GB2551049A

GB2551049A - Self-adhesive closed-cell solid-foam insulation material

Info

Publication number: GB2551049A
Application number: GB1708626.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Scott Robert; Aled Thomas Matthew; Paul Cox Adrian; Joseph Lavery Michael; Nicholas Crabtree Andrew; Davies Alison; Selbie Stewart
Original assignee: Bostik SA
Current assignee: Bostik SA
Priority date: 2016-05-31
Filing date: 2017-05-31
Publication date: 2017-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-31
Also published as: GB2550927B; GB201609524D0; FR3051713B1; GB2550927A; FR3051713A1; GB2551049B; DE102017111945A1; GB201708626D0

Abstract

The insulation comprises at least one deformable, closed cell, thermoplastic foam 2 bonded 4 to a facing layer 1 on one surface and a peelable protective layer 6 on the other surface. The release layer 6 is bonded to the cellular material 2 using a pressure sensitive adhesive 5. The bendable foam 2 contains gas filled cells 3. Preferably the adhesive films 4, 5 comprise viscoelastic butyl rubber and are 10-200 µm thick and have coat weight = 10-200 g/m2. The preferred foam 2 is 2-10 mm thick and comprises adhesively bonded polyethylene foam layers with 90% of cells having largest dimensions = 0.5-3 mm. The insulation is used in heating, ventilation or air conditioning pipes or ducting, and is installed by cutting to size before removing the release film 6 and adhering the material using light pressure to apply the adhesive faced layer 5 to the region to be insulated.

Description

Self-adhesive closed-cell solid-foam insulation material

Introduction

The present invention provides an acoustic or thermal multi layered sheet material, in particular an acoustic or thermal insulation multi layered sheet material suited for use on heating, ventilation, air conditioning pipes and ducting.

It is well-known that noisy equipment or environments need to be isolated to limit noise around them. Typical examples include rooms containing engines or pipes or ducts that traverse living or work spaces. The purpose of isolation is to limit the transmission of sound waves to the external environment. To this end a wide variety of insulating materials are provided commercially that can be fixed in place around the sound emitting equipment, pipe or room. Typically, the insulating material is a multi-layer laminate containing mineral wool or equivalent to provide the sound damping effect. Such laminate panels are fixed with wire netting, banding and associated fasteners such as wall plugs and screws. This type of product is well-known and has a number of limitations. The principal limitations are that the acoustic panels are large, heavy, difficult to handle and are not easily installed.

Fixing in place requires skill, and as the performance is reduced if the panels are not correctly fitted, the possibility for easy adjustment of insulation on final inspection of work would be highly desirable.

The requirement for thermal insulation is also a widespread requirement to reduce heat flow, while limiting requirements for heating or cooling by insulating between environments separated by the insulation. Commercial solutions are numerous and building regulations often require a certain level of thermal insulation, such as in new buildings.

Whilst acoustic insulation is available in many forms there is an ongoing need for providing such insulation with a broader spectrum of sound frequency reduction, lighter in weight and more convenient to install. In particular, whilst acoustic insulation may be tailored for a specific application in general building applications it is preferable that acoustic insulation operate over a wide spectrum of wavelengths and this is not often achieved. A further aspect of insulating materials is the use as barriers to combustion by providing flame retardancy. This generally carries a different set of requirements to those for thermal insulation and for acoustic insulation. Specifically, a balance between providing a low flammable product mass and a higher mass for absorbing sound is required.

The aforementioned issues of insulation to reduce acoustic, thermal and fire transmission are well-established and in the construction of buildings and associated services a wide range of different insulation materials have been made available depending upon the particular balance of properties required.

In the present instance, there is a particular need for improved insulation for use in a riser of a building. A riser being a vertical shaft through a portion of the building, such as top to bottom of the building which serves the purposes of carrying services such as gas, water, electricity and the soil stack. A soil stack being a large diameter pipe for channelling wastewater from a building. Insulation for use in this situation carries a number of requirements, thermal insulation is important to stop condensation such as from warm building air against cold incoming services such as water or gas. It is also important to give protection from water so that if a leak such as in a water inlet or soil stack occurs electrical cabling is protected or at least water does not go outside insulation on the water pipe. Low gas permeability is also useful to channel any minor gas leakage along the length of the pipe to where it may exit a structure, this is also being relevant to a soil stack were minor leaks can give rise to undesirable smells.

Additionally, insulation for use in the specific environment needs to be easily applied, risers are usually kept to a minimum size as they do not provide usable space in the building for the occupants and installation of services side-by-side by different trades persons, such as plumbers and electricians means that insulation may need to be applied retrospectively across all the services in a confined space. A further issue is that insulation needs to be robust such that it is not easily broken or torn on application or on removal and reapplication such as is required in maintenance. Typical metal foil is easily torn and adhesive compositions have relatively high adhesive strength. There is therefore a need for a mechanically robust insulation material.

Similarly, ongoing maintenance may require that insulation be readily removed and reapplied.

There is therefore a need for a form of insulation that provides an advantageous combination of features such as low profile, flexible, light, easily applied, and easily remove d and reapplied. The material should provide, depending on the application, a combination of acoustic, thermal, water and gas inhibiting properties with consistent fire resistance properties.

One problem frequently encountered when applying self-adhesive materials is that an incorrect positioning or unskilled smoothing can result in unsightly lumps and folds which in the case of a self-adhesive insulation may result in less efficient insulation. It is therefore desirable to provide a selfadhesive material which can be unpeeled without damage, adjusted before being reapplied. This would limit waste resulting from discarding material that had been removed and participate in the efficacy of the material by assisting in its correct application.

