Aerogel Provides Thermal Insulation and Fire Protection for Airplane Firewall

High performance, flame resistance of aerogel ideal for temperature barrier

Aerogel firewalls were installed on Pipistrel Taurus, Sinus, Virus planes.

Thin, light weight encapsulated 6 mm Pyrogel with self-adhesive cold side.

Aerogel and firewall section during tests:
• 1100°C flame exposure for 15 minutes

Cold side temperatures
(ambient temperature: 10°C):
• 138°C behind aerogel insulation
• 69°C inside firewall section

• The insulation had to resist intensive open flame exposure (1100°C above ambient temperature) for at least 15 minutes.
• The cold side of the insulation could not reach higher than 150°C above ambient temperature.
• The insulation needed to be light weight and install quickly and easily for serial production purposes.

Aerogel Solution

• Pipistrel d.o.o. Ajdovscina developed a solution of encapsulated 6 mm Pyrogel® 6350 with a self-adhesive cold side.
• The total thickness was just 7 mm.

Benefits

• Pyrogel was a cost-effective solution that met all performance and other challenges.
• The encapsulated solution was much lighter than conventional metal-sheet solutions.
• Its cold side has a much lower temperature than conventional metal-sheet solutions, critical for epoxy-reinforced fiber composite constructions.