Water vapour diffusion resistance of larch (Larix decidua) bark insulation panels and application considerations based on numeric modelling

This paper focuses on the vapour diffusion resistance of light particleboard produced from larch (Larix decidua) bark for thermal insulation applications. The influence of panel density and particle orientation, as well as particle size was evaluated in this respect. The former proved to have the most important effect. The panels' structure was illuminated by means of computed tomography and used as an input for a structure-based numeric model for vapour diffusion. The model was found to be suitable to describe the mass flow in the panels and was used to propose some optimisation of panel structure to serve for special needs in building engineering.