Thermal performance of closed-cell foam insulation board under different temperature conditions
Date
2019-03-05
Authors
Jagdev, Gurpreet Singh
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Abstract
Thermal performance of an insulation material is influenced by the in-service temperature condition. Unlike most other insulation materials, thermal resistance (R-value) of polyisocyanurate (polyiso) foam insulation with ‘captive blowing agent’ varies non-linearly with temperature. Building designers consider constant R-value of different insulating materials for building design and energy calculations, and hygrothermal simulation software packages, such as WUFI, consider linear temperature dependent R-value profiles, even for polyiso. However, neither the linear temperature dependent thermal resistance nor the constant thermal resistance value of polyiso represents the actual thermal performance of the building envelope. This thesis aims to quantify the impact of in-service boundary temperature conditions in Canadian climates on the thermal resistance of polyiso foam insulation board used in EPDM and PVC roof constructions. Hygrothermal simulations were performed using WUFI® Pro, which considers real climate data and hygrothermal properties of constituent roof components for evaluating moisture and temperature conditions in roof constructions. Based on heating degree days (HDD), ten different cities were selected between climate Zone 4 (HDD<3000) to Zone 8 (HDD≥7000). The thermal resistance measurements were conducted using heat flow meter apparatus on four polyiso insulation boards (two new and two aged) of different sizes [thickness - new: 1inch (25mm) and 2 inch (51mm); aged: 2 inch (51mm) and 3 inch (76mm)] at five mean temperatures -4°C (25°F), 4.5°C (40°F), 10°C (50°F), 24°C (75°F), 43°C (110°F) and at a temperature differential of 28°C (50°F). The measured thermal resistance data of the four samples at different mean temperatures were normalized with calculated thermal resistance of each sample at 22°C (72°F). The normalized R-value variation was calculated using in-service boundary temperature conditions determined from hygrothermal simulations and considering linearly varied thermal resistance with temperature, for the selected ten Canadian cities.
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Keywords
Polyiso, Insulation, Thermal Resistance, Hygrothermal Simulations, WUFI® Pro