In view of the above, while some forms of insulation may be excellent in specific respects there is still the need for an improved and certainly alternative forms of insulation with a wide spectrum of efficacy. The physical robustness of the insulation is also important.

One form of material that is widely used in packaging but has also found uses in insulation is known as 'bubble wrap', this material comprises of a sheet of plastic onto which are regularly distributed raised cells of flat cylindrical form containing air. The raised cells are arranged in a regular pattern with a given dimension and are spaced apart from one another.

Physical insulation structures relevant to the present invention have been disclosed. US 2014/0199537 discloses a foam material with an adhesive face and aluminium foil cover. The present invention representing optimisations of this general technology, particularly for use in building construction. JPH09210291 discloses a pipe with integrated insulation that incorporates bubble layer insulation to limit heat transmission and JPH0989357 discloses material for forming ducting also including a bubble layer for acoustic insulation purposes. DE2307559 discloses an adhesive tape incorporating insulation but this is designed to be wound onto pipes and is fiddly to use and apply properly. US 8343614 describes a metallized polymeric film reflective insulation material directed to insulating packaging, vehicles or a building but does not give any particular consideration to any installation issues FR 2011059895 describes a repositionable acoustic insulation for floors using natural felt fibres to provide the acoustic reduction.

Another problem that arises is that insulation provided on pipework or ducting at installation is removed, broken or damaged during maintenance or by general wear and tear. Since replacing the insulation may be a skilled job, and at least time-consuming and inconvenient, if it is not immediately replaced by personnel during maintenance. This means that areas that may have been insulated to a high standard initially become progressively less well insulated as time goes on if the insulation cannot be reapplied or is not readily adapted to being easily replaced.

There is therefore a need, addressed by the present invention to provide lightweight, easily installed acoustic or thermal insulation that meets the same performance criteria as existing products in terms of the aforementioned properties but across a wide spectrum of insulation properties, which can be easily removed for better positioning, can be re-applied after a period of time or to allow access to the insulated area. In addition, whilst providing effective insulation properties the material also is preferably mechanically robust in both tensile strength and resistance to cracking on bending.

Statement of Invention

The present invention in its various aspects is as set out in the appended claims.

The present invention provides a multi-layer sheet material for providing acoustic and thermal insulation, the material comprising the layers: a) a facing layer adhered by, b) a facing bond layer (4), comprising an adhesive film, to a; c) one or a plurality of, closed cell solid foam layers (2) comprising gas filled cells (3) of deformable thermoplastic, in the form of a solid foam and which layer is adhered to; d) an adhesive faced layer (5), presenting a pressure-sensitive adhesive face; which is in contact with e) a peelable protective release paper or film (6), for in use, to be peeled away to reveal the pressure sensitive adhesive face such as for adhesion to a surface to be insulated.

Solid foam (feature c) A solid foam is produced by forming gas bubbles within a liquid that is then solidified to trap the gas within the cells. Solid in this sense meaning solid as opposed to liquid or gas rather than rigid. The foam is preferably flexible, such as provided by a foamed polyethylene.

Closed cell foam A closed-cell foam is a foam in which there is no communication between the cells. In a closed-cell foam, the gas forms discrete pockets, each completely surrounded by the solid material. A closed cell foam is preferred for thermal insulation since it provides a barrier to convection. Closed cells also provide advantages where leaks may occur since any liquid will not spread through the solid foam layer, as may happen in fibrous insulation.

Polydisperse size dispersion

The solid foam layer of the invention may have cells which have a polydisperse size distribution, i.e. they are of a plurality of different sizes. Reducing the propagation of a broad spectrum of sound, requires the limitation of the transmission of both long and short sound waves. The polydisperse size distribution of the cells provides cells of smaller and larger dimensions; small cells are preferable for thermal insulation whereas acoustic performance is benefitted by larger cell sizes. Having a polydisperse size distribution in the solid foam layer is a practical way to provide both smaller and larger cells in a single layer. Such foams are preferably formed by extrusion in a single operation.

The solid foam layer, such as produced by extrusion of air entrained in a polymer, preferably comprises cells which are usually described as irregular polyhedra. Such cells have minimal wall material and are hence lighter. The preferred cells of the present invention are elongate, such as elongate polyhedral, this providing two dimensions, for broader spectrum sound inhibition. Dimensions may be measured by cutting a cross section through the foam and measuring dimensions thus exposed. For the purposes of the present invention the dimensions of such cells are defined by measurement along a randomly placed cross-section (such as obtained by cutting the material with a sharp knife) and in the plane of that cross-section. For consistency, the cross-section cut is made perpendicular to the plane of the facing layers. A 20x binocular microscope with a graticule is used. 90% is 90% by number of 100 adjacent cells.

The cells may be partially elongate, if elongate 90% of the elongate cells of the present invention may have a longest dimension of from 1.5 to 3 times the shortest dimension, measured as above for the longest dimension. 90% of the cells of the solid foam layer may a longest dimension of from 0.01 to 5mm, preferably 90% of the cells of the solid foam layer have a longest dimension of from 0.5 to 3mm. For multilayer solid foam embodiments (such as 4 and 5 below) the solid foam layer has a longest dimension of from 0.5 to 2.5mm.

These dimensions are preferred as heat transmission by convection within the cells is limited, and heat transmission by conduction is limited by the heat transfer properties of the gas within the cells.

