Predicting field thermal performance of a modified resol foam from laboratory data

With safety testing of new blowing agents being near completion and new types of thermal insulating foams entering the market, predicting the long term thermal performance of these foams becomes important. In this respect, the experience gained under a 1987-1988 project on CFC blown, modified resol foams may prove invaluable as predictions derived four years ago can now be compared with data obtained on material exposed on experimental roofs. This comparison indicates that the prediction of long-term thermal performance based on the initial thermal resistance determined on full thickness specimens combined with the effect of aging determined on thin layers agreed with results obtained on the foam aged under field conditions.Les \ue9preuves d?innocuit\ue9 des nouveaux agents d?expansion \ue9tant presque termin\ue9es, et avec l?arriv\ue9e sur le march\ue9 de nouveaux types de mousses d?isolation thermique, il devient important de pouvoir pr\ue9dire la performance thermique \ue0 long terme de ces produits. \uc0 cet \ue9gard, l?exp\ue9rience acquise dans le cadre d?un projet s?\ue9tant d\ue9roul\ue9 en 1987 et en 1988 sur les mousses r\ue9sol modifi\ue9es expans\ue9s aux CFC pourrait se r\ue9v\ue9ler de tr\ue8s grande valeur, les pr\ue9dictions d\ue9riv\ue9es il y a de cela quatre (4) ans pouvant maintenant \ueatre compar\ue9es aux donn\ue9es obtenues avec les mat\ue9riaux expos\ue9s sur des toitures exp\ue9rimentales. Cette comparaison indique que la pr\ue9diction des performances thermiques \ue0 long terme, fond\ue9e sur la r\ue9sistance thermique initiale telle que d\ue9termin\ue9e sur des \ue9prouvettes pleine \ue9paisseur, combin\ue9e \ue0 l?incidence du vieillissement d\ue9termin\ue9 sur des couches minces, a concord\ue9 avec les r\ue9sultats obtenus sur la mousse vieillie en conditions in situ.Reprint from: Journal of Thermal Insulation and Building Envelopes, v. 17, no. 2, p. 78-88, Cot. 1, 1993R\ue9prime de: Journal of Thermal Insulation and Building Envelopes, v. 17, no. 2, p. 78-88, Cot. 1, 1993Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye