GB1592096A

GB1592096A - Insulating materials

Info

Publication number: GB1592096A
Application number: GB4316477A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Industria Italiana Petroli SpA
Current assignee: Industria Italiana Petroli SpA
Priority date: 1976-10-18
Filing date: 1977-10-17
Publication date: 1981-07-01
Also published as: FR2367716B1; IT1089605B; DE2746783A1; CH617979A5; DE2746783C2; FR2367716A1

Abstract

The material solves the technical problem of thermal and acoustic insulation of public buildings by the use of a heat- and sound-insulating material which essentially consists of granular elements or fibres of cork, asbestos, expanded polystyrene, pumice and other materials of low bulk density, coated beforehand with a cold or hot bituminous emulsion or with heat-softened bitumen. The elements can also be packed down to form panels which can be erected directly, or they can be used loose, i.e. poured, into appropriately prearranged spaces in the building structures which are to be insulated.

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO INSULATING MATERIALS (71) We, INDUSTRIA ITALIANA PETROLI S. p.A., an Italian company, of Piazza della Vittoria, Genova, Italy, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to thermal and/or acoustic insulating materials.

It is known to use material having a low heat conductivity to provide the insulation of walls, roofings and floors of civil and industrial buildings.

As a rule, these materials are produced and placed in position in the form of continuous panels or mats, whereas it is less frequent to use loose insulation materials, in the form of fibrous or granular elements, which, on account of their wide availability and the optimum heat-transfer capacity, would lend themselves fairly for the use contemplated herein.

On the other hand, irrespective of the kind and form of the insulation material used, it is known that the heat-transfer coefficient, which is measured, as a rule after having dried the insulation material, and is intended to characterize the same, is increased, that is worsened, rapidly as a result of the moisture which is present in all practical applications; in addition, for a greater number of the insulation materials of current use, progressive physical decay is experienced in the insulation structure and in the insulation efficiency.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a thermal and/or acoustical insulating material comprising a fibrous and/or particulate natural or man-made insulating material coated with an adhesive and waterproofing material, the fibrous and/or particulate material having a grit size approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density according to Fuller's parabola.

Preferably, the adhesive and waterproofing material comprises one or more bituminous materials.

The particulate (e.g. granular) or fibrous insulating materials composed by cork or polystyrene or polyurethane, either unexpanded or expanded, or by asbestos or pumice or expanded clay, or by any other synthetic or natural material which is endowed with an appropriately low heat-transfer coefficient.

The waterproofing or protection materials can be composed by unoxidized bitumen having a penetration comprised between 40 and 220 dmm (tenths of a millimeter), or by oxidized bitumens having a penetration comprised between 10 and 40 dmm, or by filler-free or filler-containing bituminous emulsions or suspensions, or by any appropriate material which possesses binding and waterproofing properties.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided structures including a material according to the invention which may be: laid loosely, rammed or compressed; formed into porous panels, which are partially rammed or compressed; or formed into waterproof panels which are rammed or compressed so as to deprive them of intergranular interconnected void spaces. The mixture of the particulate or fibrous material with the bituminous material can be employed to prepare insulating structures which really possess the theoretical heat-transfer coefficient which characterizes the dried material. In addition, these structures, as they are composed by waterproofed elements, are moisture-resistant and remain unaltered and efficient for a time which is much longer than that of the structures formed with the conventional insulation materials.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, such insulating structures can be prepared in the following manners: a) With loose materials, that is, with natural or synthetic insulation materials composed by particulate or fibrous materials, waterproofed and protected by admixture with an appropriate hot or cold bituminous material or other adhesive and waterproofing material, and subsequently by laying such materials in the loose state in position and subsequent setting due to the hardening of the bituminous material and possible ramming thereof.

b) With porous prefabricated panels, that is, obtained with particulate or fibrous materials of natural or synthetic insulation materials, which have been water-proofed as set forth under a) and bonded to one another by the material with which they have been coated in a) or by another adhesive and waterproofing material.

c) With waterproof prefabricated panels, that is, prepared with the same elements as under b) but prepared with maximum-density compositions and with ramming while cold or hot so as to obtain panels without interconnected intergranular interstices.

d) With coated prefabricated porous panels, that is, as under b) but with a special waterproof and protective coating on either surface or both (possibly also on the edges), as obtained by applying one or more layers of an appropriate bituminous material, either hot or cold, or of another waterproofing and adhesive material, and a sheet or a sheath of an equally waterproof and protective material.

e) With coated prefabricated waterproof panels, that is as under c), but with a special waterproof and protective coating on either surface or on both (and possible also on the edges), as prepared as under d).

