In addition to important factors like thermal efficiency and moisture resistance, insulation in cold storage flooring needs to have adequate compressive strength characteristics. It must be capable of bearing the load of the other floor materials as well as the dynamic and static weight of stored goods and human activity in the cold storage facility.

Assessing Compression Behaviour for Cold Storage Flooring

The ability for a material like insulation to resist the loads applied to it is assessed and declared by measuring its compression behaviour. The test method for insulation materials involves a sample being placed between two plates of the testing apparatus with different degrees of force applied. The assessed compression behaviour of an insulation material can vary depending on the test method and standards. 

In one case, it can refer to the load that compresses the insulation by 10% of its thickness, resulting in relative deformation to the original sample thickness. Alternatively, it can refer to the load “at yield”, which is the point at which the insulation material can be described to have failed before compressing by 10%. 

Importance of Compressive Strength in Cold Storage Floors

An insulation material would never be used in a situation where it could potentially compress by 10%. The consequences of that much movement could not be tolerated by any materials in the construction of cold storage flooring. Assessing compression behaviour and specifying the correct insulation for flooring is essential for safety and the correct function of a cold storage structure.

Insulated concrete slabs are a common requirement in cold storage facilities. The insulation used in cold storage floors must therefore be capable of supporting heavy loads. This includes structural loads from the floor itself in addition to stored goods and dynamic loads from things like foot traffic and heavy vehicles driving across the floor. 

Compressive Creep

Another important consideration when specifying insulation for cold storage floors is accounting for compressive creep. Long-term loading creates a progressive compression that affects different materials in different ways. The long-term effect of loads therefore requires a different measure – compressive creep. Static weight from stored goods is more likely to be the cause of compressive creep.

Unfortunately, many insulation material manufacturers don’t test for compressive creep, as it requires a testing period from 122 days to 608 days, depending on the period of years being simulated – 10, 25 or 50 years. Some manufacturers declare compressive creep as ‘compressive strength at 2% compression’ or similar since the overall compression evidenced is typically around 2%. 

Compressive Strength Characteristics of XPS Foam

XPS foam offers one of the broadest ranges of compressive strengths and is one of the few insulation products where manufacturers invest the time to test and declare compressive creep. The uniformly distributed closed cells in XPS foam give it superior compressive strength characteristics. This makes it a reliable and long-lasting solution when used in cold storage floors that must bear heavy loads. 

XPS foam also has several other characteristics in addition to high compressive strength that make it ideal for use in cold storage flooring. It has a high, stable, and predictable thermal conductivity, is highly resistant to moisture, is incredibly durable and has a long lifespan. 

Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam series comes in a variety of sizes, thicknesses, and compressive strengths to meet the demands of any cold storage flooring specification. Technonicol’s Carbon Prof 300 and Carbon Solid 500 are ideal for cold storage flooring as Carbon Prof 300 offers a minimum compressive strength of 300 kPa and Carbon Solid 500 offers a minimum compressive strength of 500 kPa making them more than capable of accommodating the higher floor loads found in cold storage facilities. 

Related Questions

Why is water resistance so important?

Water is an excellent conductor of heat, so moisture drastically reduces the thermal performance of insulation. Moisture resistance is especially important in areas such as cold storage flooring. XPS foam insulation is a closed-cell insulation made via an extrusion manufacturing process meaning it is free of tiny voids or spacing between the cells unlike other materials like expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. This makes it highly resistant to water absorption and water vapour transmission.

Can XPS foam withstand freeze/thaw cycles?

A closed-cell construction enables XPS foam to resist freeze-thaw cycles, which is a key requirement for cold storage floor insulation. Moisture that gets into tiny gaps of other insulating materials will shrink and expand as it goes through the freeze/thaw cycle, causing it to deteriorate and lose its thermal performance over time.

The post Compressive Strength Requirements for Insulation in Cold Storage Floors appeared first on PLASTEK.

Stone wool, also called mineral wool, is a versatile, highly durable insulation material. It is uniquely capable of simultaneously providing thermal, acoustic and fire protection. The durability and high performance of stone wool makes it useful for a variety of applications, including pitched and flat roofs, flooring and external, internal and partition walls. 

Stone Wools Meets Two Main Aspects of Durability

There are two main aspects of durability to look for in any construction material. The first is its ability to maintain a constant performance in all important aspects such as thermal, mechanical, moisture or fire resistance. It should also have a long lifespan relative to its intended function. For example, a lifespan of 50 years or more should be considered for insulation products as buildings can remain standing for many decades. Stone wool meets both these requirements.