The solid foam layer of the invention may vary between 2 and 10mm in thickness and is more preferably between 3mm and 5mm which gives a good balance of performance with respect to the thickness of the material, i.e. its bulk, with respect to its weight. In some embodiments, more than one solid foam layer, a plurality, may be present, preferably two layers. Indeed, it has been found that the acoustic performance improves with the additional layers of solid foam having the same overall thickness, rather than a single layer of thicker foam.

Thermoplastic

The thermoplastic of the solid foam layer is preferably polyethylene. The thermoplastic may incorporate one or more fire retardant additives.

The thermoplastic is deformable, this means that at 25°C the material may be manually manipulated without cracking breaking or permanently distorting in use. This property may be simply that inherently derivable from a polyolefin, such as polyethylene.

Gases in solid foam

The gas trapped within the cells of the closed cell solid foam may preferably be air which has good thermal insulation performance and is easily incorporated into the cells. The gas may more preferably be nitrogen or argon so as to improve both thermal insulation and to avoid providing oxygen for combustion. The gas may comprise one or more of FE-13, 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-Heptafluoropropane, FE-25, haloalkanes, bromotrifluoromethane, trifluoroiodomethane, NAF P-IV, NAF S-lll, NAF S 125, NAF S 227, and Triodide (Trifluoroiodomethane) to provide flame suppression.

Multilayer construction

The multi-layer construction of the sheet material provides particular advantages in reducing noise: the reflective foil layer, the facing bond layer, the solid foam layer, the adhesive faced layer combine to limit acoustic transmission and reverberation. Each change in material means that the sound must traverse boundaries, attenuating the sound transmission. The solid foam providing a plurality of such boundaries. Sound isolators reduce transmission of sound while sound absorbers reduce reverberation.

Plurality of foam layers

The solid foam may be present as a single layer or a plurality, preferably 2, laminated closed cell solid foam layers by being bonded together on a common face (rather than an edge). This provides a further boundary and improved sound reduction.

Sheet material

The novel features of the sheet material of the present invention provide an insulation material which can be easily handled, such as with a density of less than 250kg/m^ (low weight compared to current products) for a product that is 5mm thick (low bulk for the level of insulation achieved) and provides acoustic (particularly broad-spectrum acoustic) and thermal insulation alongside fire retardancy, which sheet material is also understood to be lighter, less dense and thinner than existing products for the provision of an equivalent set of properties. A further advantage is that it is sufficiently flexible to cover small asperities or fit around corners and the weight of a typical lOM long roll is within manual handling legislation for holding at arm's length which is often needed when install insulation in building, e.g. in ducts and cavities.

Adhesive faced layer, pressure sensitive adhesive (feature d)

The adhesive faced layer is a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive adhered on one face to the solid foam layer and whose other face is a pressure-sensitive adhesive face with which the sheet material is adhered to the object to be insulated.

In the present invention, the adhesive faced layer may be a relatively thick viscoelastic layer, such as of a butyl adhesive or it may be a relatively thin adhesive film, such as an acrylic adhesive.

The material has a pressure sensitive adhesive face consequently no additional fixings are required for installation, which presents advantages as fixings can act as thermal bridges which reduce thermal efficiency or provide paths for the transmission of sound.

Pressure sensitive adhesives are characterized by three properties: tack which is the ability to bond instantly under light pressure, peel strength which is the ability to resist removal from a surface and shear the ability to resist internal cohesive failure under a shearing force.

Type of adhesive

The adhesive faced layer may be a viscoelastic layer (e.g. embodiments 1, 2 and 4) preferably whose viscoelastic properties also enhance the acoustic performance of the material. A viscoelastic material is one which exhibits both viscous and elastic properties when undergoing deformation.

The adhesive faced layer may be a butyl polymer; this is typically provided as a thick 'putty' type layer and is good for adhesion on irregular surfaces but can reduce fire retardance characteristics. Advantageously the adhesives may be hydrophilic adhesives for fixing to plasterboard or a hydrophobic adhesive for fixing to polyethylene pipe: two common applications of insulation in construction. In embodiments where the adhesive faced layer is a viscoelastic layer, its thickness varies between 0.1 and 1.5 mm and is most preferably between 0.4 and 0.6mm. Such a thick viscoelastic layer has the advantage of binding to uneven surfaces and the adhesive mass of this layer can deform as a whole to conform to contours in its thickness range, e.g. 0.1 to 1.5mm, hence a thicker 0.4 to 0.6 layer is preferred. A very thick layer may reduce flame retardancy characteristics. In embodiments where adhesive faced layer is a viscoelastic layer, a viscoelastic layer may be a repositionable adhesive.

In other embodiments (e.g. 3 and 5), the adhesive faced layer may be an adhesive film. The adhesive film of the adhesive faced layer may have a thickness of between 0.01 and 0.2mm, most preferably between 0.02 and 0.06mm. In those embodiments, the coat weight of the adhesive film is between 10 and 200g/m^ and is preferably between 20 and 50 g/m^. Preferably the adhesive film is a water based acrylic adhesive or a hotmelt resin adhesive. An adhesive film has advantages in that it lowers the weight of the product and has an improvement on the fire resistance performance and is more preferred when smoother surfaces are to be adhered to. In particular, the variability between measurements performed on fire resistance tests is reduced giving a more consistent fire-resistant property.

In embodiments where adhesive faced layer is an adhesive film, the adhesive film may be a repositionable adhesive. Since application is important it can be useful to the user that the material can be applied and then taken off and repositioned easily without damaging the material which would cause waste. The repositionable adhesive also allows the insulation to be removed and reapplied at a later date during maintenance interventions, for example.

