Guide to fire characteristics and fire performance of expanded polystyrene materials used in building applications

2015 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2.13) ◽  
pp. 322
Author(s):  
Milad Pavopar

Due to destructive environmental effects of construction wastes and increasing amount of these wastes that are in conflict with sustainable development objectives, it is essential to adopt solutions in order to reduce such wastes regarding environment preservation. This study was conducted to examine impact of financial incentives on reducing construction wastes using pairwise comparisons. According to professional opinions and experience of experts in building industry based on the 7-point Likert scale, mean responses obtained to 4.93, 4.83, and 4.73 for waste materials (stone, tile, ceramic), ready mix concrete waste, and EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) waste, respectively. On the other hand, reliability of research instrument obtained at 0.77 using Cronbach’s alpha test. Moreover, it is seen that the studied materials in this research assigned 41% contribution of constructing costs to themselves; of them, fittings and tiles, ceramics and stone assigned the highest constructing cost to themselves with 12%contribution. In fact, waste of materials in projects under the “total price” contract 30-50% higher than projects under the “cost plus” contract. Increasing number of floors and area of construction project lead to average reduction in waste of materials from 4.4% to 1.4%. Change in regional price of housing will changes materials used in construction based on different prices.  


BioResources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 5210-5225
Author(s):  
Se-Hwi Park ◽  
Min Lee ◽  
Pureun-Narae Sun ◽  
Eun-Chang Kang

As petrochemical products (including plastics) contribute to the destruction of the natural environment, the use of such products must be reduced. Plastics account for 90% of the insulation materials used in Korea, including extruded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polystyrene (XPS), and urethane foam. Wood-fiber insulation board (WIB) is a promising natural alternative to petrochemical insulation. This study aimed to determine the optimal amount of adhesive resin required for manufacturing WIB. Fire-resistant WIB was prepared with a melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resin (ranging from 20% to 35%), and the physicochemical and fire-resistant properties were determined. Higher resin content led to improved physical properties, while the thermal conductivity was unaffected. With the exception of 35% resin content in the WIB, the formaldehyde emissions of the WIB samples complied with the Korean Industrial Standards requirements for Super E0 grade (less than 0.3 mg per L). The physicochemical properties of the WIB samples were sufficient for use as an insulating material, even at 20% resin content. A perpendicular flame test revealed that all samples formed a carbonized layer to prevent flame penetration, except for the specimen with 20% of the resin content. The cone calorimeter testing indicated that the MUF adhesives acted as an effective fire retardant at resin contents above 25%.


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