THERMAL, MECHANICAL AND MOISTURE PROPERTIES OF POLYMER PLASTER MODIFIED WITH LIGHTWEIGHT FILLERS
Izabela Marchewka, Ewa Downar-Zapolska, Waldemar Pichór
Quarterly No. 3, 2022 pages 160-165
DOI:
keywords: lightweight fillers, polymer plaster, thermal insulating, hollow glass microspheres, expanded glass
abstract Thermally insulating lightweight plasters are urgently needed for the development of sustainable energy-saving buildings. The creation of such a material is possible because of the use of lightweight fillers, which are of interest to many researchers. As a result of their porous structure, it is possible to lower the density and thermal conductivity of various materials. The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of hollow glass microspheres in two granulations and expanded glass on the parameters of polymer plaster. Composites containing various amounts of lightweight fillers were prepared. Then, their parameters were compared in terms of the mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, vapor permeability, and water absorption. All three lightweight fillers successfully reduced the density of the polymer mass and improved plaster insulation. The best effect was achieved with both types of hollow glass microspheres. The weight of the polymer binder was reduced by up to 80%. In the case of expanded glass, the density was only reduced by 38%. At the same time, the composites were studied in terms of their mechanical and moisture properties. The specimens with the highest amount of lightweight filler showed significant deterioration in elasticity due to disturbance of the pigment:binder ratio. They cracked at lower deflection angles. By not exceeding 20% of the filler, no effect on flexibility was observed in any of the three investigated fillers. Interpretation of the research results indicates that the studied lightweight fillers allow a plaster mass to be obtained with an extremely low thermal conductivity coefficient, less than 0.086 W/mK. However, while ensuring the optimal proportion between fillers and polymer binder, it is possible to reduce the coefficient to 0.261 W/mK without noticeable deterioration of the mechanical properties.