10th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling

September 3-5, 2006

Tuesday, 5 September 2006

Sektion 6 a
Heat distribution – pipe properties

Thermal conductivity of polyurethane foam -

best performance

U. Jarfelt, O. Ramnäs,
Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg/Sweden
 Thermal conductivity of polyurethane foam
Best performance

Ulf Jarfelt1
ulf.jarfelt@chalmers.se
Olle Ramnäs2
oramn.chemeng@chalmers.se

1
Department of Building Technology
2
Department of Chemical Environmental Science
Chalmers University of Technology
SE- 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden

Introduction
Polyurethane (PU) foam has been used for pre-insulated district heating pipes for many
years. Originally CFC-11 (Freon 11) was used as a blowing agent for this type of foam.
Due to the very low thermal conductivity of CFC-11 the insulating properties of the foam
became excellent. After the ban of CFC-11 in the 1990´s there has been a very hard
competition to find alternative blowing agents and upgraded material properties to
achieve an insulation capacity in the same magnitude as earlier.

The development work has up till today resulted in a PU-foams with smaller cells and
lower densities than earlier and with cyclopentane in combination with carbon dioxide as
blowing agent. The vapour pressure of cyclopentane is 34 kPa at 20˚C and the amount of
cyclopentane in gas phase will therefore be limited at room temperature. When the foam
is produced the cell gas pressure needs to be at least just over atmospheric level (100kPa).
Consequently the cell gas mixture will often be saturated with cyclopentane (about 34 %
by volume at 20˚C) but the main gaseous compound will be carbon dioxide, originating
from the chemical reaction between isocyanate and water. In some cases isopentane, that
has a lower vapour pressure than cyclopentane, is also added.

The thermal conductivity of an insulating foam depends on the conductivity of the cell
gas mixture, the conductivity of the solid polymer and the radiation between cells. The
radiation of heat has been reduced by making the cells smaller and the conduction of heat
in the solid polymer has been reduced by decreasing the foam density. However,
conduction in the cell gas mixture stands for the main part of the thermal conductivity of
a foam. About 65-80% of the insulation capacity of a foam is due to the cell gas mixture
while cell size and density stands for the rest.

A number of requirements have been put on the PU-foam used for district heating pipes.
One of the top priorities is the thermal conductivity and it is therefore important that the

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accuracy of the conductivity measurements is high. The requirements for determination
of the thermal conductivity of pre-insulated pipes are stated in EN253:2003. However the
test procedure is quite complicated and the spread in results are some times too high. In
the European standardization work, CEN/TC107, two Round Robin projects have been
conducted in order to minimize the deviation between laboratories both regarding test
procedure and equipment. At this moment no test procedure is described for flexible
pipes.

There is struggle to reduce the thermal conductivity to a minimum. How far can we go?
In this project we have studied the thermal conductivity of six different PU-foams for
pre-insulated as well as for flexible pipes. The foams are of the “latest generation” and
manufactured by three different raw material producers.

Experimental

All relevant material properties concerning thermal conductivity were determined. Cell
size and cell structure were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cell gas
content by cell gas analysis by gas chromatography [1] and thermal conductivity by
measurements in a Heat Flow Apparatus [2].

SEM photos of the six different PU-foams are shown in Figure 1.

Foams with normal cellular structure, cell size 0,25-0,30 mm

1 mm 1 mm

Standard foam for DH-pipes (Type A) Standard foam for DH-pipes (Type B)

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Foams with microcellular structure, cell size 0,10-0,20 mm

1 mm 1 mm

Semi-flexible f1 mm
oam. (Type C) Microcellular rigid foam (Type D)

1 mm 1 mm

Semi-flexible foam (Type E) Semi-flexible foam (Type F)

Figure 1. SEM photos of the six different PU-foams. Type A and B are foams designed
for traditionally (non-continuous) made pre-insulated district heating pipes and type C-F
are microcellular foams for rigid and flexible pipes.

Calculations

The thermal conductivity of PU foam is due to three modes of heat transfer, conduction
in the cell gas mixture, conduction in the solid polymer and radiation between the cell
walls.

