LAUSR

Rigid polyurethane foams (RPF) were synthesized with the use different type of blowing agents (methylal, isopentane, cyclopentane, mixture of isopentane and cyclopentane, carbon dioxide). The effects of blowing agent type on the foaming process, cellular structure, mechanical properties and changes of thermal conductivity during one year aging are described. As expected, the highest reacti vity confirmed by the fastest decrease of the dielectric polarization and highest maximum of temperature was observed for polyurethane system blown with carbon dioxide. A small difference in the reactivity of systems foamed with physical blowing agents was also noticed – the most reactive was composition with cyclopentane. Cellular structure of foams blown by carbon dioxide was characterized by smaller cells size than foams where physical blowing agent were used. The lowest thermal conductivity after 360 days was observed for polyurethane systems foamed with isopentane and mixture of isopentane and cyclopentane. Regardless of the measurement time the highest thermal conductivity was characteristic for the materials blown with water and methylal. The foams with isopentane were characterized by the highest compressive strength.