Pressure sensitive adhesives are characterized by three properties: tack which is the ability to bond instantly under light pressure, peel strength which is the ability to resist removal from a surface and shear the ability to resist internal cohesive failure under a shearing force. Repositionable adhesives have low peel strength to allow for the material to be removed and stable tack over time. The repositionable adhesive is preferably an acrylate copolymer with a suspension of microspheres. The composition may comprise: 88-99 weight percent of at least one unsaturated vinyl monomer selected from non-tertiary alkyl acrylates; 0.2 - 5 weight percent of at least one emulsifier monomer and 0-10 parts weight of at least one zwitterionic monomer. US patent 3922464 describes a repositionable adhesive and other repositionable adhesive are well known by those skilled in the art and are readily available.

The adhesive faced layer may have a 180° peel adhesion of a maximum of 225g and more preferably of 30g. The adhesive may have a loop tack after a 1 second dwell of up to 350g and more preferably in the range 350g to 90g. A repositionable adhesive faced layer has the following properties when tested on #304 stainless steel, which has a #3 surface finish: 180° peel adhesion of a maximum of 225g and loop tack after a 1 second dwell of up to 350g: and after 1 day dwell 180° peel adhesion of a maximum of 250g and loop tack up to 400g. These parameters have been found to define a material which is repositionable in the normal sense of the word in this technical area.

More preferably the repositionable adhesive faced layer has the following properties when tested on #304 stainless steel, which has a #3 surface finish: 180° peel adhesion of 20-40g and loop tack after a 1 second dwell of 80 to lOOg: and after 1 day dwell 180° peel adhesion of a maximum of 20 to 50g and loop tack up to 150g. These properties provide the insulating material with excellent repositionable characteristics such that an operative can realistically insulate, return after a period of time (in the measurement after one day but in practice adhesion rarely changes significantly after a number of minutes adhesion) and repositionable a 1 m^ sheet of material without using undue force or causing the material (such as the Test 1 material described below) to rip.

The above measurements relate to harmonised international standard for Peel Adhesion of Pressure Sensitive Tape; Method A; such as can be found at http://www.pstc.org/fiies/pubiic/lQl.pdf.

The skilled person in this technical area can obtain suitable adhesives by specifying the above parameters and the services to which the adhesion should take place as this chemical basis for this technology is well established.

Facing bond layer (feature b)

In the present invention, the facing bond layer (4), comprises an adhesive film or may be a viscoelastic layer (as described above, but with higher peel adhesion, if it is capable of peeling at all). An adhesive film may also be present as the adhesive faced layer. The facing bond layer is preferably irreversibly bonded.

The type of adhesive will generally be selected by the skilled person depending upon the specific surfaces to be adhered and preferred compositions are provided herein. The weight of that adhesive film per unit area is also provided.

The adhesive film according to the above criteria may be provided in several ways: for the facing bonding layer this is preferably provided by means of a pre-prepared aluminium foil adhesive tape in which the adhesive film is already attached to the aluminium foil. Techniques for providing such foil and such files are known in the industry and may, for example, be prepared by spraying or extruding an adhesive onto an aluminium foil. Such a pre-prepared aluminium foil can then be added to the closed solid foam layer during production of the multi-layer sheet material of the present invention by bringing the form and foil in contact under pressure. This provides a fast and convenient means of forming part of the structure of the material of the present invention. In terms of the final product this has the advantage that irregularities in the solid foam, which is made up of a plurality of bubbles, are covered over by the pre-prepared aluminium foil adhesive tape and evened out if the relatively stiff (e.g. 50μΓπ) foil is pressed against the solid foam during adhesion such that the solid foam reforms to form a more even face better suited to present a flatter interface with high contact area so that if the material is repositioned during use and particularly if the two adhesive layers are of the same material than the adhesive layer which will always give way first is the adhesive face layer as that will have the lower contact area. In other words, potential delamination of the material, in use, is reduced

An adhesive film present as the adhesive face layer is preferably provided in the form of a carrier film, (e.g. 5 to 50pm thick) such as polyethylene, onto which adhesive is sprayed or extruded on both sides. This double sided adhesive tape is then provided with the peelable protective layer and also adhered to the solid foam, this has the advantage that irregularities in the solid foam, which is made up of a plurality of bubbles, are covered over by the carrier film and to some extent evened out if the carrier film is pressed against the solid foam during adhesion such that the solid foam reforms to form a more even face better suited to present a flat adhesive face layer for subsequent adhesion during use - this providing more consistent adhesion to surfaces to which the material is applied.

Facing bond layer weight and thickness (feature b)

The facing bond layer may be a viscoelastic layer preferably whose viscoelastic properties also enhance the acoustic performance of the material. A viscoelastic material is one which exhibits both viscous and elastic properties when undergoing deformation. The adhesive faced layer may be a butyl polymer; this is typically provided as a thick 'putty' type layer and is good for adhesion on irregular surfaces but can reduce fire retardance characteristics. Advantageously the adhesives may be hydrophilic adhesives for fixing to plasterboard or a hydrophobic adhesive for fixing to polyethylene pipe: two common applications of insulation in construction. In embodiments where the adhesive faced layer is a viscoelastic layer, its thickness varies between 0.1 and 1.5 mm and is most preferably between 0.4 and 0.6mm. Such a thick viscoelastic layer has the advantage of binding to uneven surfaces and the adhesive mass of this layer can deform as a whole to conform to contours in its thickness range, e.g. 0.1 to 1.5mm, hence a thicker 0.4 to 0.6 layer is preferred. A very thick layer may reduce flame retardancy characteristics.