λtotal = λ gas + λ solid + λ radiation

The thermal conductivity due to conduction in the cell gas mixture has been calculated
using Wassiljewa´s equation [3].

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 2
⎡ ⎛ ⎞
1
⎛ ⎞
1
4⎤
λ
2
⎢ ⎜ tri ⎟ ⎜ M i ⎟ ⎥
ε 1+ ⎜ ⋅
n
y i ⋅ λi ⎢ ⎝ λ trj ⎟⎠ ⎜M ⎟ ⎥
⎝ j⎠ ⎦
λ gas = ∑ n
where Aij = ⎣ (Eq. 1)
∑y
1
i =1
⋅ Aij ⎡ ⎛ M ⎞ ⎤ 2

⎢8⎜⎜ 1 + i ⎟
j
j =1 ⎥
⎢⎣ ⎝ M j ⎟⎠ ⎥⎦
Input data:

Gas λ10 (W·m-1·K-1) λ50 (W·m-1·K-1) Molecular weight

Air [4] 0,0250 0,0282 30
Carbon dioxide [4] 0,0157 0,0184 44
Cyclopentane [5] 0,0127 0,0155 70

The conduction of heat in the solid PU structure is a combination of the heat flow in the
cell walls and the struts. The thermal conductivity (λPU) of the solid PU polymer from
crushed foam samples is reported to be 0,26 W·m-1·K-1 [6] and the fraction of solids in
the struts (fs) has been reported to 0,8 [7]. The thermal conductivity [7] can be described
by
1 2 ρf
λconduction = λ PU ⋅ ⋅ f s ⋅ (1 − δ ) +λ PU ⋅ ⋅ (1 − f s ) ⋅ (1 − δ ) where δ = 1 − (Eq. 2)
3 3 ρs

The radiation between the cell walls has been calculated by the Rossland equation with
the extinction coefficient of the cell wall material Kw = 60000 m-1 suggested by
Glicksman [7].
fs ⋅ ρ f
16 ⋅ σ ⋅ T 3 ρs ⎡ (1 − f s ) ⋅ ρ f ⎤
λ radiation = where K = 4,10 ⋅ +⎢ ⎥ ⋅ Kw (Eq. 3)
3⋅ K d ⎣ ρs ⎦

Symbols:

K Extinction coefficient m-1

M Molecular weight kg·kmole-1
T Temperature K
d Cell diameter m
fs Fraction of solid in strut fs=0,8 -
yi Molar fraction of gas -
δ Volume fraction of voids or cell interiors -
λ Thermal conductivity W·m-1·K-1
ρf Density of PU foam kg·m-3
ρs Density of PU polymer kg·m-3
σ Stephan Boltzman constant = 5,7·10-8 W·m-2·K-4

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The results from the calculation model can be compared with measurements of the total
thermal conductivity using the heat flow apparatus. The input parameters used in the
calculations are taken from the determination of cell gas content, cell size measurements
by SEM and density measurements. The influence of the foam density on the thermal
conductivity of a microcellular cyclopentane blown foam (cell size = 0,15mm) is shown
in Figure 2.

0,025
Thermal conductivity (W/(mK))

0,020

0,015
gas
solid
radiation
0,010

0,005

0,000
30 40 50 60 70 80
3
Density (kg/m )

Figure 2. Calculated contributions of radiation, conduction in cell gas mixture and PU

matrix to the thermal conductivity of a cyclopentane blown PU-foam with a cell size of
0,15 mm which corresponds to a microcellular foam.

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Results
Table 1. Measurements of thermal conductivity.

Foam Density Cell size* λ10 λ40

kg·m-3 mm W·m-1·K-1 W·m-1·K-1
-3 -3
x10 x10

A Rigid foam 64 0,26-0,31 22,16 -

B Rigid foam 55 0,29-0,31 22,10 25,51

C Microcellular Rigid 68 0,15-0,25 21,32 24,43

D Microcellular Semi-flexible 66 0,12-0,15 20,24 -

E Microcellular Semi-flexible 72 0,10-0,15 21,85 25,18

F Microcellular Semi-flexible 57 0,18-0,22 21,06 24,59

* measured in two perpendicular directions

Table 2. Measurements of cell gas content.

