Cork Board Research Articles

Study of Acoustic Prototypes Based on Plastic Cap Waste

This paper presents the initial prototypes of solutions designed using plastic caps, seeking acoustic applications for both airborne sound insulation and the acoustic conditioning of rooms. Plastic caps are a waste product from the packaging sector and they constitute a major waste problem, given that, if they are not attached to the packaging, they get lost during the recycling cycle and end up in landfill. Finding an application for this waste that can provide acoustic improvements is a sustainable alternative. This paper shows the results of airborne sound insulation measurements obtained in a scaled transmission chamber and sound absorption measurements obtained in a scaled reverberation chamber for different combinations of single and double plastic caps and combinations with thin sheets of sustainable materials, such as jute weaving, textile waste, hemp felt and cork board. Tests have shown that obtaining sound reduction index values of up to 20 dB is possible with plastic cap configurations, or even up to 30 dB is possible at some frequencies with combinations of caps and certain eco-materials. With regard to the sound absorption coefficient tests, close to unity absorption values have been achieved with the appropriate configuration at frequencies that can also be selected. The results indicate that these panels can be eco-solutions for airborne sound insulation as lightweight elements, or they can be used for the conditioning of rooms, tailoring the sound absorption maximums to the desired frequencies.

Emission rates of bio-based building materials, a method description for qualifying and quantifying VOC emissions

Biobased insulation materials offer opportunities to use vapor-open building constructions. Such constructions allow direct interaction between the biobased material and the indoor environment. This interaction raises questions about indoor air quality concerning volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study presents results for the VOC emissions from biobased materials. It consists of two parts: 1) qualification of VOC emissions (compounds) from several biobased and non-biobased building materials, and 2) quantification of VOC emissions (emission rate) from expanded cork (biobased), particle board (semi-biobased), and EPS insulation. By quantifying the emission rate, the exposure to the released VOC emissions at room temperature in a standardized room can be compared to health limit requirements. Gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) is used to derive the individual VOC emissions and the Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) from these materials. For qualification, two different sampling techniques are used in which temperature is introduced as a variable to investigate its effect on the type of compounds emitted. For quantification, the toluene equivalent approach is compared to the group equivalent approach. From the analyses it is concluded that temperature has an effect on the type of VOC compounds emitted from (biobased) materials. Results from the quantification indicate that expanded cork and particle board emit no harmful substances at a level that can affect human health. For EPS insulation, elevated levels of benzene were found to exceed healthy limits. The toluene equivalent approach for quantifying the emission, generally, underestimates the rate as compared to the more accurate group equivalent approach.

Flame Resistant of Larch Plywood According to Main Ingredients of Fire Retardant Paint

The aims of this study is to comparative analyze the flame resistant of Larix kamperi according to fire retardant paints with different main components. Wood, an eco friendly traditional material, has been proven to reduce carbon, drawing attention as a solution to climate change, an international environmental issue. Wood is used as a material for buildings as furniture, interior, and furniture, and greatly satisfied users who require eco-friendliness. However, wood is a factor that increases the fire load in a fire. In previous studies, the fire vulnerability of Cryptomeria japonica, Pinus densiflora, MDF, OSB, cork board, and plain wood plywood was analyzed. As a result, wood without flame retardant treatment was vulnerable to fire. To compensate for this problem, we intend to secure an evacuation time by delaying the ignition time in case of a fire. Accordingly, Flame retardant treatment is implemented in accordance with Article 20 of ?the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the maintenance and Safety Management of Firefighting Facilities?. The main flame-retardant paint used is bromine, a halogen compound, and has high flame resistant. However, it is subject to environmental regulations due to the problem of soot and smoke generation. Eco friendly fire retardant paint are continuously being developed to escape regulations. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the effect of the flame resistant by treating the developed fire retardant paint for each tree species. So, three types of fire retardant paint with different main components are selected and treated on a larch plywood to analyze flame resistant. In this study, after flame time, after glow time, char length, and char area were measured in accordance with Standard of the Nation Fire Agency of Republic Korea. The main components of fire retardant paint are ammonium polyphosphate, emulsion resin, and phosphorus based mixture. Based on each theoretical application amount, 150g/m2, 180g/m2, and 180g/m2 were applied as the flame retardant paint. As a control group, a test specimen that was not with flame retardant treatment was set. The results are as follows. First, ammonium polyphosphate was the most excellent flame resistant. Second, as a result of flame retardant treatment the phosphorus mixture with the same main ingredient on the same type of larch plywood, the effect of flame resistant was different depending on the technology development of each manufacturer. Third, all larch plywood satisfied the flame resistant regardless of the presence or absence of flame retardant treatment. This seems to be because Larix Kamperi itself has a property that does not burn easily. It is expected that the results of this study will be used as basic data for the production of semi noncombustible material suitable for flame resistant Standard of the Nation Fire Agency of Republic Korea in the future.

