EFFECTS OF KAOLIN ADDITIONS ON THERMAL BEHAVIORS OF RIGID POLYURETHANE FOAMS

Thermal insulation is very important issue in many industrial applications and different materials are preferred to satisfy the thermal insulation depending on the applications. One of the most important properties of the thermal insulation materials is low thermal conductivity. In addition, the cost of the material is another important factor. Among the thermal insulation materials, rigid polyurethane foams are used in automotive, transportation and building sectors due to lower thermal conductivity. Although the thermal conductivity of the rigid polyurethane foam is lower than those of many other thermal insulation materials, other thermal insulation materials may be preferred in some applications due to their lower costs. Therefore, different natural inorganic minerals have been added as fillers into the foams, mainly to reduce raw materials costs. In this study, kaolin, which is a cheap natural inorganic mineral, was incorporated into rigid polyurethane foams in 5, 10 and 15 % in mass. Effects of kaolin addition on thermal decomposition and thermal conductivity of rigid polyurethane foams were investigated. The results revealed that the incorporations of kaolin into the foams slightly increased the thermal conductivities of the foams. However, it was found that kaolin addition enhanced the thermal stability of rigid polyurethane foams.