New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to study the development of a limited combustible insulation material with properties and performance comparable to the current polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam manufactured at Tata Steel. The target specifications included a density below 50 kg/m3, thermal conductivity under 0.035 W/mK, structural properties equivalent to PIR foam, and limited combustibility. Two approaches were investigated: an organic route and an inorganic route.The organic dominated composite route focused on developing 9 foam formulations with additions of inorganic components, namely, expanded perlite, sieved expanded perlite, powdered aerogel, or a 50/50 w/w mixture of expanded perlite and powdered aerogel at different weight ratios to replace the current flame retardant, tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP). Thermal properties were evaluated by developing two methods: a radiant heat furnace test to simulate conditions surrounding a fire and a single-flame source test combined with thermography to monitor real-time heat transfer to replicate the exposure to a direct flame. Of these variants, the optimal formulation incorporated sieved perlite (particle size distribution of 750-800 microns)into the PIR foam matrix at a 1:1 w/w ratio to TCPP. This material exhibited a 40 kg/m3 density, a thermal conductivity of 0.021 W/mK, a compressive strength of 336 kPa, and a 21% residual mass recorded at 600°C under radiant heat. The sieved perlite formulation demonstrated superior fire resistance, showing no ignition during the single-flame source test and achieving the lowest cursor temperature range after 15 seconds of flame exposure. These results highlight the potential of sieved perlite as a promising additive to improve the fire resistance of PIR foam while maintaining desirable thermal and structural properties.The inorganic incorporated various organic binders into an inorganic matrix to develop an inorganic dominated composite matrix. However, this approach failed to achieve an optimal matrix, as the data suggested that structural integrity and low density could not be balanced simultaneously