Design and Development of Composite Plywood that Integrates Fire Resistance, Water Resistance and Wear Resistance

In order to improve the fire resistance, water resistance and wear resistance of ordinary plywood products in the wood processing industry, three composite structures of plywood products S1, S2 and S3 were designed in this paper, and a reasonable production process was proposed. Through the physical and mechanical properties and fire resistance testing and technical and economic analysis, the applicability of composite plywood was evaluated. The results of the study showed that the physical mechanics of the three kinds of composite structure plywood met the standard requirements, and their fire resistance was far better than that of ordinary plywood. Among them, the S1 structural board had the best overall physical and mechanical properties. The S3 structural board showed the best fire resistance, which was about 1.9 times more than that of ordinary plywood, and the added cost was the lowest. The thin cork board added to the S2 structural board had poor fire performance since the air in the cork board cavities had a certain combustion-supporting effect, which inhibited the fire resistance of high-pressure laminate (HPL) layer. Moreover, the additional cost of the S2 board was the highest, and its comprehensive performance was the worst. The S3 structural plywood product composed of HPL fireproof board with a thickness of about 1 mm in the surface layer and ordinary plywood with a thickness of about 12 mm in the core layer was the most cost-effective product, which could meet the needs of various fields such as construction, home furnishing, decoration and transportation.

Hygrothermal monitoring of replacement infill panels for historic timber-frame buildings: initial findings.

Energy retrofits aim to improve the thermal performance of buildings' external envelopes. With buildings of traditional construction there exists the risk that these improvements may lead to interstitial condensation and moisture accumulation. For historic timber-framed buildings, this potentially exposes the embedded historic timbers to conditions favouring fungal decay and insect infestation. Hygrothermal digital simulations can assess this risk, but these have limitations, especially regarding the study of historic and traditional materials, due to a lack of accurate material data. The research presented in this paper therefore uses the monitoring of physical test panels to examine the performance of four different infill solutions. These are, traditional wattle and daub, a composite of wood fibre and wood wool boards, expanded cork board, and hempcrete. The article focuses on the design and construction of the test cell and presents initial results from the first year of monitoring, following the initial drying phase. These showed no evidence of interstitial condensation in any of the panel build-ups, with increases in moisture content correlating directly with climatic measurements of wind-driven rain. Infill materials with low moisture permeability were seen to produce higher moisture contents at the interface with the external render due to the concentration of moisture at this point. Those panels finished in the more moisture permeable lime-hemp plaster, overall present lower moisture contents, with reduced drying times. The use of perimeter, non-moisture permeable, sealants would appear to potentially trap moisture at the junction between infill and historic timber-frame. The monitoring work is ongoing.

Research on Impact Sound Insulation Performance of Timber Floor Structure

To meet users’ needs for the building comfort, this article researched the impact sound insulation performance of timber floor structure under different conditions. The research has been done on a common floor covering and three floating floor coverings (composed of Portuguese cork board, a kind of improved graphite polystyrene sound insulation board (BGL) and expanded polypropylene sound insulation board (EPP) respectively) in the same bedroom in a two-story light-weight timber structure. The tapping machine excitation and daily behavior excitation test methods have been used, and the field tests on the impact sound insulation of the floors under conditions that doors and windows are closed and doors and windows are opened have been validated. Based on the test result, the sound insulation effects has been analyzed; law of the sound pressure distribution of the noise sources and the change of sound pressure with frequency has been validated; the frequency characteristics of the noise sources has been summarized; and the optimization measures of sound insulation has been proposed. The main conclusions show that: the impact sound insulation effect of the floating floor is more significant than that of the ordinary floor, BGL floor has the highest impact sound pressure level improvement; the insulated sound pressure of the floating floors is 10–20 times more than that of the ordinary floor in condition of tapping machine; With the increase of the frequency, the measured impact pressure level of the floor decreases continuously, and the decrement of the impact sound of the floor increases; in the frequency range of 80-8000 Hz, the sound pressure distribution of the floating floor is lower than that of the ordinary floorsound pressure. The impact sound insulation test is expected to provide a useful reference for improving the sound insulation performance of the timber floor structure, and has high engineering application value for improving living comfort.