Alternatively, a facing bond layer consisting of an adhesive film, located between the facing layer (such as the metal foil) and the solid foam layer, provides the bonding of the facing layer with the solid foam layer. The adhesive film has a thickness of between 0.01 and 0.2mm and is most preferably between 0.02 and 0.06mm. The coat weight of the adhesive film is between 10 and 200g/m^ and is preferably between 20 and 50 g/m^ Preferably the adhesive film is a water based acrylic adhesive or a hotmelt resin adhesive. The adhesive film provides adherence between the facing layer and the solid foam layer but has a low weight and improved fire retardancy properties. It is thought that additional voids provided between the film and the solid foam layer also contribute to the thermal and acoustic properties of the multilayer sheet material.

Additional adhesive films may also be present between the first solid foam layer and a second solid foam layer and further solid foam layers. If present additional adhesive films have a thickness of between 0.01 and 0.2 mm and are most preferably between 0.02 and 0.06mm. The coat weight of additional adhesive films is between 10 and 200g/m^ and is preferably between 20 and 50 g/m^. Preferably the adhesive films are a water based acrylic adhesive or a hotmelt resin adhesive. Preferably further adhesive films have the same properties as the facing bond layer adhesive film to facilitate manufacture.

Facing layer (feature a)

The facing layer is an outer layer when the sheet material has been adhered to an object to be insulated. The facing layer has a thickness of between 10 and 500 pm. The facing layer may be a layer of metallic foil such as aluminium, in which case the foil may have a thickness of between 50 and 200pm. The facing layer may be a protective facing layer. The facing layer may be selected to have particularly desirable, such as protective, properties for construction such as: fire retardance, heat reflection (preferably by having a shiny metallic finish), chemical resistance or water resistance in order to incorporate those requirements to the construction without an additional product being required. A metallic foil layer is particularly advantageous because it lowers the transmission of heat by reducing the emissivity of the material when provided with an external shiny, reflective metal finish and also has fire retardant properties. The metallic foil layer may be a laminate construction. Such a laminate may comprise a polyester on the surface bonded to the solid foam layer. The polyester layer may preferably be polyethylene terephthalate. The metal foil may have a lacquer on its outer surface. The lacquer may preferably be a nitrocellulose lacquer. The metal foil may combine a lacquered surface and a polyester layer. The laminate construction of the foil provides tensile strength to the foil of the facing layer, and allows efficient bonding to the next layer. The lacquered surface prevents galvanic corrosion should the aluminium layer be in contact with another metal. A combination of the two coatings advantageously provides improved tear strength.

Peelable protective release paper or film (feature e)

To protect the adhesive, face a peelable protective release paper or polymer film is included as an additional layer located on the adhesive face of the adhesive layer. The release paper or film may be a polypropylene film. The release paper or film may be surface treated, preferably with a silicone release agent and most preferably a methyl silicone release agent. This layer allows the user to expose the adhesive face of the product in use immediately before installation, which is convenient and the adhesive layer adheres in situ when required.

Advantages of roll form

To facilitate handling and use, the layer material may be supplied in roll form. This has the advantage of supplying a large quantity of material while remaining easy to store and handle. The roll is preferably presented such that the peelable protective release paper or film is on the external face of the roll, facilitating application by allowing application of the insulation material as the material unrolls progressively. This is particularly so for the present invention as by placing the non-extendable metal foil on the inner side the side which is stretched is the adhesive side and when rolled onto a flat surface, or even onto a curved surface, such as a pipe or tube then this provides a higher surface area adhesive for better adhesion, in particular when an adhesive film is used, and adhesive film which is stretched entirely flat is not necessarily an optimum binding surface when presented to rough surfaces such as found in building construction. As part of this preferred roll form the release film has a crepe texture. This texture provides for rolling with the adhesive face externally without splitting the film or creasing the aluminium foil.

Kit

Another aspect of this invention is an insulation kit of parts, incorporating the multilayer material associated with similar material in adhesive tape form for fixing the edges and covering any gap.

Additional facing layer

Another type of layer which may be incorporated allows acrylic paint to be applied directly to the surface in locations where it is desirable to have a painted finish to match existing decor. This addresses the problem of existing insulations which do not allow the application of water based paints. Such a layer is the outermost layer in any laminate and is the outermost layer of the whole sheet material. The layer may be aforementioned polyester construction modified to increase hydrophilicity; this having a contact angle with water at 25°C of between 10 and 80°.

The invention also comprises a method for insulating an object in which the sheet material herein described is cut to size and applied with light pressure to the object.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross section of the material of Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the material of Embodiment 3 and Embodiment 4

Figure 3 shows a roll of the material as supplied to a construction site

Embodiment 1

This embodiment of the multi-layer sheet material comprises a facing layer (1) which in the exemplary embodiment is an aluminium foil chosen for its heat reflective characteristics. The thickness of the aluminium foil is 50pm and this thickness contributes to the sound deadening properties of the material. The aluminium foil itself is a laminate construction comprising a nitrocellulose based lacquer on the external surface and a polyethylene surface on the reverse. This aluminium foil layer (1) is bonded to a facing bond layer of polymer, a viscoelastic butyl polymer (4) which is bonded to the first surface of a solid foam layer (2). The solid foam layer consists of polydisperse irregular polyhedral cells (3) containing air; the cell walls (3) are formed of polyethylene. The cells are continuously distributed through the solid foam layer; the cells have an average size between 1 and 4mm, preferably between 2 and 2.5mm. For irregular shaped cells the size is the maximum dimension. In this embodiment, the thickness of the solid foam layer is approximately 3mm.

