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5971289 
Journal Article 
Hydrolysis and durability of urea formaldehyde foam insulation 
Brown, SK 
1990 
1 
Polymer Degradation and Stability
ISSN: 0141-3910 
27 
2 
121-143 
English 
WOS:A1990CK90300001 
Physical and chemical changes in urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) products after exposure to several temperature/relative humidity (RH) environments have been investigated in order to develop methods for assessing product durability in buildings. All products depolymerised, lost strength and emitted more formaldehyde gas when exposed to higher temperature/RH conditions. However, only products with high acidity exhibited dimensional instability, some exhibiting more than 30% linear shrinkage. Stable products were found to exhibit less than 4% linear shrinkage when exposed to 50°C and 96% RH for 28 days, and these conditions are recommended for durability assessment of UFFI products. Other properties of UFFI that should be specified to ensure long-term performance are (a) maximum acid value (ml of 0·1 m NaOH to neutralise 1 g of foam) of 0·1 for bulk dry set foam, (b) minimum dry density of 12 kg/m3 and (c) maximum formaldehyde offgassing of 5 mg/g.