Foam Total Oxygen Nitrogen Carbon Cyclo- Iso- Water Others

PressureΦ dioxide pentane pentane vapor
kPa Vol-% Vol-% Vol-% Vol-% Vol-% Vol-% Vol-%

A 117 1,6 0,9 61 34 - 1,0 0,8

B 126 0,2 0,8 65 32 2 0,4 0,5

C 105 0,3 1,1 44 35 16 1,6 1,5

D 87 1,5 1,5 61 32 - 1,0 3,1

E 98 0,5 1,9 61 35 - 0,6 0,9

F 104 0,2 0,9 67 30 1 0,7 0,5

Φ
at temperature of analysis = 24˚C

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 0,028
Thermal conductivity (W/(mK))

0,026
A
B
C
0,024
E
F

0,022

0,02
0 10 20 30 40 50

Temperature (C)

Figure 3. The influence of temperature on the thermal conductivity is represented by a

straight line in the temperature range 10 - 40˚C. The relationship is based on
measurements on 5 foam samples. The thermal conductivity can be written:
λ(T)= 0,02064 + 11,28 ·10-5 · T (W·m-1·K-1)

As the thermal conductivity strongly depends on the temperature it is important to

establish this relation. For most PU-samples the thermal conductivities have been
determined at various temperatures (Figure 3). Due to variation in density, cell size and
structure and cell gas content there is a difference in thermal conductivity between the
PU-samples. However, the dependency of temperature on the thermal conductivity seems
to be the same for all foams within the temperature range 10-40˚C.

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Discussion

Comparison of the different foams

The foaming conditions when producing the PU-boards (A-F) were very good and it is
not likely that a pipe producer, at present, would manufacture foams with substantially
superior insulating properties. The thermal conductivities presented represent the lowest
thermal conductivities available today.

For the foams studied, representing best available foam today, the thermal conductivity
for “standard foams” for pre-insulated pipes was 22,1-22,2 mW·m-1·K-1 at 10˚C and
25,9-26,3 mW·m-1·K-1 at 50˚C (density range 55-64 kg·m-3). For the “microcellular”
foams the corresponding figures were 20,2-21,9 mW·m-1·K-1 at 10˚C and 24,6-25,4
mW·m-1·K-1 at 50˚C (density range 57-72 kg·m-3).

29

27
Thermal conductivityx 10 (W/(mK))

25
-3

λ10
23
λ10Calculated
λ50
21
λ50Calculated

19

17

15
A B C D E F

Figure 4. Comparison between measured (Heat Flow Meter Apparatus - ISO 8301) and
calculated thermal conductivity of six different PU-foams (A-F).

When comparing calculated and measured values a difference up to 3% can be observed.

This spread may be due to the absence of knowledge about how foam morphology
influences radiation and conduction in the solid PU-material and lack of knowledge on
the true values of the blowing agent thermal conductivities.

Different values of the thermal conductivity of gases have been given in literature. An
overview of the thermal conductivities of some blowing agents is given in [8]. For
cyclopentane conductivities in the range 11,3 - 12,4 mW·m-1·K-1 has been given. Thus,
the choice of value of the thermal conductivity will influence the calculations. Another

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important factor is how the interactions between different gasses, e.g. cyclopentane and
carbon dioxide, should be calculated. Different models give different results.

It is noticed that the difference between “standard foam” and “microcellular foam” is not
very large. The cell size of the microcellular foam is approximately half of the “standard
foam” and the thermal conductivity is about 1-2 mW·m-1·K-1 lower.

The differences in density (55-72 kg·m-3) between the tested foam samples make the
comparison of the thermal conductivity more difficult. Therefore a re-calculation of the
thermal conductivity to a normalized density of 60 kg·m-3 has been made for all foams.
This re-calculation results in minor changes and the results are presented in figure 5.

29

26,78
27
Thermal conductivityx 10 (W/(mK))

26,28
25,80
25,29
24,95
25 24,15
-3

23 22,37
21,96
21,26
20,79 20,95
21
19,83

19

17

15
A B C D E F

Figure 5. Thermal conductivity at 10˚C and 50˚C of the different foam samples as a result
of a re-calculation to a foam density of 60 kg·m-3.