Durability is Sustainability

A durable construction product is a sustainable one. Stone wool insulation maintains a strong performance throughout its lifetime without needing maintenance or regular replacement. It is also recyclable and made from renewable resources. This means using it consumes less resources, creates less waste and its manufacturing impact is spread over long periods of time. Durability and eco-efficiency go hand-in-hand in helping us progress towards sustainable consumption and production.

Withstand Multiple Destructive Forces

Stone wool is fire resistant, waterproof, resistant to chemicals and microorganisms, and does not enhance the growth of bacteria and mould. It is also not prone to corrosion. This makes it particularly versatile in how it’s durable. That is, it can withstand the widest variety of destructive forces compared to other insulation materials. 

Fire resistance is a key feature of stone wool that distinguishes it from alternative materials. Stone wool insulation can have a significant impact on the fire safety of a building. Importantly, the fire safety properties of stone wool insulation do not deteriorate over time. Non-combustible stone wool improves the fire resistance of construction elements, and those fire resistance properties will remain over the life of the building.

Proven to be Durable Long-Term

Real-life sampling has proven that stone wool’s thermal performance remains constant over time. This is particularly important when it comes to investing in a house. The consistent thermal performance of walls, floors and the roof is crucial to ensuring that you do not suddenly face increased bills for heating or cooling after several years of use.

The performance of insulation products is determined by its thermal resistance

(R-value). While stone wool may have a slightly higher thickness than some other insulation materials in order to reach the same R-value, the most important thing is that its thermal performance does not decrease over time. The R-value of stone wool insulation will remain stable over the lifetime of the building.

Technonicol Stone Wool Supplied by Plastek

Technonicol produces premium quality stone wool insulations for roofing, walls/facades and sandwich panel applications. The fibrous structure of Technonicol stone wool products ensure excellent acoustic and sound-absorbing properties of the material.

Related Questions

What are the benefits of stone wool over other insulation materials?

The best insulation material varies according to the unique specifications of each project. Stone wool is an incredibly effective insulation that is chosen usually because of its fire resistance, sound insulation qualities and flexible ease of use.

Is stone wool environmentally friendly?

Typically, stone wool insulation contains up to 90% recycled content. The steel and iron ore industry produce millions of pounds of slag each year. Instead of sending that material to landfills, it can be recycled into high-performance insulation. Stone wool is produced using a virtually inexhaustible natural resource. The earth makes 38,000 times more rock every year through volcanic and oceanic activity than what is extracted to produce stone products.

The post 4 Key Durability Benefits of Stone Wool Insulation appeared first on PLASTEK.

Production Process

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) are both foam polystyrene products used for insulation. Polystyrene is a versatile synthetic material, useful because it is inert (doesn’t react with other materials), lightweight, cost-effective, and long-lasting. When used to create foam insulation, it offers a high level of thermal efficiency and an impressive strength-to-weight ratio. 

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is manufactured using a process of extrusion. This continuous process results in a closed cell structure that prevents water penetration to the structure of the insulation board and provides long term strength and durability.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation is manufactured using beads of foam within a mould, with heat or steam then applied directly to cause the beads to expand and fuse together. This process produces a closed cell structure but not a closed cell insulation board, as uneven voids occur between the beads. 

Compressive Strength

Compressive strength is a key requirement for challenging environments such as under slabs, foundations, and green roofs. When comparing XPS and EPS foam board densities, the compressive strength of XPS foam is typically much greater than that of EPS. For EPS foam insulation to achieve the same compressive strength performance as XPS foam, the density of the material would need to be increased.

Thermal Conductivity

Insulation is an essential and highly cost-effective way to improve a building’s energy efficiency. By improving the insulation in new and existing buildings, significant cost savings and reductions in energy usage can be achieved. Both XPS foam and EPS foam provide good thermal conductivity performance. However, the air trapped in the voids in the EPS conduct heat. XPS foam has a consistent long-term thermal resistance even in wet conditions and at very low temperatures.

Water Vapour Diffusion

Water vapour diffusion resistance (μ) of EPS foam ranges from around 30 to 70. XPS foam, on the other hand, has a water vapour diffusion resistance (μ) that ranges from around 80 to 250. This means XPS foam is better for wetter environments that require a higher water vapour diffusion resistance value.  

Moisture that gets into tiny gaps of EPS foam will shrink and expand. This significantly impacts its performance as an insulator on top of causing early deterioration. Closed cell XPS foam is water repelling and capable of withstanding over 1000 freeze/thaw cycles, ensuring long term durability at a relatively low cost. 

