Utilization of Aerogel Materials and Systems in the Building Envelopes of Tomorrow

Abstract

Building envelopes incorporating aerogel materials may exploit miscellaneous properties of the aerogels such as a very low thermal conductivity, lightweight properties due the air-filled low-density aerogel structure, and the possibility of utilizing solar radiation as a daylight and heat source through the translucent and transparent versions of aerogel. This study presents different experimental investigations of various aerogel materials and systems intended for building envelope applications, including a new lightweight and more thermally insulating aerogel glass material, various translucent aerogel granule windows, and aerogel-incorporated concrete samples with reduced thermal conductivity. These aerogel materials and systems may become part of the future multi-functional building envelopes utilizing miscellaneous passive and active/dynamic technologies.