Applications and Purposes of PIR Fire Resistant Panels

21 September 2016

Polyisocyanurate (PIR) is a dense thermosetting plastic that exhibits highly desirable thermal properties. Primarily, the rigid material is designed to insulate temperature-sensitive environments, but this feat is accomplished in two very different ways. Let’s look at the applications and purposes of PIR, its uses as a capable heat isolator and an even more capable thermal barrier.

Tough Composite Wall Panels Use Soft-Centred PIR Cores

Insulating wall panels are constructed from several layers of advanced material. The inner and outer layers are mechanically strong and aesthetically attractive, but it’s the core of these composite panels that interests us, for PIR exists here to provide a thermal barricade. Indeed, the rigid foam boosts the R-value of the foil-lined panels, so inner space is promptly isolated when these panels interlock to form an enclosed chamber. In other words, modular coolrooms formed by this jigsaw puzzle of foam-cored square panels eliminates energy leakage.

Used as Fire Resistant Panels

Remember, a basic knowledge of high-school chemical theory states that thermosets don’t melt and won’t flow when subjected to high temperatures. Instead, products made from this polymer harden and char. In effect, PIR addresses critical building regulation requirements by acting as an active flame deterrent. A fire may track its way through a building, growing while doing so, but the exothermic reaction is efficiently blunted when it licks at this surface, for PIR is fire resistant and therefore a likely candidate for a fire-safe building feature.

Finding Employment as Roofing Substrates

In illustrating yet another high-school physics truism, we say that heat escapes upward, straight through the roof and out into the open as wasted energy. Thermally talented Polyiso (Another trade name for polyisocyanurate) solves this issue by blocking upward energy under the roof. The panels are easy to cut and a breeze to install thanks to an adhesive backing, so a utility knife can quickly slice the panels and insulate the entire surface of a ceiling. The dense foam-reinforced membrane is mechanically rigid, water-resistant, and ideally suited for such applications.

We began covering the applications and purposes of PIR fire resistant panels by talking about the material’s thermal insulating characteristics, but those applications quickly gave way to a study on PIR’s fire-resistant features. In conclusion, the stiff but easy-to-work-with foam addresses fiery and freezing applications, plus it varies in thickness to accommodate these diverse thermal applications. It’s available as thin 50mm sheets, but tougher utilization areas thicken the sheets to 150mm and 200mm thick panels.

Mark Connelly
C&M Coolroom Services
E-mail: markconnelly@cmcoolrooms.com.au
Mobile: 0412 536 315

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