Testing long-term thermal resistance of sprayed polyurethane foam

When sprayed polyurethane foams are fabricated under field conditions, they usually form a continuous layer that controls the flow of heat, air and moisture through the building component they cover. However, the replacement of blowing agents such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) with partially halogenated hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which have thermal insulating performance inherently lower than that of CFCs, has raised the question of the long-term thermal performance of such foams.Lorsque les mousses de polyur\ue9thane inject\ue9es sont mises en place en conditions in situ, elles forment habituellement une couche continue qui contr\uf4le l?\ue9coulement de la chaleur, de l?air et de l?humidit\ue9 \ue0 travers l?\ue9l\ue9ment du b\ue2timent qu?elles recouvrent. Toutefois, le remplacement des agents d?expansion comme les chlorofluorocarbures (CFC) par des hydrochlorofluorocarbures (HCFC) partiellement halog\ue9n\ue9s, lesquels offrent une performance d?isolation qui est en soi inf\ue9rieure \ue0 celle des CFC, a soulev\ue9 la question de la performance thermique \ue0 long terme de telles mousses.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Procedures to Predict Long-Term Thermal Performance of Boardstock Foam Insulations: Supplementary Report on Expanded Polystyrene

This report deals only with the boardstock foams. It summarizes the key findings of the project and refers to other publications issued during the course of work. Research on sprayed polyurethane foam has already been presented in two reports: "Report on sprayed polyurethane foam with alternative BAS" published by the Polyurethane Division of the Society of Plastics Industry lnc. in 1989 and "Report on factors affecting the field performance of spray applied thermal insulating foams" published in 1993 by the Polyurethane Foam Contractors Division of the SPI Inc.Ce rapport traite uniquement des mousses de p\ue2te m\ue9canique pour cartons. On y r\ue9sume les conclusions principales du projet et renvoie le lecteur \ue0 d?autres publications parues au cours de ces travaux. La recherche portant sur la mousse de polyur\ue9thane inject\ue9e a d\ue9j\ue0 \ue9t\ue9 pr\ue9sent\ue9e dans deux (2) rapports: \uab Report On Sprayed Polyurethane Foam With Alternative BAS \ubb, publi\ue9 par la division des polyur\ue9thanes de la Society of Plastics Industry lnc., en 1989, et \uab Report On Factors Affecting The Field Performance Of Spray Applied Thermal Insulating Foams \ubb, publi\ue9 en 1993 par la division des entrepreneurs en mousse de polyur\ue9thane de SPI Inc.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Thermal performance of sprayed polyurethane foam insulation with alternative blowing agents

NA test methodology that uses thermal resistance-time curves determined on thin slices of the foam and the scaling technique to relate aging time to the specimen thickness, was applied to evaluate long-term thermal performance of six polyurethane foams manufactured with the same polymer but different blowing agents. The blowing agents employed were: CFC-11 with 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5% water and HCFC-123 or HCFC-14 lb. Except for foams manufactured with CFC-11 and 1.0% or 1.5% of water, for which material inhomogeneity was higher than can be tolerated by the proposed test methodology, polyurethane foams manufactured with CFC-11 and 0.5% water, HCFC-123 and HCFC-14 lb showed long-term thermal performance similar to that of CFC-11 blown materials.Afin d'\ue9valuer la performance thermique \ue0 long terme de six mousses de polyur\ue9thane fabriqu\ue9es avec le m\ueame polym\ue8re mais des agents de glonflage diff\ue9rents, on s'est servi d'une m\ue9thodologie d'essais utilisant des courbes r\ue9sistance thermique-temps \ue9tablies \ue0 partir de minces tranches de mousse, ainsi que la technique de mise \ue0 \ue9chelle visant \ue0 d\ue9terminer le temps de vieillissement en fonction de l'\ue9paisseur de l'\ue9chantillon. Les agents de gonflage qui ont \ue9t\ue9 employ\ue9s sont : CFC-11 avec 0, 0,5, 1,0 ou 1,5 % d'eau et HCFC-123 ou HCFC-141b. Sauf dans le cas des mousses fabriqu\ue9 es avec CFC-11 et 1,0 ou 1,5 % d'eau, pour lesquelles le manque d'homog\ue9n\ue9it\ue9 du mat\ue9riau \ue9tait plus grand que ne peut le tol\ue9rer la m\ue9thodologie d'essais propos\ue9e, les mousses de polyur\ue9thane fabriqu\ue9es avec CFC-11 et 0,5 % d' eau, HCFC-123 ou HCFC-141b ont affich\ue9 une performance thermique \ue0 long terme semblable \ue0 celle des mat\ue9riaux gonfl\ue9 s au CFC-11.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Introduction to the third International Workshop on Long- Term Thermal Performance of Cellular Plastic Insulation

Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Use of the Distributed parameter continuum (DIPAC) model for estimating the long-term thermal performance of insulating foams

Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Report on sprayed polyurethane foam with alternative blowing agents

This report presents a joint project of the Society of the Plastics Industry and the Institute for Research in Construction of the National Research Council of Canada. The objectives of this project were to manufacture two spray polyurethane foams bases on the existing industrial technology but using alternative blowing agents, compare the properties of these foams with those blown with CFC-11 and establish a basis for development of new polyurethane spray foams with alternative blowing agents. The following properties were examined: thermal resistance, dimensional stability, compressive strength, water vapour permeance, blowing agent concentration and effective diffusion characteristics. This study combined advanced industrial and academic research, predicted 25-year thermal performance from 3-4 months testing results and characterized foams with selected thermal, moisture and mechanical properties.Le pr\ue9sent rapport d\ue9crit un project commun de la Soci\ue9t\ue9 des industries du plastique du Canada et de l'Institut de recherche en construction du Conseil national de recherches du Canada. Les objectifs de ce projet \ue9taient de fabriquer deux mousses de polyur\ue9thane \ue0 pulv\ue9riser \ue0 partir de la technologie existante mais \ue0 l'aide de nouveaux agents d'expansion, de comparer les propri\ue9t\ue9s de ces mousses \ue0 l'aide de nouveaux agents expans\ue9es au CFC-11, et d'\ue9tablir une base pour la pr\ue9paration de nouvelles mousses de polyur\ue9thane \ue0 pulv\ue9riser \ue0 l'aide d'agents d'expansion de remplacement. Les propri\ue9t\ue9s suivantes ont \ue9t\ue9 examin\ue9es: r\ue9sistance thermique, stabilit\ue9 dimensionnelle, r\ue9sistance \ue0 la compression, perm\ue9abilit\ue9 \ue0 la vapeur d'eau, concentration d'agent d'expansion et caract\ue9ristiques effectives de diffusion. Cette \ue9tude combinant des efforts pouss\ue9s de recherche industrielle et universitaire a permis de pr\ue9voir la performance thermique apr\ue8s 25 ans \ue0 partir de r\ue9sultats d'essais de 3 \ue0 4 mois, et de caract\ue9riser des mousses ayant des propri\ue9t\ue9s thermiques, hygroscopiques et m\ue9caniques particuli\ue8res.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Introduction to the Third International Workshop on Long-Term Thermal Performance of Cellular Plastic Insulation