The second surface of the solid foam layer (2) is adhered to a viscoelastic butyl polymer layer and then to an adhesive faced layer presenting a pressure-sensitive adhesive face (5), which in this embodiment is a repositionable adhesive of a type well known in the art of pressure sensitive adhesives

Another layer on the surface of the adhesive faced layer (5) is a release film (6) of a type well known in the art of pressure sensitive adhesives, allowing the release film (6) to be peeled off easily to reveal the adhesive faced layer (5) immediately before installation. The release film (6) is polypropylene and has been treated with a silicone release agent, it has a crepe texture.

The material may be supplied in rolls as illustrated in Figure 2 which is convenient for handling purposes. The rolls are presented such that the peelable film is on the external face of the roll in order to facilitate the application of the material. For the embodiment described above, with a roll of 10m long by Im wide, for a thickness of 5mm, the weight of a roll is typically 18 kg, a weight which is in the low-risk zone of a manual handling risk assessment for carrying and lifting based on 2 lifts per hour (as defined from UK Government leaflet INDG383 06/14). Moreover, it is the low weight of the multilayer material which allows it to be fixed using a conventional repositionable pressure sensitive adhesive, as described in the embodiment above which provides significant benefits in terms of ease of application.

The person using the material cuts the required size of material required from the roll. The release paper (6) is unpeeled from the material at the top edge of material to be installed and the adhesive face (5) is presented to the wall or duct to be insulated. When the top edge has been stuck in place, the rest of the release paper (6) is removed and the whole panel is smoothed and stuck onto the wall or duct. If the quality of the application is deemed insufficient, the material can be peeled off and reapplied.

Similar panels are cut and stuck side by side to cover the whole area required and an adhesive tape is used to secure the joins. The adhesive tape with the same construction as the present invention can be used which has an advantage of maintaining acoustic or thermal performance should any gaps have been left at the installation phase, or for small fiddly areas, it may be more convenient to use tape of a width of 5 to 10 cm.

The effective operating temperatures of the present embodiment range from -30°C to + 150°C. Embodiment 2

With reference to figure 1, this embodiment of the multi-layer sheet material comprises a facing layer (1) which in the exemplary embodiment is an aluminium foil chosen for its heat reflective characteristics. The thickness of the aluminium foil is 50pm and this thickness contributes to the sound deadening properties of the material without reducing flexibility unduly. The aluminium foil itself is a laminate construction comprising a nitrocellulose based lacquer on the external surface and a polyethylene surface on the reverse. This aluminium foil layer (1) is bonded to an adhesive film (4), which is bonded to the first surface of a solid foam layer (2). The solid foam layer consists of polydisperse irregular polyhedral cells (3) containing air; the cell walls (3) are formed of polyethylene. The cells are continuously distributed through the solid foam layer; the cells have an average size between 1 and 4mm, preferably between 2 and 2.5mm. For irregular shaped cells the size is the maximum dimension. In this embodiment, the thickness of the solid foam layer is approximately 3mm.

The second surface of the solid foam layer (2) is adhered to a viscoelastic butyl polymer layer which presents a pressure-sensitive adhesive face layer (5).

Embodiment 3

With reference to Figure 1, this embodiment of the multi-layer sheet material comprises a facing layer (1) of aluminium foil. The thickness of the aluminium foil is 50pm. The aluminium foil itself is a laminate construction comprising a nitrocellulose based lacquer on the external surface and a polyethylene surface on the reverse. This aluminium foil layer (1) is bonded to an adhesive film (4), which is bonded to the first surface of a solid foam layer (2). The solid foam layer consists of polydisperse irregular polyhedral cells (3) containing air; the cell walls (3) are formed of polyethylene. The cells are continuously distributed through the solid foam layer; the cells have an average size between 1 and 4mm, preferably between 2 and 2.5mm. For irregular shaped cells the size is the maximum dimension. In this embodiment, the thickness of the solid foam layer is approximately 3mm.

The second surface of the solid foam layer (2) is adhered to an adhesive film presenting a pressure-sensitive adhesive face (5), optionally the adhesive is a repositionable adhesive.

Another layer on the surface of the adhesive faced layer (5) is a release film (6) of a type well known in the art of pressure sensitive adhesives, allowing the release film (6) to be peeled off easily to reveal the adhesive faced layer (5) immediately before installation. The release film (6) is polypropylene and has been treated with a silicone release agent, it has a crepe texture. This texture provides for rolling with the adhesive face externally as preferred, and as mentioned above.

Embodiment 4

With reference to Figure 2, this embodiment of the multi-layer sheet material comprises a facing layer (1) of aluminium foil. The thickness of the aluminium foil is 50pm. The aluminium foil itself is a laminate construction comprising a nitrocellulose based lacquer on the external surface and a polyethylene surface on the reverse. This aluminium foil layer (1) is bonded to an adhesive film (4), which is bonded to the first surface of a first solid foam layer (2). The first solid foam layer consists of polydisperse irregular polyhedral cells (3) containing air; the cell walls (3) are formed of polyethylene. The cells are continuously distributed through the first solid foam layer; the cells have an average size between 1 and 4mm, preferably between 2 and 2.5mm. For irregular shaped cells the size is the maximum dimension. In this embodiment, the thickness of the first solid foam layer is approximately 3mm.

