Testing flexural strength of expanded polystyrene boards for in-plant quality assurance

This article deals with determination of flexural strength for the purpose of product quality assurance of expanded polystyrene (EPS) boards. Using a newly developed, inexpensive flexural strength tester (FST) and a systematic sampling plan, flexural strength of eight experimental EPS products was evaluated. TheFST was shown to yield results as precise as the standard ASTM test method. This agreement implies that sampling at specified mold locations and using the FST for in-plant testing could improve the process of quality assurance for EPS thermal insulating boards.On examine dans cet article la d\ue9termination de la r\ue9sistance \ue0 la flexion aux fins de l?assurance de la qualit\ue9 des produits, notamment des panneaux de polystyr\ue8ne expansible (PSE). En utilisant un testeur de r\ue9sistance \ue0 la flexion (TRF) nouvellement mis au point, peu co\ufbteux, et un plan d?\ue9chantillonnage syst\ue9matique, on a pu \ue9valuer la r\ue9sistance \ue0 la flexion de huit (8) produits exp\ue9rimentaux de type PSE. Il est apparu que le TRF donnait des r\ue9sultats aussi pr\ue9cis que la m\ue9thode d?essai standard de l?ASTM. Il d\ue9coule de cette concordance que l?\ue9chantillonnage en des emplacements de matrice sp\ue9cifi\ue9s, en utilisant le TRF pour des essais en usine, pourrait am\ue9liorer le processus d?assurance de la qualit\ue9 pour les panneaux d?isolation thermique en PSE.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye