Investigation on the heat transfer characteristics of flexible vacuum glass based on cross-laminated microcavities

Vacuum glass is a key component of energy-efficient buildings. At present, the traditional vacuum glass (VG) has some problems, such as side edge heat transfer, poor thermal insulation in small sizes, high cost of indium alloy edge sealing, and poor adaptability to the rigid structure to environments, which limits its application in buildings. Vacuum interlayer heat transfer is thickness-independent. Therefore, increasing the transfer path and thermal resistance of the support structure under micrometer gaps achieves effective thermal insulation. In this study, a vacuum glass with a cross-laminated microcavity structure was proposed. The cross-laminated structure has a total thickness of several hundred micrometers and is made of polycarbonate. The heat transfer and stress-strain of the cross-laminated vacuum glass (CLVG) and VG are investigated. The results indicate that the CLVG accomplished a lower heat transfer coefficient compared with the VG at a size smaller than 30 × 30 cm2. In addition, the CLVG is edge-effect-free. As a flexible structure, the CLVG can be easily applied to existing buildings. This study contributes to the exploration of new structures for the vacuum glass.