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Thermophysical properties of polyurethane foams and their melts
Author(s) -
Pau D. S. W.,
Fleischmann C. M.,
Spearpoint M. J.,
Li K. Y.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
fire and materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-1018
pISSN - 0308-0501
DOI - 10.1002/fam.2188
Subject(s) - polyurethane , thermal conductivity , materials science , composite material , radius , heat capacity , heat transfer , thermodynamics , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemistry , chromatography , physics , computer security , computer science
The thermal conductivity ( λ ) and the specific heat ( c p ) of seven polyurethane foam formulations and their melts are obtained using a transient plane source technique called the Hot Disk experiment. In the experiment, the Hot Disk sensor is sandwiched by the samples and acts as both a heat source and a temperature sensor. The fundamental assumption is that throughout the experiment, the heat from the sensor does not penetrate beyond the boundaries of the sample. The suitable sample dimensions and sensor radius are determined from the preliminary calculations. Through sensitivity analysis, the appropriate measuring time and output power for the experiments are established. For polyurethane foams, λ ranges from 0.048 to 0.050 W/m K, and c p ranges from 2359 to 2996 J/kg K. For melts, λ ranges from 0.186 to 0.200 W/m K, and c p ranges from 1958 to 2076 J/kg K. When foam decomposes into melts, the changes in thermophysical properties shows λ increases by approximately 300%, whereas c p decreases by approximately 20%. On the basis of these changes, the collapse of the foam structure into melt appears to improve the heat transfer through the material. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.