The thermal conductivity of foam of a “normalized” density (60 kg·m-3, cell size 0,3 mm)
is for a standard foam for district heating pipes 26,3-26,8 mW·m-1·K-1 at 50˚C and for a
microcellular foam 24,2-25,8 mW·m-1·K-1 at 50˚C.

How far can the thermal conductivity be reduced?

Small cell size, low foam density, low thermal conductivity of the solid PU-material and
a cell gas mixture with a high percentage of cyclopentane shoud be the best option. The
reduction of density of the foam will decrease conduction in the solid PU-structure but
increase radiation due to thinner cell walls.

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Today a mixture of isopentane, cyclopentane and carbon dioxide is used for some foams.
According to [8] the conductivity of isopentane is in the range 13,4 - 14,8 mW·m-1·K-1
and thermal conductivity of carbon dioxide is 15,7 [4]. Thus, the presence of isopentane
will probably lower the conductivity of the new gas mixture in comparison to the mixture
cyclopentane/carbon dioxide. The use of isopentane is also expected to contribute to a
better a long term thermal performance of a foam since isopentane will diffuse much
slower than carbon dioxide.

The cell gas mixtures of the studied PU-boards were almost the same (except foam C
with 16 vol-% isopentane), 30-35 vol-% of cyclopentane, 61-67 vol-% of carbon dioxide
and 3-4 vol-% of air. The thermal conductivity of the corresponding mixtures is 0,0180-
0,0184 W·m-1·K-1 at 50˚C.

If the different contributions (radiation + conduction in solid = 0,004, conduction in cell

gas = 0,018) to the thermal conductivity are summarized a value of 0,022 W·m-1·K-1may
be reached. A foam with this insulating capacity must have a very small cell size (<0,1
mm) and a low density (< 50 kg·m-3). The best foam in this study has a thermal
conductivity of 0,024 W·m-1·K-1 at 50˚C.

If a substantially lower thermal conductivity should be reached, another blowing agent

than cyclopentane must be used.

mm
0,012 r 0.6 m
et e m
iam er 0.3 m
ll d t m
Ce e
.15
iam
Thermal conductivity (W/(mK))

m
0,01 e ll d t e r0 5m
C m e .0 7
ia 0
ll d ter
Ce iame
ll d
0,008 Ce

0,006

0,004

0,002

0
20 40 60 80 100
Density (kg/m3)

Figure 6. Calculated contributions of radiation and conduction in the solid polymer. In

the density range 45-60 kg/m3 and cell size range 0,075-0,15 mm which corresponds to
microcellular foam, the contribution to the thermal conductivity is estimated to be 4-6
·10-3 W·m-1·K-1. Thermal conductivity of the solid PU-material has been chosen to 0,22
W·m-1·K-1 [9].

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References
[1] Ramnäs, O., Svanström, M., A method for analyzing the gas phase in polyurethane
foam, Journal of Cellular plastics 31, 375-388, 1995.

[2] ISO8301 Thermal Insulation, Determination of Steady-State Thermal Resistance and

Related Properties-Heat Flow Meter Apparatus.

[3] Wassiljewa, A., Wärmeleitung in Gasgemische, Physikalische Zeitschrift, 5(22), 737-

42, 1904.

[4] Dognin, A., Académie des Sciences, 243, 1956

[5] Brodt, K., Thermal insulations: cfc-alternatives and vacuum insulation, Thesis,
Technische Universiteit, Delft, 1995.

[6] Glicksman, L.(1994), Heat transfer in foams, Chapter 5 in Low density cellular
plastics by Hilyard & Cunningham.

[7] Sinofsky, M. (1984) Property measurement and thermal performance prediction of

foam insulation. MS thesis, MIT, Cambridge Massachusetts.

[8] Merten, A-K, Rotermund, U., Thermal conductivity of gas mixtures as blowing
agents for isocyanate-based rigid foams, Polyurethane World congress 97, Amsterdam, p
317.

[9] Olsson, M., Long-term thermal performance of polyurethane-insulated district

heating pipes, Doctoral thesis, Chalmers university of Technology, 2001.

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