Pemanfaatan material cork untuk desain kemasan parfum

Cork is an environmentally friendly material, has unique properties and characteristics, but in Indonesia Cork is only used as a material coaster and Cork Board products. Therefore, there appears an idea to develop a product of perfume packaging with cork material, because the perfume packaging is only box-shaped and cylinder. In this study, the collection of data used is by means of surveys and interviews, and assisted with supporting data such as secondary data (books, journals, Internet). Case studies conducted on this research conducted on five objects, namely PT. Grafika Prima Sejahtera, CV. Mulia Jaya Box, PT. Universal artwork, Cote De Azuro perfume Store and Victoria's Secret perfume Shop. The analysis used is an experimental analysis, before analyzing the design of competitors ' bottles and perfume packaging as part of the experimental step, researchers divided several stages of the experiment, the material stage, the coloring stage, Management stage, finishing stage, form experiment and material mix. Concept used is the concept of duplicate, namely following the form of perfume bottles and iconic, namely using the shape icons of women's body, to show perfume used in women. The duplicate concept is used on brands such as Bleau De Chanel perfume, Chanel Chance Women, Silver Babe Park Lane and Victoria's Secret. Iconic concept used on brand perfume Bvlgari Omnia. Researchers made 5 design alternatives, 4 with duplicate and 1 concepts with iconic concepts .

Environmental performance of a cork-based modular living wall from a life-cycle perspective

In a previous work, the authors of this paper proposed a new modular living wall made with expanded cork agglomerate, fully describing the designing process and discussing the overall mechanical performance. It was then shown that several key environmental and functional requirements were met by favouring the use of insulation cork board (ICB), a thermal insulation material with low environmental impact and good water retention.In this paper, the authors have extended the characterization of that living wall system to assess its performance under real conditions, with different plant species, geographical orientations and seasons. For this purpose, a prototype was built with four façades, facing north, south, east, and west. The area of façade covered by vegetation and the carbon sequestration provided by two different plant species were then monitored for over a year. Annual values of carbon uptake, experimentally determined, were further used to update an environmental life cycle model of the system.The results suggest that this modular living wall performs well in terms of plant development and carbon sequestration, with Festuca glauca showing a higher cumulative carbon uptake and a higher percentage of façade coverage than Thymus pulegioides, regardless of the geographical orientation and season. This essentially results from the greater amount of biomass produced by Festuca glauca and its hanging behaviour. It was also concluded that this new modular living wall is an eco-friendly choice, when assessed from a life cycle perspective, since it has a negative carbon balance over its life cycle (22.7 kg CO2eq per square meter).

Thermal Decomposition and Moisture Absorption Kinetic Analysis of Spaceflight Cork Board

The thermal properties of aerospace cork board were studied by thermogravimetric analyzer at room temperature to 1000℃. The hygroscopic characteristics of aerospace cork board were studied by constant temperature hygroscopic method in the range of 20℃ to 40℃. The results show that the pyrolysis process of cork board is similar to that of cork (particle), and the remaining products are mainly adhesives. The initial hygroscopicity of cork board meets Fick's second law, and the wet diffusivity and activation energy increase with the increase of temperature. According to the C-R model of thermal decomposition and water diffusion formula, the kinetics of pyrolysis and moisture absorption of cork boards were described, and the related kinetic parameters were calculated, which provided a reference for the aging research of cork board.

