramic fiber blanket
0.25
insulation materials are brittle and easily collapsed,
Thermal insulation ability

0.20

0.15 φ20－P30

0.10 Still air

ROSLIMTM Board φ20－P25
GH
0.05
High

0.00
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Drilled product
Temperature (℃)

Figure . Comparison of thermal conductivity with

those of various thermal insulation materials

“ROSLIMTM Board GH” shows superior ther-

mal insulation properties with thermal conduc-
tivity less than 1/2 that of still air and 1/3 that
of ceramic type fiber thermal insulation materi-
Large size plate (25mm×600mm×900mm)
al (at 600℃). As shown in Figure 3, this is due
Figure . Handling of a drilled product and
to its structure having cavities of sufficiently large size plate ofROSLIM Board GH
TM

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NICHIAS Technical Report 2016 No. 2

al thermal insulation materials (Such as calcium

they are difficult to be machined or handled. silicate board) is used for Industrial furnaces,
Owing to its special manufacturing method, owing to a decrease in heat radiation, the ener-
1)
the grain bonding strength is strengthened in gy consumption is significantly decreased com-
“ROSLIM TM
Board GH” and the overall strength pared to those made of conventional materials.
of the material is high. Hence drilling with a As a specific example, Figure 5 shows that
hole saw can be easily done as shown in the fig- there is a 50% decrease compared to when the
ure. This high strength property contributes to same thickness of calcium silicate board is in-
its precision workability described later. stalled in the same system.
The wrought products or large size plates
(25mm×600mm×900mm) can easily be handled 3.2 Down-sizing utilizing thermal insulation
where those made of conventional materials re- property
quire the utmost care in handling. Figure 6 shows an example of a down-sized
thermal insulation wall structure using “ROSLIMTM
3. Examples of actual applications
Board GH”.
“ROSLIM TM
Board GH” is used for thermal Owing to its superior low thermal conductivi-
insulation of industrial furnaces (back-up ty property, when the specified temperature on
material). the outer wall surface is the same, “ROSLIMTM
Here, a summary of the application examples Board GH” realizes it with thinner thermal in-
of not only energy saving and downsizing, but sulation material, which enables down-sizing of
also making use of its good workability are given. the furnace body and/or equipment. As a spe-
cific example, Figure 6 shows that for a furnace
3.1 Energy saving utilizing thermal insulation with an inner temperature of 1000℃, and a sur-
property face temperature of 57℃, a wall structure com-
Figure 5 shows an example of energy saving posed of “ROSLIMTM Board GH” will be 200 mm
thermal insulation structure. When a “ROSLIMTM thinner than one composed of conventional ma-
Board GH” of the same thickness as convention- terials.

Industrial furnace
50 t 50 t
Thermal insulator

ROSLIM Board GH Calcium silicate board

Inside the Surface temperature Radiation heat quantity

furnace
1000℃ 96.5℃ 1227 W/m2
Ceramic fiber board

－31.2℃ －629W/m2

Surface temperature Radiation heat quantity

65.3℃ 598 W/m2
TM

Calculating conditions
Ambient temperature: 25℃ Radiation heat quantity decreases
Emissivity: 0.9 by 50% with the same thickness
TM
Wind speed: 0 m/s ROSLIM Board GH.

Figure . An example of energy saving structure for thermal insulation wall

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NICHIAS Technical Report 2016 No. 2

Type of thermal insulation materials

1000℃ 1000℃
Conventional structure Ceramic fiber board
of thermal insulators 750℃ Calcium silicate board

Total thickness ROSLIM Board GH

TM

500℃ 350 mm
(50 t×7 layers)
250℃

0℃
57℃ Wall thickness decreased
by 200 mm maintaining
the same surface temperature.

1000℃ 1000℃
of thermal insulation wall
Energy saving structure

(Using ROSLIM Board GH)

750℃
Total thickness
500℃ 150 mm
(50×2 layers
TM

＋25×2 layers)
Calculating conditions
250℃
Ambient temperature: 25℃
Emissivity: 0.9
0℃
57℃ Wind speed: 0 m/s

Figure . An example of down-sized thermal insulation wall structure

3.3 Application utilizing its high strength and handling property also contributes to shorten-
good workability ing working time.
Owing to the superior strength and workabil- 2) Heat retention of high temperature cylindri-
ity of “ROSLIM TM
Board GH”, work with large cal molten metal container (back up material)
size boards is possible as it can be precisely The superior workability allows not only flat
machined to make complicated and/or irregular surface application but also application on cylin-
shaped products. Hence, there are a wide range drical shapes (Please contact us for the detail).
of applications such as heat insulation (back up 3) Thermal insulation parts that require high
material) of special furnaces and thermal insula- processing accuracy
tion material for fuel cells. The following are (such as thermal insulation material for fuel
some examples of such applications. cells)
1) Roller hearth kiln continuous furnace (back Figure 7 shows intricately processed “ROSLIMTM
up material) Board GH”. It can be processed to form compli-
The thermal insulation materials for continu- cated and/or irregular shapes such as thermal
ous heat treatment and continuous firing fur- insulation parts for fuel cells which require
nace require numerous drilling and processing space saving and high working accuracy.
of large diameter holes such as for exhaust
openings. Because “ROSLIMTM Board GH” allows
processing with machined large size boards for
large-area side walls, ceilings and furnace floor,
the heat leakage from joins is decreased, which
further contributes to energy saving for the
furnace body. In addition, it increases thermal
uniformity within the furnace, and can increase
the yield of processed products. The superior Figure . Example of complicated working

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NICHIAS Technical Report 2016 No. 2

4. Product dimension
The standard dimensions of “ROSLIM TM
Board GH” are shown below.
・25 t×600×900 (mm)
・50 t×600×900 (mm)
For board sizes other than above or machined
products, please contact us.

5. Conclusion
TOMBOTM No.4350-GH “ROSLIMTM Board GH”
is a breakthrough thermal insulator and just as
the name implies, “Ro” (furnace) can be made
slim and at the same time the energy consump-
tion of the furnace slims down. There are many
inquiries from manufacturers of industrial fur-
nace and equipment, due to its low thermal
conductivity added with superior workability.
We are putting effort into technical develop-
ment and product development for higher per-
formance thermal insulation material that
meets further energy saving requirements of
society, and will provide products to contribute
to the society.
In addition, if there are any questions, please
contact Energy Saving Products Technical Devel-
opment Department, Industrial Product Division.

Bibliography
1) Inorganic thermal insulation material from the view of
stress-strain, Nichias Technical Report, No.1, p15 (2016)．

* “ TOMBO” is both a registered trade mark and a trade

mark of NICHIAS Corporation.
* “ROSLIM” is a trade mark of NICHIAS Corporation.
* The measurements presented in this report should be
used only as a guide and not as guaranteed values.

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