Technonicol XPS Foam – Resistant, Robust and Versatile Insulation

Technonicol offers thermal insulation boards made of high-quality extruded polystyrene. Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam series comes in a variety of sizes, thicknesses, and compressive strengths to meet the demands of almost every application and is:

• Extremely durable
• Capable of bearing heavy loads
• Highly resistant to moisture
• Guaranteed to have low, stable, and predictable thermal conductivity
• Able to withstand the stresses of temperature changes and freeze/thaw cycles.

Related Questions

What does closed cell mean?

XPS foam insulation is a closed cell insulation, meaning there are no tiny voids or spacing between the polystyrene cells. This is achieved through a manufacturing process that involves extruding the polystyrene through a die. EPS foam, on the other hand, is produced by expanding the polystyrene cell, which can lead to tiny, irregular gaps. A completely closed cell construction is essential for reducing heat transfer and resisting water absorption and water vapour transmission. 

Is XPS foam environmentally friendly?

XPS insulation is 100% recyclable and contributes enormously to reducing energy use. It lasts decades once installed, it significantly lowers the carbon footprint of the building over its lifespan.

The post What’s the Difference Between XPS and EPS? appeared first on PLASTEK.

Stone wool can be used for a range of applications including pitched and flat roofs, flooring and external and internal walls. Stone wool is waterproof, vapour-permeable, durable, recyclable, resistant to chemicals and microorganisms, and does not enhance the growth of bacteria and mould.

What is Stone Wool Made From?

Stone wool is a fibre-based, loose-fill insulation. It has the appearance of wool, however it is stiffer, denser and more fibrous. There are two main types of Stone insulation. The first comes from natural stone fibres such as molten basalt or diabase. This type of stone wool is sourced from volcanic rock. This rock is melted, processed and then spun into “wool” and bound together by different resins and oils.

The second is made from spinning slag. Slag is a byproduct resulting from the production of steel. Manufacturers can also make it from natural rock or a combination of molten slag, natural rock and even glass. Both types of stone wool are typically sold in batts and as loose-fill. Typically, mineral or stone insulation contains up to 90% recycled content.

Stone Wool Production Process

Raw materials used for the production of stone wool include volcanic stones such as diabase, dolomite and basalt as well as briquettes and cement. Major chemical compounds in the composition of those materials are oxides of silicon, aluminium, calcium, magnesium and iron.

1. The production process for stone wool begins with placing raw materials in a cupola furnace where they are melted at a temperature above 1400°C. Coke is used as a fuel during this melting process. Oil is also added to incinerate flue gasses
2. The melted mass is then brought to the wheels of a centrifuge where it gets unravelled into fibres. The centrifuge wheels break the mass into drops while air is blown to stretch the drops into fibres. As the mass becomes a mist of yarn, the fibres are blown into a collecting chamber.
3. Primary felt then reaches a wool precipitation system – the so-called pendulum system that enables achieving excellent insulation characteristics by providing a uniform distribution of fibers and high level of their intertwinement, thus providing more space for »air retention«, which is one of the most important conditions for insulation material functioning
4. In the polycondensation chamber, the process of polycondensation or binder fixing is carried out which together with fiber binding provides technical characteristics of the product. The process is carried out at 270°C with water evaporation and fixing of the binder added in the mass unravelling phase. All flue gasses are incinerated and purified, thus closing the circle of flue gas release.
5. The chamber process is followed by cutting of final products in to required dimensions, their stacking and packaging.

Benefits of Stone Wool

Stone wool creates an incredibly effective insulation that is easy to use. It installs like any batt insulation in the wall cavity, but it can be either flexible or rigid, delivering a variety of solutions to match different needs. Key benefits of stone wool includes:

• Fire resistance – Stone wool is safer than other insulation types in one important way – it’s typically much more resistant to fire. So, if a fire starts, it will delay the spread.
• Sound insulation – Stone wool is excellent at absorbing sound. This makes it great for dampening sound throughout buildings and creating sound barriers in homes between bathrooms and bedrooms, and in noisier spaces like living rooms or media rooms.
• Moisture repelling – Stone wool naturally repels water and moisture, so the long-term thermal performance of the insulation is not affected by water. Damp and mould can affect your home’s structural integrity, have a detrimental effect on its thermal performance, and compromise the respiratory health of its occupants.

Technonicol Stone Wool Supplied by Plastek

Technonicol produces premium quality stone wool insulation for roofing, walls/facades as well as special applications. The fibrous structure of Technonicol stone wool products ensures excellent acoustic and sound-absorbing properties of the material.

At Plastek, we have extensive experience consulting and supplying Technonicol insulation products, helping to optimise projects by specifying and supplying the ideal solution. We can recommend the right insulation product for your specific project, ensuring a functional and high-performance solution

Related Questions

Does stone wool contain VOCs?

