The Binder For Lightweight Flexible Glass Wool Mat And Its Applicability

The flexibility of glass wool mat is directly related to its thermal and acoustic insulationperformances. Domestic glass wool mats always have poor thermal and acoustic insulation propertiesbecause of their rigidity and lags, compared with industrial glass wool mats (Johns ManvilleCompany in US). Within the frame of this paper, the experiments were progressively used to modifythe phenolic resin binder and develop phased freezing technology parameters to determine the factorsthat influenced the flexibility of the glass wool mat. The orthogonal experiment was used to study theinfluence of each factor on the flexibility of glass wool mat. The experiment optimized thehydrophobic properties without risking the softening performance of the glass wool mat and got thebest parameters as follows:20%softening agent A,20%urea,3%melamine, and2%silicone oil.production line experiments were conducted using the best parameters: external-mix sprayer was usedto atomize the binder and sprayed onto the high-speed rotating draft glass wool, then cured it under190~220℃to produce lightweight and flexible glass wool mat.In accordance to the standards of ASTM D5732and BMS8-48, cantilever bending tester andstatic contact angle tester were used to test the flexural rigidity and hydrophobic performances of theglass wool mat, respectively. The results showed that the glass wool mat exhibited good flexibleperformance because the flexural rigidity of the glass wool mats are as low as0.81/N m, and theglass wool mat showed excellent hydrophobic performance with a water retention value as low as1.5g and contact angle is151°.The innovations of this paper addressed:(1) Controlling the reaction process, excess urea andmelamine were be used to obtain the modified phenolic resin which appears transparent and withoutany precipitation. Furthermore, the modified phenolic resin has53%solid content and the freeformaldehyde was as low as0.82%, indicating that the release of the free formaldehyde decreasedsignificantly.(2) The phenolic resin was firstly modified by urea and melamine, and then softeningagent A was used to cooperate with it. This technology not only improves greatly the fireproofperformance but also its flexibility.(3)To improve the uniformity and the flexibility glass wool mat bydecreasing the curing temperature, controlling the curing time and increasing the circulating air.