Test and Analysis of the Sound Insulation Performance of Four Types of Timber Structure Floors under Jumping Excitation

To improve the impact sound insulation performance of building floors and meet the objective requirements for living comfort of residents, in this article, three kinds of elastic cushion materials, Portuguese cork board, BGL insulation sound insulation foam board, and EPP polypropylene plastic foam board, are applied to the sound insulation of a light frame wood floor structure of the same bedroom and compared to the ordinary floor. This study uses the transfer function method and transient excitation method to measure the sound insulation, damping ratio, and elastic modulus of materials, as well as the sound insulation of the floor under the jumping excitation method of daily behavior. Through comparative analysis, the results and factors of improving the sound insulation performance of the floor are obtained, according to which three types of elastic cushion materials and the floor covering composed of them have higher vibration and noise reduction performance. Among them, the overall sound insulation performance of BGL board floor is the highest, followed by EPP board and cork board floor, and ordinary OSB floor is the lowest. Under the jumping excitation method, three floating floors can improve the impact sound insulation performance of the middle and low-frequency bands.

Use of scopolamine butylbromide to facilitate specimen fixation after endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a technique for the en bloc resection of early neoplastic lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. A step that must be carried out after excision is the pinning down of the specimen on a support plate such as a cork board to avoid artifacts because of tissue contraction. After ESD lesion borders usually curl up from contraction, hence this procedure must be carefully performed to prevent damaging the specimen. Recently, Nishizawa T, et al. reported that dropping adrenaline onto the lesion results in edge relaxation, which facilitates fixation. However, the use of other drugs-such as Buscapine-that induce gastrointestinal smooth muscle relaxation, potentially with similar effects, has not been described. Below, two ESD specimens from two different institutions are shown. These specimens correspond to gastric lesions. Buscapine is applied on their surface and the edges become relaxed, thus facilitating stretching and thus fixation. In conclusion, the use of Buscapine may help in the processing of excised lesions by facilitating pinning out and reducing damage risk for specimens.

Life cycle analysis of cross-insulated timber panels

A sandwich wall-panel solution based on Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) has been recently developed aiming to rationalize the wood volume and combine it with a low-density core layer for improved thermal insulation and reduced weight. Such panel, named Cross-Insulated Timber (CIT), was previously optimized to fulfil structural and thermal requirements with a minimum production cost. The layout of the new panel is similar to the one of a five-layer CLT panel, but the inner layer is made of polyurethane rigid foam instead of timber. Besides its technical and economical benefit, it is also of interest to assess its environmental impact. This paper presents a study about the environmental impact assessment through Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) of this new type of wood-based sandwich wall panel. A cradle-to-gate LCA with consideration of different end-of-life scenarios is performed in order to identify the processes that contribute the most to the environmental impact of the CIT panel solution proposed during its life cycle, namely during manufacturing. The LCA includes also the comparative assessment of: (i) varying the thickness of the wood layers, with respect to the optimized CIT panel; (ii)using an alternative core material, namely insulation cork board (ICB), and (iii)applying structurally equivalent three-layered CLT solutions, with alternative core materials. The results obtained show that the manufacturing process of the CIT panel, namely the polyurethane foam production and the press and curing processes during the panels assembly are the ones that produce the highest impacts. It was also found out that varying the thickness of the wood layers compared to the optimized solution leads, in general, to an increase in all impact categories. This means that the optimized solution in terms of economic costs is also the one which presents the lowest environmental impacts. Compared to equivalent CIT panels with ICB core and CLT solutions, the environmental performance of the panel proposed was better for some impact categories, while it was worse in others.

Research and simulation analysis of thermal performance and hygrothermal behavior of timber-framed walls with different external thermal insulation layer: Cork board and anticorrosive pine plate