One of the historical pitfalls of stone wool in the past is that it has been that it typically contained a binder to hold the fibres together. These binders used to use chemicals that contained volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde. The insulation would then off-gas these chemicals. This off-gassing ends up being dangerous for anyone installing the product and negatively impacts indoor air quality.

In recent years, VOCs are less of a concern since there’s been a general move in the industry towards using low or no VOC binders, mitigating those pitfalls. Unfortunately, they’re still around, so you need to pay attention when picking your stone wool products. Technonicol stone wool is free of VOCs.

Is stone wool environmentally friendly?

Stone wool insulation is mostly sourced from natural, renewable, or recyclable materials. The steel and iron ore industry produce millions of pounds of slag each year. Instead of sending that material to landfills, it can be recycled into high-performance insulation. Stone wool is produced using a virtually inexhaustible natural resource. The earth makes 38,000 times more rock every year through volcanic and oceanic activity.

Is stone wool dangerous to breathe?

The dust from stone wool can irritate the skin and eyes if a person comes into direct contact with it. Gloves and goggles should be worn when working with the insulation material. However, stone wool is not as harmful to breathe in as asbestos because the fibres are short and thick, meaning the body can easily expel them.

The post A Guide to Stone Wool Insulation and How It’s Made appeared first on PLASTEK.

A Brief History of Rigid Foam Insulation

In the 1950s, an inventor combined polystyrene and isobutylene, inadvertently creating a foam polystyrene product. This was used immediately in flotation devices during World War II. Since then, advancements in manufacturing and quality control have diversified the application of polystyrene.

As a hard, solid plastic, it can be used in laboratory ware, automotive parts, appliances, food packaging and electronics. When it comes to building insulation, polystyrene can be made into an insulating foam material, the most common being expanded polystyrene (EPS), and extruded polystyrene (XPS).

Polystyrene Foam Materials Compared

EPS and XPS foams are both manufactured from the petroleum-based resin, a thermoplastic based on non-cross-linked polymers. EPS is commonly used in eskys, packaging, cups and takeout containers. Made of 2% plastic and 98% trapped air, EPS foam consists of tiny polystyrene beads expanded many times their original size.

XPS foam on the other hand, consists of polystyrene resin crystals combined with additives and a gas-blowing agent, continuously extruded through a machine and then cut to length. XPS foam boards are the ideal option when it comes to specifying high quality insulation for buildings, including roofing and below grade applications.

Benefits of XPS Foam for Building Insulation

XPS foam is valued for its high level of thermal efficiency and strength-to-weight ratio. This is because it features a closed-cell construction, making it highly water resistant and capable of performing well as an insulator even in the most challenging situations. The important characteristic that distinguishes it from EPS foam is that there are no tiny voids or spacing between the polystyrene cells. This is a result of the continuous extrusion production process.

Having a completely closed-cell construction is essential for reducing heat transfer and makes XPS foam highly resistant to water absorption. This gives it the unique ability to maintain low thermal conductivity in the presence of large amounts of water. For this reason, it’s specified for applications such as building foundations, underground walls, inverted roofs (including terraces and green roofs), cold storage facilities, parking lots and any other situation that requires high durability and water resistance.

High-Performance Insulation for Construction

When specified as insulation in commercial construction projects, XPS foam can save approximately 200 times the amount of its embodied energy by increasing the building envelope efficiency. It also has impressive compressive strength characteristics, allowing it to be used in load bearing floors. This is important as floors are a huge source of thermal transfer.

A closed-cell insulation material like XPS foam can resist freeze-thaw cycles, ensuring long term durability at a relatively low cost. Moisture that gets into tiny gaps of EPS foam insulation will shrink and expand as it goes through the freeze/thaw cycle. This significantly impacts its performance as an insulator on top of causing early deterioration. XPS foam insulation is water repelling and is capable of withstanding over 1000 freeze/thaw cycles.

XPS Foam Improves Energy Efficiency in Buildings

The homogeneous closed-cell composition of XPS foam insulation ensures heat transfer and air leakage is entirely prevented. This is crucial as the energy losses caused by air leaks and a poorly insulated building has a drastic impact on heating and cooling costs. In both summer and winter, properly specified XPS foam insulation boards regulate a consistent temperature inside a building, regardless if whether conditions are wet or dry.

XPS foam insulation has a consistent and predictably tested long-term thermal resistance, even in wet conditions and at low temperatures. It also maintains its thermal and mechanical performance for long periods of time, meaning it’ll continue to perform at a high standard over the life of the building. It is also able to withstand the stresses of temperature changes and freeze/thaw cycles.