TABLE 1 reports by way of example the compositions of a few insulating materials corresponding to the type disclosed under b).

TABLE 1 Composition, % by weight Type b b b b Granulated expanded 9.8% - - 13.6% polystyrene granulated pumice - 75.5% - granulated expanded clay - - 81.4% Hydrated lime 2.0% - 2.0% 325 Portland cement - - - 2.9% Ground rubber scrap - 1.0% 2.0% Bitumen, 40 to 50 dmm - 23.5% 14.6% Filler-free anionic bituminous - - - 83.5% emulsion Filler-containing bituminous 88.2% - - emulsion Heat transfer-coefficient kilocalories/ meter-hour- C 0.043 0.128 0.134 0.040 Average test temperature, "C 20.1 20.2 20.1 20.2 The addition of the bituminous material to the insulating particulate or fibrous materials modifies but slightly the heat-transfer coefficient thereof, as can be seen by comparing the values tabulated in the previous TABLE with those reported below, which are the original values:: Heat-transfer coefficient kilocalories/meter . hour.0C Granulated expanded polystyrene 0.029 at 20"C Granulated pumice 0.095 do.

Granulated expanded clay 0.075 do.

In addition, as can also be seen in the values reported immediately above, the heat-transfer coefficient of these insulating mixtures with bitumen is much lower than that of the masonry work to be insulated (bricks : 0.6 to 0.8 kilocalories/meter.hour."C) and is at any rate normal for the materials used for insulation.

Still with reference to the data set forth above, it is noted, in the composition of the admixtures, that there are small percentages of filler materials (lime, cement, ground rubber scraps): these additions are due to the advisability of imparting to the admixtures an improved stability and mechanical resistance, along with thermal resistance, according to the known technology of adding to bituminous materials and compounds limy and/or natural or synthetic elastomeric additives.

The characteristic feature of the invention, of course, is due not only to the value of the thermal conductivity of the basic insulation materials which are used, but, above all, to the adhesive, binding and protecting properties of the bituminous or other materials which are adopted (possibly supplemented by the additional waterproofing and protection as imparted by the coating sheets or sheaths when the panels are coated thereby) and to the methods of preparation and application of the materials for making the insulation structures, for which the respective technological operations will be described hereinafter.

Loose-fill insulating materials The preparation of this type of materials may take place by admixing the particulate or the fibrous materials with unoxidized or oxidized bitumens, while hot, or with filler-free or filler-containing bituminous emulsions, while cold, or with other appropriate materials which are similarly endowed with adhesive, binding, waterproofing and protective properties.

According to the type of the particulate or fibrous insulating materials which are employed and to the kind of adhesive and waterproofing material, the mixing step can be carried out hot in the usual mixing installations for bituminous agglomerates for road paving or in conventional asphalt-melting cauldrons, equipped with stirrers, or cold in concrete mixers, and must be continued until such time as all the ingredients have completely been coated by the adhesive and waterproofing material.

The admixture, when still in the loose state, is then placed in position on horizontal or sloping baseplates (such as foundation floors or ceilings or into vertical chambers (spaces between two masonry courses) and is rammed if necessary.

The setting of the mixture takes place by the agency of hardening of the adhesive and waterproofing material, and can be encouraged or improved by ramming.

Porous prefabricated panels At the outset, the admixture of the particulate or fibrous materials with the adhesive and waterproofing material is prepared as in the previous example.

Then the manufacture of the porous panels is proceeded with by ramming or partial compression of the mixture within specially provided moulds or on conveyor belts.

In order to accelerate the setting and thus the production cycle, the panels can be caused to pass through air-conditioned enclosures (these are cooled or heated, respectively, if the insulating materials have been admixed with hot unoxidized or oxidized bitumen, or with cold bituminous emulsions or solutions).

The application of the prefabricated panels takes place with adhesion, or not, to the vertical, sloping or horizontal supporting structures to be insulated, or by merely inserting the panels in chambers and, whenever practicable, by sealing the edges of the adjoining panels with appropriate bituminous materials (or by heating in the case of an adhesive and waterproofing material which has been previously applied to the panel edges during manufacture) .

