A New Brick Could Eliminate Insulation,
Part 2

Aerogel is stuffed into the brick’s cavities. Image: Empa

Part One of “A New Brick Could Eliminate Insulation” explored some of the properties and functions of Empa’s aerobricks. In this section, we look at some additional features and cost comparisons.

In addition to its thermal properties, aerogels absorb almost no moisture, making them ideal for use as a vapor barrier to prevent moisture from passing from the wall into the building’s interior. Aerogel is also recyclable, nontoxic and nonflammable, Wernery says.

His department’s findings will aid a new type of building design called monolithic architecture. The approach calls for constructing a building-or parts of it -from a single material. The design method makes construction simpler and uses fewer building materials than standard techniques, Wernery says.

Because it can be difficult to find materials that fulfill structural and modern insulation requirements for the building envelope at the same time, Wernery’s group began investigating aerogel’s insulating properties when used within hollow bricks, he said.

Aerogel superinsulation blowtorch demo using a Hershey's Kiss. Image: Aerogel Technologies

Aerogel’s use as an insulating material isn’t new. NASA uses the material to insulate its spacesuits. Apparel-company Oros insulates its jackets and coats with a NASA-inspired aerogel because the material is lightweight, thin, and warmer than many then other options, says Michael Markesbery, Oros co-founder and chief executive officer.

But aerogel in the form NASA and Oros relies upon couldn’t be used within the insulated bricks Wernery’s group had in mind. The Swiss researchers sought a thick version of the material.

So the group developed a paste composed of aerogel particles that they stuffed into hollow bricks made of clay. While the base for the aerogel filling is mostly silicates, in volume it consists of more than 90 percent of air-filled pores with sizes in the nano range.

Aerogel is expensive, however, with only two companies making the material. Wernery calculates that using the bricks would add $550 for every three-square feet of wall

But Koebel and Wernery expect aerogel costs to fall dramatically as they and others come up with lower-cost production methods.

Jean Thilmany is an independent writer.

Aerogel’s use as an insulating material isn’t new. NASA uses the material to insulate its spacesuits.