Polyurethane foam is a construction material whose insulating capacity can hardly be found on the market. It is used as thermal and acoustic insulation, as waterproofing facades and even as a humidity controller.
Below is a list of its main uses:
Polyurethane foam has the property of preventing the transmission of heat . Thanks to its low thermal conductivity, it is possible to achieve high levels of insulation without the need to resort to large thickness measurements.
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What, for example, glass wool or expanded polystyrene would take 2 "and 1.6" of thickness respectively, the rigid polyurethane foam would take only 1 "; the advantages in terms of space gain are obvious.
The closed cells and low density polyurethane foam allow you to reduce the transmission of noise . It has a very positive sealing effect on the enclosures, hence it is very effective in the isolation of airborne noise.
For purely acoustic insulation purposes, the most suitable polyurethane foam is low density and open cells , as they are designed only to neutralize the noise. Therefore, it should be noted that it should not be confused with closed-cell polyurethane (which are the most recommended for thermal insulation).
The polyurethane foam has the quality of being an intermediate continuous system and a non-hydrophilic thermal insulation. Therefore, placed on a facade is able to meet the highest standards of waterproofing and without greater complexity in the installation.
The ATEPA, Technical Association of Applied Polyurethane, has led a series of tests in which the polyurethane foam was placed on brick facades; as a result, after a good time, neither rainwater nor any other source had leaked through one of those facades.
However, since polyurethane foam is an impermeable material, it automatically becomes permeable to water vapor . However, this degree of permeability can be reduced by increasing the density of the foam, whereby the polyurethane becomes, rather, a moisture-regulating membrane.
What does this mean in a few words? That the polyurethane foam allows transpiration to the enclosure and avoids superficial or interstitial condensation.