The adhesion of the panels to the laying plane is achieved by the previous application (spreading or spraying) of a dissolved bituminous primer or a cold bituminous emulsion and, upon, drying, of an adhesive layer hot unoxidized or oxidized bitumen).

It is also possible to resort to fastening the panels to the laying plane by metal staples which, if necesary, can also hold a supporting wire gauze for applying a plastering to the surface of the panels which is possibly exposed.

Waterproof prefabricated panels The preparation of the mixture and the panels takes place as in the previous example, but with the following special cautions which are directed to achieve the waterproof property of the panels: - use of a grit size (actual) of the particulate and/or fibrous material approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density (Fuller's parabola) corresponding to the maximum size of the particulate and/or fibrous material used (see the accompanying plot in which on the abscissae axis are reported, in the lower range, in millimeters, the diameters of the circular holes indicated with the symbol Q) or the sides ("openings") of the square meshes of the sieves indicated with the symbol fl and, in the top range, are indicated the corresponding sieve sizes according to the ASTM specifications, whereas on the ordinate axis is indicated, on the left side, the percentage which passes through the sieve and, on the right, the percentage which remains on the sieve. In such a plot, having the abscissae scale doubly logarithmic, the 2nd-degree parabolas such as the Fuller's are represented by straight lines.

- dosage of the binder commensurated to the intergranular voids to be filled and to a residual void space percentage of less than 4%.

- total ramming (at constant volume) of the mixture while hot or cold consistently with the kind of adhesive and waterproofing material used, also by exploiting the deformability of a few types of particulate and fibrous materials.

The application of the waterproof prefabricated panels takes place with the same procedure described for the porous panels, the only caution being that, wherever practicable, the sealing of adjoining panel is strongly recommended.

Coated prefabricated porous or waterproof panels In the first place, the preparation of the porous or waterproof panels is carried out as in the previous examples. Thereafter, the application of the waterproof and protective layer on either surface or both of the panels is effected (possibly also the edges are coated) by the following steps: - spreading or spraying a waterproofing and adhesive material (hot unoxidized or oxidized bitumen, for example bitumen with a penetration ranging from 10 to 220 dmm, or a cold bituminous filler-free or filler-containing emulsion of a bituminous solution, and so on).

- glueing waterproof and protective sheets (e.g. Kraft paper, either plain or silicone coated on one side, smooth aluminium, embossed or knurled aluminium bitumen felt boards or bituminous liners or sheaths).

As regards the application of the prefabricated coated panels, the procedure is the same as that for the uncoated panels.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A thermal and/or acoustic insulating material comprising a fibrous and/or particulate natural or man-made insulating material coated with an adhesive and waterproofing material, the fibrous and/or particulate material having a grit size approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density according to Fuller's parabola.

2. A material as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fibrous and/or particulate material is cork, polystyrene, polyurethane, asbestos, pumice or expanded clay.

3. A material as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the adhesive and waterproofing material comprises one or more bituminous materials.

4. A material as claimed in claim 3, the fibrous and/or particulate material having been coated when cold with a filler-free or filler-containing solution or emulsion of a bituminous material.

5. A material as claimed in claim 3, the fibrous and/or particulate material having been coated when hot with a bituminous material having a penetration between 10 and 220 dmm.

6. A material as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described.

7. A structure including a layer of thermal and/or acoustic insulating material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 which is laid in position loosely or is rammed or compressed.

8. A structure as claimed in claim 7, substantially as hereinbefore described.

9. A panel made of a thermal and/or acoustic insulating material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, the individual fibres and/or particles of the material being bonded to one another.