The second surface of the first solid foam layer (2) is adhered to an adhesive film (7) which is bonded to the first surface of a second solid foam layer (20). The second solid foam layer consists of polydisperse irregular polyhedral cells (3) containing air; the cell walls (3) are formed of polyethylene. The cells are continuously distributed through the second solid foam layer; the cells have an average size between 1 and 4mm, preferably between 2 and 2.5mm. For irregular shaped cells the size is the maximum dimension. In this embodiment, the thickness of the second solid foam layer is approximately 3mm.

The second surface of the second solid foam layer (2) is adhered to an adhesive film presenting a pressure-sensitive adhesive face (5).

Embodiment 5

The second surface of the second solid foam layer (2) is adhered to viscoelastic butyl polymer layer which presents a pressure-sensitive adhesive face (5).

The material may be supplied in rolls as illustrated in Figure 3 which is convenient for handling purposes. The rolls are presented such that the peelable film is on the external face of the roll in order to facilitate the application of the material. For embodiment 1 described above, with a roll of 10m long by Im wide, for a thickness of 4mm, the weight of a roll is typically 11 kg and for embodiment 2 the weight of a roll is reduced to 4.5 kg, unlike precursor sheet materials whose rolls typically weighed 18kg. For embodiment 3 described above, with a roll of 10m long by Im wide, for a thickness of 4mm, the weight of a roll is typically 15 kg and for embodiment 4 the weight of a roll is reduced to 7.5 kg, unlike precursor sheet materials whose rolls typically weighed 18kg.

This reduced weight is in the low-risk zone of a manual handling risk assessment for carrying and lifting based on 2 lifts per hour (as defined from UK Government leaflet INDG383 06/14). Moreover, it is the low weight of the multilayer material which allows it to be fixed using a pressure sensitive adhesive, as described in the embodiment above which provides significant benefits in terms of ease of application.

The effective operating temperatures of the present embodiments range from -30°C to + 150°C.

The performance characteristics of the material described in these embodiments have been tested and are as follows, results of test BS 476 Part 6:1989 +A1 and BS476 Part 7:1997 demonstrate that the product as tested complies with the requirements for Class 0 part B (Fire Safety) to the Building Regulations 2000.

The material was tested by using a sample as a barrier between a sound source and an acoustic device which were located 150 mm apart. A 12v battery connected sound source operating at 3000 Hz, insulated around the sides was used to provide a directional sound source. A Precision Gold Sound Meter N05CC was used to measure the sound.

The test was repeated using different samples of the multilayer sheet material and its constituent layers in order to quantify the acoustic performance.

Test samples:

Test sample 1 - Multilayer sheet material Embodiment 1

Bubble size between 0.5 and 3mm in all samples unless otherwise stated.

All size determinations as described above.

Test sample 2 - Butyl and Aluminium

Test sample 3 - Butyl (typical)

Test sample 4 - Polyethylene solid foam and Aluminium

Test sample 5 - Aluminium

Test sample 6 - Dense Foam Multilayer sheet material Cf Embodiment 1

Bubble size between 0.01 to 1mm

Test sample 7 -Multilayer sheet material with adhesive film and butyl adhesive faced layer Embodiment 2

Bubble size range for foam 0.25 to 1.5mm.

Test sample 8 -Multilayer sheet material with adhesive film adhesive faced layer Embodiment 3

Bubble size range for foam 0.25 to 1.5mm.

Test sample 9 -Multilayer sheet material with adhesive films and two foam layers adhesive film adhesive faced layer Embodiment 4

Bubble size range for foam 0.25 to 1.5mm.

In all cases Bubble size range refers to the 90% of the cells by number of the solid foam layer.

Test sample 10 -Multilayer sheet material with adhesive films and two thin foam layers adhesive film adhesive faced layer

Bubble size range for foam 0.25 to 1.5mm.

Test sample 11 - Solid Foam Layer

Test sample 12 - Aluminium Adhesive film + Aluminium layer

Results of acoustic testing

Results obtainable are as follows:

_

The results demonstrate that the combination of the multilayer sheet material achieves a better sound reduction than the sum of its constituent parts. *rounded up to nearest db. For reference, a 5mm bubble size foam 'Test 1' appears ineffective in sound reduction and can readily collapse on fire testing giving irreproducible results. For reference, a 5mm bubble size foam 'Test 1' appears ineffective in sound reduction and can readily collapse on fire testing giving irreproducible results.

For reference, a 5mm bubble size foam 'Test Γ appears ineffective in sound reduction and can readily collapse on fire testing giving irreproducible results.

The highest acoustic performing material is from Test sample 6 but this material has drawbacks linked to its weight and fire performance. Test sample 7 showed a good acoustic performance followed by Test sample 9 and finally Test sample 8 with its simpler construction. Different applications require different combinations of acoustic, thermal, fire and weight.

Results of fire testing BS 476 Part 6: 1989 Results obtainable are as fol ows:

