Tailor made range of light weight fire safe phenolic foam products
Before Vulcor Insulation was founded, we managed all our trading business (for high temperature) within the Teqtix Group. Today we support Teqtix Phenolic Solution with developing the phenolic foam business. Phenolic foam is an amazing product which we gladly added to our product portfolio. Typically the closed cell phenolic foam insulation products are converted to make pipe insulation, but we typically target the fire safety potential of the products.
Rhinophen as insulation for cold applications
Rhinophen is manufactured as a block type insulation with a typical size of 2500x1000x800 mm (100x40x32 inch) and is available in densities ranging from 40 kg/m3 to 160 kg/m3 (2.5 to 10 PCF). Where Rhinophen 40 kg/m3(2.5 PCF) material excels in thermal insulation value, high density material is delivers the highest mechanical strength.
In comparison to traditional insulation materials the insulation thickness can be reduced and/or energy savings realized. Reduced insulation thickness can provide the opportunity to optimize insulation even in confined spaces.
The high thermal efficiency is achieved by the fine pore size and closed cell structure. As a result Rhinophen is one of the most thermally efficient insulation materials. It retains its thermal performance under the most severe operating conditions by virtue of its closed cell structure and minimum moisture absorption.
Rhinophen is commonly used in applications like thermal insulation for pipes in combination with Heating Ventilation and Aircondition (HVAC), cold process pipe for applications in the chemical process- and cold storage industry, and general insulation of tanks, ducts, vessels and technical installations.
Did you know that the featured Burj Khalifa at the top of this page has over 220 km1 (135 miles) of Rhinophen pipe insulation installed… It that is not a reference project, what is…
Firesafety
For these standard applications Rhinophen phenolic foam will maintain its performance at continuous operating temperatures of -50°C to +110°C, but within Vulcor Insulation we are are targeting the use of the phenolic foam as core material in fire proof systems.
In case of a fire exposure Rhinophen develops a carbonaceous layer on the surface which is protecting deeper layers of the material minimizing the contribution of energy in case of fire. Using this phenomenon we have been able to develop new applications with the Rhinophen product range, like doors and seperation walls.
Firesafety, to our perspective, is much more than focussing on fire behavior, smoke development or just fire resistence. It is a combination for these 3 main parameters that are leading to a firesafe solutions.
· A good fire behavior as a product is difficult to burn or has low contribution to the spread and development of the fire.
· An excellent fire resistant withstanding the heat and keep the non exposed side safe.
· And very low smoke emissions which are allowing safe exit in case of emergency.
Fire behavior is tested and classified in accordance with many National, European, American and International standards. What most of these standards have in common is that these tests are focussing on the following properties:
- Release of energy during the fire exposure
- Spread of flames or surface ignition
- Deformation and melting of the product
- Smoke production and in some cases toxicity of released smoke
- Potential burning droplets and burning particles
Fire resistence targets the containment of the fire in an enclosed compartment without having the fire extend to the next room. During most of these tests the temperature and radiation of heat on the non exposed side, next to avoiding potential leaks of flames and hot spots, is measured and set to a maximum. In real fires this allows the firefighters to focus their fire control measures to a condensed area.
The last criteria on this list is smoke emission. Smoke is all about the visibility of emergency routes of people escaping the fire and minimizing the inhalation of potential toxic fumes. Unfortunately, this criteria is not as well defined as the other two criteria, but is agruably the biggest killer in case of fire.
The Rhinophen is offering excellent performance on all these 3 main parameters combined in one product. The team of Vulcor Insulation is keen to support you with development of fire safe solutions using Rhinophen as core material for doors and seperation walls targeting both thermal insulation and fire safety.