10. A panel as claimed in claim 9, the panel being free of interconnected void spaces.

11. A panel as claimed in claim 9 or 10, the panel being coated on either or both

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. and, upon, drying, of an adhesive layer hot unoxidized or oxidized bitumen). It is also possible to resort to fastening the panels to the laying plane by metal staples which, if necesary, can also hold a supporting wire gauze for applying a plastering to the surface of the panels which is possibly exposed. Waterproof prefabricated panels The preparation of the mixture and the panels takes place as in the previous example, but with the following special cautions which are directed to achieve the waterproof property of the panels: - use of a grit size (actual) of the particulate and/or fibrous material approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density (Fuller's parabola) corresponding to the maximum size of the particulate and/or fibrous material used (see the accompanying plot in which on the abscissae axis are reported, in the lower range, in millimeters, the diameters of the circular holes indicated with the symbol Q) or the sides ("openings") of the square meshes of the sieves indicated with the symbol fl and, in the top range, are indicated the corresponding sieve sizes according to the ASTM specifications, whereas on the ordinate axis is indicated, on the left side, the percentage which passes through the sieve and, on the right, the percentage which remains on the sieve. In such a plot, having the abscissae scale doubly logarithmic, the 2nd-degree parabolas such as the Fuller's are represented by straight lines. - dosage of the binder commensurated to the intergranular voids to be filled and to a residual void space percentage of less than 4%. - total ramming (at constant volume) of the mixture while hot or cold consistently with the kind of adhesive and waterproofing material used, also by exploiting the deformability of a few types of particulate and fibrous materials. The application of the waterproof prefabricated panels takes place with the same procedure described for the porous panels, the only caution being that, wherever practicable, the sealing of adjoining panel is strongly recommended. Coated prefabricated porous or waterproof panels In the first place, the preparation of the porous or waterproof panels is carried out as in the previous examples. Thereafter, the application of the waterproof and protective layer on either surface or both of the panels is effected (possibly also the edges are coated) by the following steps: - spreading or spraying a waterproofing and adhesive material (hot unoxidized or oxidized bitumen, for example bitumen with a penetration ranging from 10 to 220 dmm, or a cold bituminous filler-free or filler-containing emulsion of a bituminous solution, and so on). - glueing waterproof and protective sheets (e.g. Kraft paper, either plain or silicone coated on one side, smooth aluminium, embossed or knurled aluminium bitumen felt boards or bituminous liners or sheaths). As regards the application of the prefabricated coated panels, the procedure is the same as that for the uncoated panels. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A thermal and/or acoustic insulating material comprising a fibrous and/or particulate natural or man-made insulating material coated with an adhesive and waterproofing material, the fibrous and/or particulate material having a grit size approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density according to Fuller's parabola.

6. A material as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described.

8. A structure as claimed in claim 7, substantially as hereinbefore described.

surfaces and/or on its edges with an adhesive and waterproofing material and/or with a sheet or sheath of waterproofing and protecting material.

12. A panel as claimed in claim 11, wherein the adhesive and waterproofing material is a bituminous material.

13. A panel as claimed in claim 9, substantially as hereinbefore described.

14. A method of preparing a thermal and/or acoustic insulating material, which comprises mixing a fibrous and/or particulate natural or man-made insulating material having a grit size approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density according to Fuller's parabola with an adhesive and waterproofing material so that each fibre or particle is coated with the adhesive and waterproofing material.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the adhesive and waterproofing material is a hot unoxidised or oxidised bituminous material or a cold filler-free or filler-containing emulsion or solution of a bituminous material.

16. A thermal and/or acoustic insulating material prepared by a method as claimed in claim 14 or 15.

17. A method of thermally and/or acoustically insulating a structure, which comprises laying a thermal and/or acoustic insulating material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 loosely on a horizontal or sloping surface of the structure or in the interior of a chamber of the structure and allowing the adhesive and waterproofing material to bond the individual fibres and/or particles to one another.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the loosely laid insulating material is rammed or compressed.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the loosely laid insulating material is rammed or compressed by vibrating plates.

20. A structure which has been thermally and/or acoustically insulated by a method as claimed in claim 17, 18 or 19.

21. A method of making a panel, which comprises mixing a fibrous and/or particulate natural or man-made insulating material having a grit size approximating to the maximum theoretical packing density according to Fuller's parabola with an adhesive and waterproofing material, and ramming or compressing the mixture in a mould or on a conveyor belt.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the adhesive and waterproofing material is a bituminous material.

23. A method as claimed in claim 21 or 22, wherein the panel is coated with an adhesive material, and a sheet of waterproofing and protecting material is bonded to the panel.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the adhesive material is a bituminous material.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the adhesive material is a hot unoxidised or oxidised bituminous material, or a cold filler-free or filler-containing emulsion or solution of a bituminous material.

26. A method as claimed in claim 24 or 25, wherein the bituminous material has a penetration of from 10 to 220 dmm.

27. A method as claimed in any of claims 23 to 27, wherein the sheet is Kraft paper coated with silicone oil on one side, smooth aluminium, embossed or knurled aluminium, bitumen felt board, or a bituminous liner or sheath.

28. A panel when made by a method as claimed in any of claims 21 to 27.