Experimental study on thermal conductivity of polyurethane resin filled with modified nanoparticles

Most of the energy loss in a building is through the walls. For this reason, insulating materials are used to reduce the loss of energy in buildings. Common insulations are high thickness thermally resistant material while thin coatings are usually used less. The purpose of this research was to introduce nanocomposite thin polymer coatings and their effects on thermal conductivity. In order to prepare the insulating layers with nanocomposite coatings, chemically modified nano zirconium and aluminum oxides in three different weight percentages (1, 3, and 5%) were used in polyurethane matrix. To study thermal conductivity, the metallic plates were coated with the prepared nanocomposites, and the thermal conductivity of the samples was measured. The results showed that adding zirconium oxide and aluminum oxide nanoparticles in the polyurethane matrix increases the thermal resistance of the plates in all three weight percentages, compared to the coating with no nanoparticles. The lowest thermal conductivity was found for 5% nano aluminum oxide composition, which compared to the conductivity of the pure polyurethane resin decreases about 40%.