The influence of nanoclays on the mechanical and thermal properties of rigid PIR and PUR foams

Abstract

The effect of small amounts of chemically modified nanosized clays (from 0.05 to 1 %) on the morphological, physical-mechanical and thermophysical characteristics of rigid polyurethane–polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) foams has been studied. The effect of these additives on the structure of the resulting material, the change in its compressive strength, Young’s modulus, mass loss during combustion, and thermal conductivity are evaluated. Based on the results obtained, it is noted that the addition of small amounts (up to 0.2 %) of chemically modified Cloisite 30B nanoclay effectively reduces the average cell size of nanocomposite foams, which leads to an improvement in their performance.