Enhancing the Insulation Property of Polypropylene Through a 3D-Printed Multi-Hollow Structured Board: A Numerical Investigation

This study aims to develop polypropylene (PP) as an insulation material by engineering it into a multi-hollow structured board using 3D printing technology. A previous experimental study determined the effective thermal conductivity of the porous PP board using a hot box test, yielding a value of 0.0033 W/mK, which represents a significant improvement over conventional building insulators like rock wool and cellulose. To validate the experimental results, a numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.2 software was conducted to model the heat transfer process within the porous PP board. The simulation employed an appropriate methodology, including parameter definition, geometry creation, material definition, steady-state porous heat transfer module, initial and boundary conditions, meshing, and analysis. The numerical analysis focused on determining the indoor surface temperature, evaluating the total heat flux, and calculating the effective thermal conductivity of the porous PP board. The simulation results revealed an effective thermal conductivity of 0.0036 W/mK, closely matching the experimentally obtained value from the hot box test. The agreement between the experimental and numerical results validates the numerical study and demonstrates the potential of combining 3D printing technology with materials like polypropylene to develop highly efficient insulation solutions for building applications.