Methodology for the evaluation of long-term thermal performance of cellular plastics is being developed under a collaboration of North American foam industry with the National Research Council of Canada. The mechanism of this collaboration includes a joint research project between the Society of Plastics Industryand the NRC Canada. To evaluate long-term thermal performance (LTTP) of cellular plastics the agingprocess must be accelerated. This can be done either by means of elevated temperature or by the use of thin layers of the foam. The first approach changes the permeability and solubility coefficients of different gases to such a degree that predicting the foam performance under field conditions is difficult.Une m\ue9thodologie pour l?\ue9valuation de la performance thermique \ue0 long terme des plastiques alv\ue9olaires est actuellement mise au point en vertu d?une collaboration entre l?industrie nord-am\ue9ricaine des mousses isolantes et le Conseil national de recherches du Canada (CNRC). Le m\ue9canisme de cette collaboration inclut un projet de recherche conjoint entre la Society of Plastics Industry et le CNRC. Aux fins de l?\ue9valuation de la performance thermique \ue0 long terme des plastiques alv\ue9olaires, il est n\ue9cessaire d?acc\ue9l\ue9rer le processus du vieillissement, ce qui peut \ueatre r\ue9alis\ue9 soit par \ue9l\ue9vation de la temp\ue9rature, soit par utilisation de couches minces de mousse. Suivant la premi\ue8re approche, on change les coefficients de perm\ue9abilit\ue9 et de solubilit\ue9 de diff\ue9rents gaz \ue0 un degr\ue9 tel qu?il devient difficile de pr\ue9dire la performance de la mousse en conditions in situ.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Procedures to Predict Long-Term Thermal Performance of Boardstock Foam Insulations: Supplementary Report on Expanded Polystyrene

This report deals only with the boardstock foams. It summarizes the key findings of the project and refers to other publications issued during the course of work. Research on sprayed polyurethane foam has already been presented in two reports: "Report on sprayed polyurethane foam with alternative BAS" published by the Polyurethane Division of the Society of Plastics Industry lnc. in 1989 and "Report on factors affecting the field performance of spray applied thermal insulating foams" published in 1993 by the Polyurethane Foam Contractors Division of the SPI Inc.Ce rapport traite uniquement des mousses de p\ue2te m\ue9canique pour cartons. On y r\ue9sume les conclusions principales du projet et renvoie le lecteur \ue0 d?autres publications parues au cours de ces travaux. La recherche portant sur la mousse de polyur\ue9thane inject\ue9e a d\ue9j\ue0 \ue9t\ue9 pr\ue9sent\ue9e dans deux (2) rapports: \uab Report On Sprayed Polyurethane Foam With Alternative BAS \ubb, publi\ue9 par la division des polyur\ue9thanes de la Society of Plastics Industry lnc., en 1989, et \uab Report On Factors Affecting The Field Performance Of Spray Applied Thermal Insulating Foams \ubb, publi\ue9 en 1993 par la division des entrepreneurs en mousse de polyur\ue9thane de SPI Inc.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

A Test Method to Determine Air Flow Resistance of Exterior Membranes and Sheathings

This note describes a test method for determination of air flow resistance of exterior membranes and sheathings. The test specimen is placed between two chambers with different air pressures and the volumetric air flow rate through it at a steady state is determined. The relevant experimental quantities can presently be measured with precision better than 0.5% and with an accuracy of 2 to 3%, using commercial instruments. However, the instrumental precision does not mean much, due to the uncertainty introduced by material variability normally occurring in commerical products. This aspect of the test method is studied and a practical test procedure is suggested.Ce document fait \ue9tat d'une m\ue9thode d'essai en vue de d\ue9terminer la r\ue9sistance \ue0 l'\ue9coulement de l'air des membranes et parements ext\ue9rieurs. Il s'agit d'installer un \ue9chantillon d'essai entre deux chambres dont les pressions de l'air sont diff\ue9rentes, puis de d\ue9terminer le coefficient d'\ue9coulement volum\ue9trique de l'air dans des conditions stabilis\ue9es. Il est possible de mesurer les quantit\ue9s exp\ue9rimentales pertinentes au moyen d'instruments commerciaux et avec un degr\ue9 de pr\ue9cision inf\ue9rieure \ue0 0,5 % et une exactitude de 2 \ue0 3 %. La pr\ue9cision des instruments n'est toutefois pas d\ue9terminante compte tenu de l'incertitude cr\ue9\ue9e par la variabilit\ue9 mat\ue9rielle de la plupart des instruments commerciaux. Cet aspect de la m\ue9thode d'essai est \ue0 l'\ue9tude ainsi qu'une m\ue9thode d'essai pratique.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye