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A consortium 1 research project was initiated to determine the field performance of various thermal insulation products as applied in the exterior insulation basement system (EIBS). Initially a two-dimensional (2-D) analytical tool was used to derive the thermal transmission characteristics from an array of temperature measurements performed over a period of two years. Results immediately showed the influence of lateral heat flux between various products that differed in thermal transmission properties. Therefore, development of a three-dimensional (3-D) model became imperative. This paper gives the theoretical and numerical approaches adopted to develop a 3-D computer model of heat transfer. The implicit Spline Method was selected for the problem solver. The applicability of the model was verified using measured data on temperature distributions at several material interfaces. Then the model was used to estimate the effect of lateral heat flows. The paper also briefly reports the experimental details and presents results on model verification.

There are daily reminders that every effort should be made to conserve energy, not only because of rising costs but also because of the need to control air pollution. Increased use of insulation to reduce the energy requirements of buildings is one way to achieve these ends. If designers are to design insulation systems and select appropriate materials, however, they should have a clear understanding of how insulation works. This Digest is designeed to provide some of the information required for a better understanding of insulation as a material.