Technonicol XPS Foam Insulation for Commercial Construction

Technonicol produces premium quality thermal insulation boards made of extruded polystyrene. Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam insulation series comes in a range of sizes, thicknesses and compressive strengths to meet the demands of almost every application.

At Plastek, we have extensive experience consulting and supplying these XPS foam insulation products, helping to optimise projects by providing the ideal solutions. We can recommend the right Carbon XPS foam insulation product for your specific project, ensuring a functional and high performance solution for your building.

Related Questions

How long does XPS foam last?

XPS foam insulation is capable of lasting 100 years or more due to its rigid construction, meaning you never have to worry about replacing it.

Are rigid foam insulation boards a fire hazard?

Petroleum-based products are inherently combustible. However, insulation products manufactured by established companies must pass independent fire testing, whether it’s EPS or XPS, and be able to meet minimum safety requirements to ensure they don’t pose an unacceptable fire risk.

Is XPS foam bad for the environment?

XPS insulation can be salvaged during renovations and demolitions and is 100% recyclable. Using XPS foam insulation also contributes enormously to reducing energy use in a building. It lasts decades once installed and significantly lowers the carbon footprint of the building over its lifespan.

The post Tips for Specifying Rigid Foam Insulation appeared first on PLASTEK.

Green roofs not only absorb rainfall, reducing storm-water runoff but improves surrounding air quality, reduces the urban heating effect and improves the building’s insulation performance, leading to energy cost savings. The approach to designing and constructing a green roof varies depending on the type of roof, slope, accessibility and the climate.

Types of Green Roofs

Green roof types can be divided into three general categories – extensive, semi-intensive and intensive. What distinguishes them is the depth of the growing medium (soil) and roof accessibility desired.

• Extensive green roofs – Typically featuring a soil depth of less than 200mm, this is the most common type of green roof because it’s cheaper and easier to add to existing roofs. Compared to intensive and semi-intensive green roofs, water retention is limited, and the roof requires low maintenance plants with strong horizontal root systems, resistant to drought and capable of surviving temperature extremes. It is not intended for human access outside of maintenance.
• Intensive green roofs – Typically featuring a soil depth of up to 1000mm, these green roofs can accommodate a bigger, more diverse variety of vegetation. Intensive green roofs can handle much more weight and are designed more like a park or garden with large shrubs, trees, planter boxes, walking paths, tables, benches and small recreation areas. Intensive roofs require a far more complex support structure, making them more expensive and harder to maintain.

Semi-intensive green roofs are any approaches to green roof design that sit between these two categories or feature aspects of both. For example, they might allow for a very limited amount of public access in just one area.

Key Components of a Green Roof

Basic green roof components include the base roof deck, waterproofing layer and the green roof system:

• Structural deck – The roof deck may be flat or sloped or made from concrete, steel or wood. The design of the roof system will largely depend on the amount of load the roof structure can carry. When a vegetative roof is installed on an existing roof, it must be based on the loads that the roof can bear. Existing roofs usually can’t carry the heavy loads required for an intensive roof.
• Waterproofing layer – Located directly above the deck, this layer is designed as the final barrier to water intrusion and can be made of a range of materials including hot-fluid-applied rubberised asphalt, atactic polypropylene (APP), styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) modified bitumen sheets and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Membranes may be field formed or factory-fabricated sheets, which are either loose laid or fully adhered. Loose laid membranes allow for more imperfections in the overlay material but are subject to movement.
• Green roof system – This layer sits above the waterproofing layer and includes the insulation, membrane protection, root barrier, soil and vegetation. Additional components can be added based on the design of the roof. Extensive green roofs may have very few layers, while intensive roofs will typically have far more to support more complicated water retention, drainage and plant life. Depending on the type of vegetation and the climate of the area, growing mediums may include a blend of gravel, lava rock, synthetic fibers, shale, bark, peat and earth. The appropriate blend will depend on the necessary water retention.

In addition to the above components, other important features may include access boxes for water valves, electrical outlets, roof drains, irrigation systems, additional protection layers for the roofing membrane, maintenance lockers, dividers, public access amenities and lighting.

What Type of Insulation to Use in Green Roofs

The insulation layer is an essential aspect of a functioning green roof assembly. The selected insulation material must be designed for moist or damp environments and have a high resistance to compression. Extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam insulation is recommended for the insulating layer in green roof designs because it:

• Offers excellent thermal performance even while damp or wet
• Is highly resistant to water absorption
• Is unaffected by freeze/thaw cycles
• Can withstand the impact of surface traffic
• Can handle static and dynamic compressive weight
• Provides long-term protection to the waterproof layer
• Protects roof layers from UV and mechanical damage
• Is lightweight, aiding in water retention without increasing the overall weight of the green roof system layer.

