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Long‐term performance of environmentally‐friendly blown polyurethane foams
Author(s) -
Modesti M.,
Lorenzetti A.,
Dall'Acqua C.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.20272
Subject(s) - dimethoxymethane , blowing agent , polyurethane , materials science , environmentally friendly , thermal conductivity , composite material , diffusion , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering , ecology , physics , biology , catalysis
We studied the long‐term performance of new environmentally‐friendly blowing agents for polyurethane foams. Several blowing agents, hydrofluorocarbons, hydrocarbons, and a possible hydrochlorofluorocarbon substitute (dimethoxymethane), as well as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, were analyzed. The determination of effective diffusion coefficients (knowledge of which is required to study long‐term performance) was performed by means of a classical gas chromatographic technique and by a new method based on infrared spectroscopy. The reliability of the experimental procedure used is showed by comparing experimental and predicted aging, as the slope of the aging curve (i.e., thermal conductivity vs. time) depends only on effective diffusion coefficients. Our study of long‐term performance of foams blown with alternative blowing agents shows that hydrofluorocarbons represent a proper alternative to hydrochlorofluorocarbons, as the foams show similar initial thermal conductivity and a slower aging rate (i.e., better long‐term performance). POLYM. ENG. SCI. 45:260–270, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers.