Effect of thickness of polystyrene insulation against radiant heat

Abstract

Thermal insulation of buildings is not only important to the owners, but also mandatory due to legal requirements. Energy certificates are also a part of these. For correspondence various thermal insulation materials are used. The authors selected two common and cheap insulating materials for the test, such as polystyrene EPS and XPS types. These are commercially available in different thicknesses. The objective of the article is to examine what thickness can be considered optimal, above which the already increased costs should be taken into account. During our research, we exposed the materials to radiant heat. The authors measured the temperature evolution of the interior of the samples after a heat load of around 100 C. The measurement results showed that above 5 cm thickness a steady state is already established, so the temperature rise stops at a constant value. From the fire protection point of view, it is important to know the thermal properties of insulating materials, as the ignition process is
always preceded by warming.