BS 476 Part 6: 1989 requires that an average result of 12 or less is obtained from 3 consecutive sample out of 5. Hence, some of the 3 samples may be over 12. If this occurs then variability is stated as high. If all three samples fall below 12 then variability stated as low.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are as follows. 1. A multi-layer sheet material for providing acoustic and thermal insulation, the material comprising the layers: a) a facing layer adhered by, b) a facing bond layer (4), comprising an adhesive film, to a; c) one or a plurality of, closed cell solid foam layers (2) comprising gas filled cells (3) of deformable thermoplastic, in the form of a solid foam and which layer is adhered to; d) an adhesive faced layer (5), presenting a pressure-sensitive adhesive face; which is in contact with e) a peelable protective release paper or film (6), for in use, to be peeled away to reveal the pressure sensitive adhesive face such as for adhesion to a surface to be insulated. 2. The material of any preceding embodiment in which the adhesive film of the facing bond layer (4) has a thickness between 0.01 and 0.2 mm. 3. The material of embodiment 2 in which the adhesive film of the facing bond layer (4) has a thickness between 0.02 and 0.06mm. 4. The material of any preceding embodiment in which the adhesive film of the facing bond layer (4) has a coat weight between 10 and 200g/m^. 5. The material of any preceding embodiment in which the adhesive film of the facing bond layer (4) has a coat weight between 20 and 50g/m^. 6. The material of any preceding embodiment wherein the adhesive faced layer (5) is an adhesive film. 7. The material of embodiment 6 in which the adhesive film of the adhesive faced layer (5) has a thickness between 0.01 and 0.2 mm. 8. The material of embodiment 7 in which the adhesive film of the adhesive faced layer (5) has a thickness between 0.02 and 0.06mm. 9. The material of embodiment 6 in which the adhesive film of the adhesive faced layer (5) has a coat weight between 10 and 200g/m^. 10. The material of embodiment 9 in which the adhesive film of the adhesive faced layer (5) has a coat weight between 20 and 50g/m^. 11. The material of any of embodiments 6 to 10 in which the adhesive film of the adhesive faced layer (5) is a repositionable adhesive. 12. The material of embodiments 6 to 11 in which the adhesive faced layer has the following properties when tested on #304 stainless steel, which has a #3 surface finish: 180° peel adhesion of a maximum of 225g and loop tack after a 1 second dwell of up to 350g. 13. The material of embodiment 12 in which the adhesive faced layer has the following properties when tested on #304 stainless steel, which has a #3 surface finish: 180° peel adhesion of 20-40g and loop tack after a 1 second dwell of 80 to lOOg. 14. The material of any of embodiments 1 to 5 in which the adhesive faced layer (5) is a viscoelastic layer. 15. The material of embodiment 14 wherein the viscoelastic adhesive faced layer (5) is a butyl polymer. 16. The material of any preceding embodiment in which the facing layer (1) is a metallic foil. 17. The material of embodiment 16 in which the facing layer (1) comprises aluminium foil. 18. The material of embodiment 16 or 17 in which the thickness of the foil is between 50 and 200pm. 16. The material of any preceding embodiment wherein the deformable thermoplastic forming the solid foam is polyethylene. 17. The material of any preceding embodiment wherein the deformable thermoplastic forming the solid foam comprises one or more fire retardant additives. 18. The material of any preceding embodiment in which the gas filling the cells in the solid foam is air. 19. The material of any preceding embodiment wherein the gas filled cells (3) have a polydisperse size distribution. 20. The material of embodiment 19 wherein 90% of the cells of the solid foam layer have a longest dimension between 0.01 and 5mm. 21. The material of embodiment 20 wherein 90% of the cells of the solid foam layer have a longest dimension between 0.5 and 3mm. 22. The material of any preceding embodiment wherein the solid foam layer (2) has a thickness of 2 to 10mm. 23. The material of any preceding embodiment wherein the solid foam layer (2) has a thickness of 3 to 5mm. 24. The material of any preceding embodiment comprising two solid foam layers. 25. An insulation kit comprising the material of any preceding embodiment as well as a tape comprising the same multi-layer material. 26. A method of insulating an object by applying the material of any preceding embodiment by removing the peelable protective release paper or film (6) and positioning the material on the object with light pressure.

Claims

Claims,

1. A multi-layer sheet material for providing acoustic and thermal insulation, the material comprising the layers: a) a facing layer adhered by, b) a facing bond layer (4) to a; c) one or a plurality of, closed cell solid foam layers (2) comprising gas filled cells (3) of deformable thermoplastic, in the form of a solid foam and which layer is adhered to; d) an adhesive faced layer (5), presenting a pressure-sensitive adhesive face; which is in contact with e) a peelable protective release paper or film (6), for in use, to be peeled away to reveal the pressure sensitive adhesive face such as for adhesion to a surface to be insulated.

2. The material of claiml in which the facing bond layer (4) is an adhesive film and has a thickness between 0.01 and 0.2 mm.

3. The material of any preceding claim in which the facing bond layer (4) is an adhesive film and has a coat weight between 10 and 200g/m^.

4. The material of any preceding claim wherein the adhesive faced layer (5) is an adhesive film and has a thickness between 0.01 and 0.2 mm.

5. The material of any preceding claim wherein the adhesive faced layer (5) is an adhesive film and has a coat weight between 10 and 200g/m^.

6. The material of any preceding claim wherein the adhesive faced layer (5) is a repositionable adhesive.

7. The material of claims 1 or 6 in which the adhesive faced layer (5) is a viscoelastic layer.

8. The material of claim 7 wherein the viscoelastic adhesive faced layer (5) is a butyl polymer.

9. The material of any preceding claim in which the facing layer (1) is a metallic foil.

10. The material of any preceding claim wherein the deformable thermoplastic forming the solid foam is polyethylene.

11. The material of any preceding claim wherein 90% of the cells of the solid foam layer have a longest dimension between 0.1 and 5mm.

12. The material of any preceding claim 11 wherein 90% of the cells of the solid foam layer have a longest dimension of from 0.5 to 3mm.

13. The material of any preceding claim wherein the solid foam layer (2) has a thickness of 2 to 10mm.

14. The material of any preceding claim wherein the plurality of, closed cell solid foam layers (2) is two solid foam layers bonded together on a common face.

15. A method of insulating an object by applying the material of any preceding claim by removing the peelable protective release paper or film (6) and positioning the material on the object with light pressure.