XPS foam insulation is highly effective at reducing the amount of heat transferred into the building. The closed-cell structure of XPS foam gives it excellent rigidity and makes its highly resistant to compression. A minimum compressive strength of 300 kPa is required for insulation used above intensive green roof waterproofing membranes.

Technonicol XPS Foam – Ideal for Green Roof Insulation

Technonicol’s Carbon Prof XPS foam insulation boards offer a minimum compressive strength of 300 kPa, making them ideal for inverted green roof installations. Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam insulation series comes in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and compressive strengths to meet the demands of almost every application, including inverted green roofs on large domestic, commercial and industrial buildings.

At Plastek, we have extensive experience consulting and supplying these XPS foam insulation products, helping to optimise projects by providing the ideal solutions. We can recommend the right Carbon XPS foam insulation product for your specific project, ensuring a functional and high-performance solution for your building.

Related Questions

Do green roofs need drainage?

Proper drainage is crucial to the function and overall life expectancy of a green roof. If too little water is retained, vegetation will wither and die. If too much water is retained, excessive weight can damage the roof structure. In the case of sloped roofs, drainage occurs naturally due to gravity and as such, drainage mats are not typically used. Instead, a gravel perimeter on the roof directs excess water to rain gutters.

Can you put a green roof on an existing building?

Yes. However, waterproofing must be in good condition and ideally it should be no older than 5 years. An existing roof can usually only support an extensive green roof as intensive roofs require too many heavy layers for an existing roof to support without being specially designed for it. It is essential to carefully consider and appropriately design the type of green roof an existing roof deck can support.

How do you control the risk of roof collapse resulting from weight?

Green roofs add both static (from the added layers above the roof deck) and dynamic weight (from retained water and public access) to the building structure. When new green roofs are designed, the supporting roof structure is designed to address these loads. However, when a green roof is added to an existing roof deck, it is crucial that a structural engineer evaluate the roof to determine what, if any, additional loading the roof will bear.

Extensive roofs typically have a weight of 60 to 200 kg/m2. Intensive roofs typically have a weight of 180 to 500 kg/m2. Designers need to calculate total roof loading based on these weights, any accessories, and retained water at super-saturation. Care should also be taken to avoid altering the static loading of the roof, e.g. from changing soil or plant type or adding accessories, such as benches and tables. In severe cases, excessive loading can result in total roof support failure. Likewise, the dynamic loading of a roof must be closely monitored.

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Multi-storey car parks are an essential part of every modern city. While they seem like simple constructions, a well-built, safe, clean and long-lasting car park requires particular materials and design approaches. A key part of this is preventing water ingress through the car park deck, which can lead to damp, cracked, spalling concrete, slippery floors and damaging alkaline salts dripping onto car paintwork. Good design, including using the right insulation materials, is key to ensuring a car park is well constructed.

Car Park Deck Design

A car park deck is essentially a type of warm flat roof. In a warm roof construction, the insulation layer is installed above the structural deck and below the waterproofing layer. A car park deck is a warm roof where the imposed loads from vehicle weights are significant, meaning the design requires an insulation material capable of bearing heavy loads while maintaining its integrity. 

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam has a number of key characteristics that make it ideal for car park decks, including superior load-bearing performance, water repelling qualities and a flat, strong and dimensionally stable base for the deck overlay. In many car park deck constructions, the insulation layer is covered by a separating layer, screed and mastic asphalt or liquid-applied waterproofing. 

Benefits of XPS Foam in Car Park Decks

XPS foam has a high compressive strength for specialist applications such as car park decks, heavy duty flooring and inverted roofing. It also resists water absorption and provides excellent thermal performance. Other benefits include:

• XPS foam boards have a high strength-to-weight ratio, making them robust and highly durable while at the same time lightweight and easy to transport.

• XPS foam boards are long-lasting with a service life comparable with that of a car park, building or structure.
• XPS foam is durable enough to withstand the stress of heavy surface traffic and mechanical damage that may occur during installation and maintenance.

If the waterproofing layer is damaged in a car park deck, the XPS foam won’t be damaged by exposure to moisture or water. An important part of flat roof designs are the detailing and construction of suitable upstands around the roof edge. XPS foam boards limit heat loss due to thermal bridging where the flat roof joins with the external wall. 

Meeting Car Park Deck Load Requirements With XPS Foam 

The closed-cell structure of XPS foam gives it excellent load-bearing qualities. The material is extremely rigid and capable of withstanding both static and dynamic compression. Technonicol’s Carbon Prof 300 XPS foam offers a minimum compressive strength of 300 kPa and 500 kPa with Carbon Solid 500 XPS foam. This makes these XPS foam boards appropriate for car park decks

Technonicol XPS Foam – Ideal for Car Park Decks

Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam insulation series comes in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and compressive strengths to meet the demands of almost every application, including car park decks.

