Engineers develop greener PIR foam

But now, engineers at Bayer MaterialScience have developed a more environmentally compatible PIR foam that they claim has clear benefits over established systems, especially in terms of the smoke it develops when burnt.

Metal-faced sandwich panels based on the new product have been shown to achieve a B-s1,d0 classification in the DIN EN 13823 Single Burning Item (SBI) test, with s1 representing the lowest class of smoke that is developed and d0 indicating that no flaming droplets are produced.

In recent years, the SBI test has become a standard requirement in Europe for the fire and smoke behaviour of building components. For example, the new European standard for sandwich panels – DIN EN 14509 – also uses SBI-based tests for fire classification purposes.

PIR metal-faced sandwich panels can be manufactured on continuous laminators. The PIR reaction mix is first laid down on one metal facing. It foams and immediately bonds with the second facing, which is applied from above. In this way, the rigid foam core is bonded to the two facings in a shear-resistant manner. The finished sandwich panels are self supporting, strong and relatively light.