Lightweight plaster materials with enhanced thermal properties made with polyurethane foam wastes

This paper presents a study of the properties and thermal behaviour of plaster with polyurethane foam wastes. Plaster mixtures, prepared using differing volumes of polyurethane foam waste from two different sources, were ground to different granulometric sizes. The characteristics of the specimens were defined and tested by fixing the consistency at a good workability and then studying the mechanical properties, Shore C hardness and adherence to ceramic materials after both 7 and 28 days. The thermal behaviour was examined via thermogravimetry and thermal conductivity analysis, correlating the latter with the apparent density values of the plaster polyurethane material. The interface of materials was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results show that increasing the polyurethane quantity decreases the density and mechanical properties of the plaster while increasing its thermal resistance proportionally to the reduction in density. These results suggest that the use of plaster containing polyurethane foam waste is comparable to that of plaster lightened with conventional materials. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.