In order to improve the comfort of the living environment, the thermal performance and temperature–humidity regulation of the exterior walls of two timber-framed structure buildings is theoretically calculated and experimentally studied in this study. Both of the two buildings are located in Nanjing, China, the hot-summer and cold-winter zone. Then WUFI is used to simulate and predict the changes of temperature, relative humidity, and water content of the two timber-framed structure buildings, to strengthen the theoretical analysis of the thermal and humidity coupling of the external walls, and to propose an optimal design scheme for the insulation and temperature and humidity regulation of the external walls. The main results show that the tested thermal conductivity is basically consistent with the predicted value, which prove that WUFI simulation can effectively predict the thermal insulation performance of the external wall. The two timber-framed structure buildings are both suitable for the cold areas, and the reasonable optimization of the design of the structure is the key to the insulation of the building wall. Timber-framed structure is proved to have good temperature–humidity regulation effect. The moisture content of the two timber-framed structure buildings is stable, and the annual temperature and winter humidity are within the appropriate humidity range, which indicates that the wall design is suitable for Nanjing hot-summer and cold-winter climate zone. Four types of wall structure indoor mold spore germinations are less likely, which is not easy to produce the mold. The above research aims to optimize the design of the energy-saving wall of the timber-framed structure and create a comfortable and healthy living environment.

Rose-trellis periosteal release in oral mucosal advancement flaps in pigs.

The aims of this study were to find out whether scoring in a rose-trellis pattern improved the stretch of mucoperiosteal flaps more than conventional scoring in the horizontal plane, and to consider its application in the closure of oroantral communications. Sixteen sections of cadaveric porcine buccal mucoperiosteum were removed from the molar region of the maxilla and mandible. A three-sided flap was raised in the subperiosteal plane, excised, and pinned to a cork board with the periosteal side facing upwards. Eight samples were scored in the horizontal plane (control) using lines perpendicular to the line of simulated advancement, and eight in a rose-trellis or criss-cross pattern. Scoring using a rose-trellis pattern yielded a mean increase in stretch of 24.3% (p=0.0003) when compared with the conventional method. Buccal advancement flaps are widely used to close oroantral communications, and scoring of the mucoperiosteum facilitates the stretching of the tissue over the defect. To be successful, defects should be fully closed to prevent contamination, and closure should be tension-free. In this study, scoring in a rose-trellis pattern increased the stretch of the tissue sample more than scoring in the horizontal plane. The rose-trellis technique therefore could aid the effective closure of oroantral communications.

Research on thermal performance and hygrothermal behavior of timber-framed walls with different external insulation layer: Insulation Cork Board and anti-corrosion pine plate

In order to research the thermal and humidity properties and thermal performance of the exterior wall materials with different thermal insulation layers of timber-framed buildings, the thermal and moisture parameters of exterior wall materials of two timber-framed buildings with Insulation Cork Board (ICB) and anti-corrosion pine board were studied in this paper. The heat transfer coefficients of the two timber-framed buildings outer walls were measured and analyzed. Based on the material parameters and temperature, relative humidity and water content of the two timber-framed buildings were predicted by WUFI simulation. The main results show that: Insulation Cork Board can absorb heat more than anti-corrosion pine board. Under the condition of isothermal, moisture content of Insulation layer structure material increases exponentially with the increase of relative humidity. The Insulation performance of the whole wall of building-A with Insulation Cork Board is better than that of building-B with anti-corrosion pine board. Moreover, the overall moisture content of building-A is lower than that of building-B with anti-corrosion pine board. This study is expected to provide useful reference for the optimization design of thermal performance and hygrothermal behavior of exterior wall structure of timber-framed buildings.

Thermal behaviour of a green roof containing insulation cork board. An experimental characterization using a bioclimatic chamber

Green roof technology is increasingly being used to improve the energy and environmental performance of buildings. However, the description of the thermal behaviour of green roofs is very complex since it depends on several variables and relies on intricate phenomena.In this work the authors characterize a green roof system that replaces the conventional drainage and water storage polyethylene membranes with insulation cork boards (ICB). To enable the experimental characterization of this system, a double walk-in bioclimatic chamber was designed and built to recreate indoor and outdoor environmental conditions. Winter and summer environments with steady and unsteady conditions in both dry and wet states were simulated. Thermocouples and heat flux sensors were used to collect data over time from the different layers of the green roof prototypes.Measurements were first performed on a concrete slab insulated with ICB to assess the contribution of the latter to the thermal performance of the system. The effect on the heat transfer was further evaluated for systems of increasing complexity, containing first a substrate layer and then vegetation. It was noted that the substrate and vegetation layers improved the thermal insulation, and reduced heat fluxes and the thermal amplitude within the system. The vegetation layer was found to be of key importance to the overall performance of the green roof. It was also found that ICB and the substrate layers lose part of their insulation capacity when the system was wetted, although it was fully restored in the ICB layer within a few hours.

