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New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope / EMILY THOMAS

Swansea University Author: EMILY THOMAS

  • E-Thesis under embargo until: 21st September 2030

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUThesis.71028

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...

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Published: Swansea 2025
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: EngD
Supervisor: Holliman, P. J., and Sackett, E.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71028
first_indexed 2025-12-01T11:59:07Z
last_indexed 2025-12-02T07:55:02Z
id cronfa71028
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2025-12-01T12:20:51.5446330 v2 71028 2025-12-01 New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope fa80b552d15fc912e9eb158268153781 EMILY THOMAS EMILY THOMAS true false 2025-12-01 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. E-Thesis Swansea Polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam, Sieved perlite, Limited combustibility, Thermography, Hybrid materials, Fire resistance 21 9 2025 2025-09-21 10.23889/SUThesis.71028 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Holliman, P. J., and Sackett, E. Doctoral EngD Tata Steel, M2A, UKRI, EPSRC, the European Social Fund, and the Welsh Government Tata Steel, M2A, UKRI, EPSRC, the European Social Fund, and the Welsh Government 2025-12-01T12:20:51.5446330 2025-12-01T11:36:24.4829204 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering EMILY THOMAS 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2025-12-01T11:57:48.8591230 Output 13673296 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2030-09-21T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: the author, Emily Frances Thomas, 2025 true eng
title New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
spellingShingle New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
EMILY THOMAS
title_short New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
title_full New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
title_fullStr New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
title_full_unstemmed New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
title_sort New Generation Insulation Materials for use within the Building Envelope
author_id_str_mv fa80b552d15fc912e9eb158268153781
author_id_fullname_str_mv fa80b552d15fc912e9eb158268153781_***_EMILY THOMAS
author EMILY THOMAS
author2 EMILY THOMAS
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUThesis.71028
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering
document_store_str 0
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description 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.
published_date 2025-09-21T05:34:14Z
_version_ 1856987049117089792
score 11.096295

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