The post Specifying Insulation for Flat Roof Car Park Decks appeared first on PLASTEK.

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam has a number of unique features that make it ideally suited for demanding applications such as underneath pools, and as ground floor insulation in buildings. XPS foam maintains its robustness and water repelling characteristics when installed in contact with soil and can bear the weight of both concrete and water in a pool, making it the essential insulation solution. 

Benefits of XPS Foam in Pool Basins

Unlike other forms of foam such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), XPS foam is tolerant of damp or wet environments. This means it can be installed on the outside of the pool structure and tanking/waterproofing while still delivering its impressive thermal performance, even in the presence of a lot of water. 

Technonicol is a leading manufacturer of closed cell XPS foam, offering a wide range of strong, lightweight, moisture repelling and easy to cut boards. Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam series comes in a range of sizes, thicknesses and compressive strengths to meet various project demands. For example, Carbon Prof 300 has a compressive strength of 300 kPa and Carbon Solid 500 has a compressive strength of 500 kPa, which both offer more than enough compressive strength to withstand the weight of a pool when installed underneath it.

Is It Necessary to Insulate a Swimming Pool Basin?

It’s a good idea to thermally insulate swimming pool basins regardless of whether it’s legally required or not in order to reduce the energy required to maintain a certain water temperature. This reduces energy costs and ensures pool operation is more eco-friendly. 

The Importance of Preventing Heat Loss

It’s well understood that heat evaporates from the top of swimming pools. However, the sides and bottom of the pool also lose significant amounts of heat and are often not considered by builders. Whether the pool is above-ground or in-ground, these other areas of the pool lose heat into the surrounding environment, especially when in direct contact with soil. 

Using XPS foam can prevent up to 80% of heat loss from your pool compared to not having it at all. The extra cost of installing XPS foam is easily recouped within two years of installing it simply through the energy cost savings.

What Makes XPS Foam Water Resistant?

A lifetime of exposure to retained water makes it essential that any insulation used in a swimming pool retains its R-value, possesses compressive strength and other crucial properties while exposed to water. For that reason, XPS foam is almost exclusively used for insulating the bottom of pools. Insulation materials suitable for use in building construction above ground should not be used in a swimming pool where contact with moisture would make them lose all their insulating properties, rendering them useless. 

When you use XPS foam, it’s guaranteed to work effectively and long-term in a swimming pool construction. The hydrophobic and homogeneous closed-cell structure of XPS foam is what makes it durable and highly resistant to water intrusion. It performs much better than expanded polystyrene (EPS), another plastic insulation that XPS is commonly compared to.

The post How to Insulate Swimming Pool Basins appeared first on PLASTEK.

When designing an inverted flat roof, the primary consideration is where thermal insulation is placed in relation to the roofing membrane (waterproofing layer). Choosing the right insulation ensures the final construction is durable, waterproof, long lasting and provides the necessary thermal performance. Extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation features unique properties that make it ideal for inverted flat roofs.

Cold vs Warm Roof Construction

Depending on where insulation is placed, a typical roof construction can be described as cold or warm. In a cold roof construction, insulation lies below the structural deck and remains cold. This creates a risk of condensation which is commonly reduced by placing a ventilated space above the insulation. However, this approach is rarely used in temperate, humid climates such as those found in Australia.

In a warm roof construction, the insulation is installed above the structural deck and below the waterproofing layer. This succeeds at reducing the risk of condensation, but it means the waterproofing layer is thermally isolated from the rest of the roof construction. This exposes it to wide temperature fluctuations, potentially leading to premature failure. An inverted roof design overcomes the problems of both cold and warm roof constructions.

What is an Inverted Roof Design?

Inverted roofs, which can also be called upside down or protected membrane roofs, resolve the problems of cold and warm roof designs by installing insulation above the waterproofing layer, keeping it at an even temperature close to that of the building interior. This also protects the waterproofing from UV radiation, weathering and mechanical damage during construction, use and maintenance.

The waterproofing layer in an inverted roof design acts as a total vapour control layer and can be maintained above dew point temperature since it is on the warm side of the insulation, minimising the risk of condensation. For this design to work, you must use XPS foam insulation as it has the necessary characteristics to withstand the conditions above the waterproofing layer.

The Importance of XPS Foam in Inverted Roof Design

XPS foam insulation offers excellent thermal performance and features unique properties that differentiate it from other types of foam insulation such as EPS foam. For example:

• XPS foam is resistant to rain, snow, frost and water vapour, enabling the material to withstand repeated freeze/thaw cycles.
• XPS foam is resistant to acids, salts and fungus, as well as being clean, odourless and free from dust.
• When properly installed, XPS boards have a service life comparable with that of the building or structure.
• Due to its homogeneous closed-cell structure and uniform density, XPS foam can be cut very accurately and to very close tolerances.
• XPS foam is durable enough to withstand surface traffic and is resistant to UV and mechanical damage that may occur during installation and maintenance.
• The boards have a high strength-to-weight ratio, making them robust and highly durable while at the same time lightweight and easy to transport.

XPS foam is ideal when higher compressive strength, higher water resistance and higher thermal resistance in the presence of water are required. XPS foam insulation boards can be loose-laid on top of the membrane and then weighted down with paving slabs, gravel ballast or soil medium if creating a green roof.

Technonicol XPS Foam – Ideal for Inverted Roof Insulation

Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam insulation range comes in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and compressive strengths to meet the demands of almost every application, including inverted flat roofs on large domestic, commercial and industrial buildings.

At Plastek, we have extensive experience consulting and supplying these XPS foam insulation products, helping to optimise projects by providing the ideal solutions. We can recommend the right Carbon XPS foam insulation product for your specific project, ensuring a functional and high-performance solution for your building.

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Cold storage facilities often need to maintain low operating temperatures of up to -30°C. Without effective insulation that limits heat gain, a lot of stress is placed on refrigeration equipment and energy usage and running costs can quickly get out of control. Cold storage floor insulation requires performance in 3 key areas.

1. Thermal Performance

All insulation is designed to block the flow of heat from warm areas to cooler areas, but different materials vary significantly in their thermal performance. Rigid XPS foam boards are the best option for cold storage applications because they are durable and have high R-values.

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam is ideal as it is the most versatile and reliable, offering stable, long-term R-values regardless of the application. Other insulation materials can become less effective over time, leading to higher energy costs as time goes on.

2. Moisture Performance

Water is an excellent conductor of heat, meaning moisture reduces the thermal performance of insulation. This makes it crucial to consider moisture resistance, especially in areas such as under concrete slabs. XPS foam insulation is a closed-cell insulation made via an extrusion manufacturing process.

As a result, XPS foam insulation is free of tiny voids or spacing between the cells unlike other materials like EPS. This makes it highly resistant to water absorption and water vapour transmission so it can maintain a high R-value even in the presence of a lot of water.

A closed-cell construction also enables XPS foam to resist freeze-thaw cycles, which is a key requirement for ground floor insulation. Moisture that gets into tiny gaps of other insulating materials will shrink and expand as it goes through the freeze/thaw cycle, causing it to deteriorate and lose its R-value over time. XPS foam repels water and can withstand more than 1000 freeze/thaw cycles.

3. Compressive Strength

As mentioned earlier, insulated concrete slabs are a common requirement in cold storage facilities. The insulation used must be capable of supporting heavy loads. This includes structural loads from things like stored goods and dynamic loads from things like heavy vehicles driving across the floor.

The uniformly distributed closed cells in XPS foam give it superior compressive strength characteristics. This makes it a reliable and long lasting solution when used in cold storage building foundations and floors bearing heavy loads.

Technonicol XPS Foam – Ideal for Cold Storage Insulation

XPS foam insulation is ideal because it has a high, stable and predictable thermal conductivity, is resistant to moisture and is highly durable. Technonicol’s Carbon XPS foam insulation series comes in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and compressive strengths to meet the demands of any cold storage application.

For example, Technonicol’s Carbon Solid XPS foam is ideal for loading bearing floors in cold storage facilities. It offers a minimum compressive strength of 500 kPa, making it more than capable of accommodating higher floor loads in cold storage facilities.

Contact Plastek for Cold Storage XPS Foam Insulation

At Plastek, we have extensive experience consulting and supplying XPS foam products, helping to optimise projects by providing the ideal solutions. We can recommend the right Carbon XPS foam product for your specific project, ensuring a functional and high performance solution for your building.

Related Questions

How is EPS foam made?

EPS is made by placing small beads of polystyrene polymer in a mould and then expanding them by applying heat or steam to the mould. This process fuses the beads together in irregular patterns. This tends to result in tiny gaps being left between the foam cells. The continuous extrusion process used to produce XPS foam insulation leaves no such tiny gaps.

Why is XPS foam a better insulator than EPS foam?

The voids found in EPS insulation conduct heat due to the air and any water that gets inside them.

How long does XPS foam last?

Due to its firmness and water resistance, XPS foam insulation will generally last 100 years or more. XPS insulation is also 100% recyclable and can be salvaged once a building is remodelled or demolished.

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