Retrofitting a Building’s Envelope: Sustainability Performance of ETICS with ICB or EPS

This paper analyses the environmental, energy, and economic performances of the External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) using agglomerated insulation cork board (ICB) or expanded polystyrene (EPS) as insulation material applied in the energetic renovation of the building envelope during a 50-year study period. A comparison between ETICS using ICB and EPS, for the same time horizon, is also presented. The environmental balance is based on “Cradle to Cradle” (C2C) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), focusing on the carbon footprint and consumption of nonrenewable primary energy (PE-NRe). The characteristics of these products in terms of thermal insulation, the increased energy performance provided by their installation for retrofit of the buildings’ envelope, and the resulting energy savings are considered in the energy balance. The estimation of the C2C carbon and PE-NRe saved is considered in the final balance between the energy and environmental performances. ETICS with ICB is environmentally advantageous both in terms of carbon footprint and of PE-NRe. In fact, the production stage of ICB is less polluting, while EPS requires lower energy consumption to fulfil the heating and cooling needs of a flat, due to its lower U-Value, and its lower acquisition cost results in a lower C2C cost. Comparing both ETICS’ alternatives with reference solutions, it was found that the latter only perform better in the economic dimension, and only for an energy consumption to fulfil less than 25% of the heating and cooling needs. This paper represents an advance to the current state-of-the-art by including all the life-cycle stages and dimensions of the LCA in the analysis of solutions for energy renovation of building envelopes.

Drainage and water storage capacity of insulation cork board applied as a layer on green roofs

Abstract This paper evaluates experimentally the water drainage and water storage capacity of insulation cork board (ICB), a natural material, applied as one layer of a green roof system. The apparatus that was designed and built to support and water the test specimens is described. The study examines ICB samples of different thicknesses and densities. The results were compared with those provided by a polyolefin material widely used in these solutions. The full system was tested with and without the substrate typically used in green roof systems. It was found that both the thickness and density of the cork board affect its drainage and storage performance. However, the results indicate that a change in density has a greater effect on drainage capacity. It was found that when the tested specimens included a substrate layer, the peak water flow decreased and the water retention increased. During the course of the study it was also found necessary to redesign the geometry of the ICB to cope with extreme wetting conditions in a complete green roof system. This adjustment meant that when the lower density ICB was used as a drainage layer of a green roof system it outperformed the systems built with the reference product.

Uncoated medium density expanded cork boards for building façades and roofs: Mechanical, hygrothermal and durability characterization

The use of more efficient and greener insulation products is a strategy that is being followed to achieve more sustainable energy efficient buildings. Given these concerns, expanded cork boards, which are 100% natural and recyclable, are being used more often as the only coating for building façades, without any additional protection.In this context, this work evaluates the performance of standard (90–110 kg/m3) and medium (140–160 kg/m3) density expanded cork boards to be applied as an uncoated solution for building façades and roofs. As the building envelope is exposed to external conditions (wind pressure, rain, temperature and moisture gradients, sunlight and mechanical loads), a wide range of laboratory tests were performed to evaluate their mechanical, hygrothermal and durability characteristics.It was found that the medium density cork board is more suitable for the uncoated external insulation of building façades and roofs, since it has a better mechanical performance, without compromising its hygrothermal behaviour. It was found that it is also resistant to long-term exposure to external conditions.

Simulation of Complex Heat Transfer Phenomenon across the Composite Wall by Using COMSOL Multiphysics

Steady state complex heat transfer phenomenon across a cold storage composite wall has been studied by using COMSOL 5.0 Multiphysics simulation software. The layers of composite wall are built with three different materials, pine, cork board and concrete. Inside and outside surface temperatures of composite wall are T1 = 255K and T4 = 298 K respectively. Without including convective resistance heat flux value is 17.15 W/m2 and with convective resistance it is reduced to 12.12 W/m2. The temperature profiles in each composite layer are linear at constant thermal conductivities. But it has been observed that this trend is changed when thermal conductivities are the function of temperature. COMSOL Multiphysics simulator results are compared with analytical results.