EPFA European Phenolic Foam Association Properties of Phenolic Foam

FIRE PERFORMANCE
THERMAL PERFORMANCE
STRUCTURAL STRENGTH
MOISTURE RESISTANCE
ENVIRONMENT

Fire Performance

The fire performance of phenolic foam is exceptional. It combines zero or very low flame spread with negligible smoke emission and a very low level of toxic gas emission.

Phenolic foam can, in an appropriate form, achieve all the following European fire certifications:

UK Class O
Dutch NEN 6065/6066 Class 1
German B1
Belgian A1
French M1
Scandinavian NT 036 Class 1

In addition, phenolic foam used in factory engineered composite panels can achieve up to 2 hours fire resistance rating (insulation/integrity) in the 3m furnace test.

Phenolic foam evolves exceptionally low smoke when exposed to fire and is capable of meeting or exceeding all international building regulation requirements.

Toxic gas emission from phenolic foam is generally limited to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide with very low levels of other gases. Phenolic foams can achieve very low toxic gas ratings in tests such as UK Naval Engineering Standard NES 713 and Scandinavian NordTest NT036.

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Thermal Performance

Phenolic foams offer a range of thermal conductivity performance. The closed cell type offers the lowest thermal conductivity available from any insulation material resulting from:

Closed cell structure
Extremely small cell diameter
Low thermal conductivity gas permanently encapsulated in cells

Phenolic foam offers the following benefits:

l values from 0.018 W/m.K depending on national certification requirements
Excellent low thermal conductivity allows reduction in long term energy costs

Phenolic foam can be up 50% more thermally efficient than other common insulation materials

Higher thermal efficiency allows reduced insulation thicknesses to be used thereby saving valuable space

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Structural Strength

Phenolic foams have an excellent strength/density relationship being lightweight but strong. Higher density phenolic foams are typically used for:

Pipe supports
Duct supports
Steel faced composite panels (including walk-on ceilings)

Structural phenolic foam is typically made in 80kg/m³, 120kg/m³ and 160kg/m³ densities.
1m² of the product is capable of supporting the weights set out below.

80 kg/m³       64 tonnes
120 kg/m³     112 tonnes
160 kg/m³     225 tonnes

This data clearly demonstrates the excellent structural performance of phenolic foam.
Phenolic foam has been used successfully in structural applications for over 15 years.

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Moisture Resistance

Phenolic foam has been used successfully in insulation systems where moisture resistance is a key issue.

The reasons for this excellent performance are:

Phenolic foam has a low water vapour permeance and is therefore highly resistant to the passage of water vapour
Phenolic foam has low water absorption which takes place predominantly in the cut/broken surface cells of the foam
Phenolic foam is non-wicking. This means that if water enters the insulation system due to the vapour barrier becoming punctured, any moisture ingress is limited and confined to the punctured area. This ensures moisture does not build up and compromise the whole system

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Environment

Phenolic foam has very low embodied energy per unit thermal performance compared to other insulation materials

Significant CO₂ savings can be achieved compared to other insulation materials

Phenolic foam can make a significant contribution to help achieve CO₂ emission reduction targets required by the Kyoto Protocol

Phenolic foam is available in both CFC and HCFC free forms

	European Phenolic Foam Association