Insulation materials play an important role in reducing global carbon footprint by increasing energy efficiency in buildings and homes. In order to maximize this environmental benefit, insulation materials must comply with standards on product quality and health safety.
InTouch helps insulation material buyers identify the best suppliers in China by providing top-notch inspection protocols. Some of these protocols are:
Materials Inspection
- Flame Retardant Chemicals – Verify that the flame retardant chemicals used in the product comply with standard requirements to reduce flammability risks inherent to cellulose-type insulation materials.
- Resin and Additives – Check the types and grades of resin and additives for adherence to standards. This pre-emptive measure will save the buyer from costly delivery delays and future product recalls or warranty issues.Dimensional Inspection
- Density and Weight – Verify that product conforms to standard density and weight. These are critical as they could alter the structural integrity of buildings in the long-term. Variance in density and weight may affect thermal resistance, durability, and moisture resistance.
- Thickness – Verify product thickness and thickness uniformity to establish compliance with contractual specifications. This is essential as thermal resistance is directly correlated with material thickness.Functional Inspection
- Adhesive Compatibility – Evaluate the compatibility of product to common adhesives used during installation. This process determines which materials and adhesives produce higher bond strength and faster curing period, properties that are important to contractors and users.
- Rigidity – Verify the structural rigidity of material to establish its suitability to specific applications such as thermal piping or ducting. Products with sufficient rigidity are often associated with lower installation costs as these materials no longer require additional reinforcement.Performance Testing
- Flame Spread Test – Check that product does not exceed the maximum flame spread rating allowed in the importing country. Test may include ASTM E84, ASTM E162, and ASTM E286 depending on product type.
- Smoke-Developed Index– Verify that product meets the standard requirements for smoke-developed rating. ASTM E84 covers the most common method in determining smoke-developed index.
- R-Value – Verify thermal resistance per inch of insulation material to establish product quality or compliance with standard values. The R-Value is the primary consideration of users in selecting insulation products.
- Mold and Microbial Resistance – Evaluate the susceptibility of product to mold and microbial growth, especially those used in highly humid environments. ASTM D6329 provides the guidelines in formulating protocols for determining the likelihood of microbial growth in indoor insulation materials.
- Moisture Resistance – Evaluate the absorption and adsorption properties of product using the tests provided in applicable standards such as ASTM C272 and ASTM C 209. This is significant as high moisture content of building materials is associated with reduced structural integrity and microbial growth in buildings.
- Impact Resistance – Evaluate the capacity of material to absorb quantified force without resulting to any structural damage. Widely used impact resistance tests are Izod Impact Strength Test, Free
- Falling Dart Method (ASTM D1709), and Charpy Impact Test.
Durability – Subject product to accelerated life testing to evaluate long-term performance. This is especially useful in establishing warranty conditions and marketing programs. - Toxicity – Verify that insulation material does not emit toxic chemicals during and after installation. A common toxicity test is on urea formaldehyde foam to determine airborne formaldehyde ratings during and after product installation.
