Polystyrene Board Research Articles

WE‐G‐204‐01: BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING): Effect of Image Processing Parameters On Nodule Detectability in Chest Radiography

Purpose:To investigate the effect of varying system image processing parameters on lung nodule detectability in digital radiography.Methods:An anthropomorphic chest phantom was imaged in the posterior‐anterior position using a GE Discovery XR656 digital radiography system. To simulate lung nodules, a polystyrene board with 6.35mm diameter PMMA spheres was placed adjacent to the phantom (into the x‐ray path). Due to magnification, the projected simulated nodules had a diameter in the radiographs of approximately 7.5 mm. The images were processed using one of GE's default chest settings (Factory3) and reprocessed by varying the “Edge” and “Tissue Contrast” processing parameters, which were the two user‐configurable parameters for a single edge and contrast enhancement algorithm. For each parameter setting, the nodule signals were calculated by subtracting the chest‐only image from the image with simulated nodules. Twenty nodule signals were averaged, Gaussian filtered, and radially averaged in order to generate an approximately noiseless signal. For each processing parameter setting, this noise‐free signal and 180 background samples from across the lung were used to estimate ideal observer performance in a signal‐known‐exactly detection task. Performance was estimated using a channelized Hotelling observer with 10 Laguerre‐Gauss channel functions.Results:The “Edge” and “Tissue Contrast” parameters each had an effect on the detectability as calculated by the model observer. The CHO‐estimated signal detectability ranged from 2.36 to 2.93 and was highest for “Edge” = 4 and “Tissue Contrast” = −0.15. In general, detectability tended to decrease as “Edge” was increased and as “Tissue Contrast” was increased. A human observer study should be performed to validate the relation to human detection performance.Conclusion:Image processing parameters can affect lung nodule detection performance in radiography. While validation with a human observer study is needed, model observer detectability for common tasks could provide a means for optimizing image processing parameters.

Experimental Investigation and Theoretical Analysis of Polystyrene Panels with Load Bearing Thin-Walled Cold-Formed Elements

The paper presents preliminary results of theoretical and experimental analysis of the resistance of construction panels at compressive loading. Panels, made on the base of polystyrene foam in combination with thin-walled cold-formed elements, should be used as a load-bearing wall panels for simple and small structures. Investigated panels, with dimensions 1.0x2.5x0.15 m, are formed by six thin-walled elements of U-profile with a thickness of 0.8 mm, which are stabilized by glued polystyrene board EPS 100 S, 150 mm thick. Sufficient number of strain gages and inductive sensors were used for the experimental measurement of strains and deflections. Strain gauges and inductive sensors were both-sided suitably located on each tested panel. Spatial calculation model was created within software SCIA and ANSYS. Geometrically nonlinear analysis was used for the numerical solution. Based on the numerical and experimental results, the efficiency of polystyrene boards on the stability of used thin-walled steel elements was determined.

Optimal Technologies for External Thermal Insulation with Polystyrene Panels for Different Support Materials

In the context of the energy crisis and environmental degradation, a particular importance has the reduction of operational energy in buildings by the reduction of heat losses through exterior walls. The thermal insulation of buildings leads to operational energy savings, contributing to the reduction of environmental pollution due to current energy production systems. Given the importance of energy savings and material costs, the paper presents optimal technologies for polystyrene board thermal insulation applied on different substrates. By developing these technologies for energy saving and cost reduction, the paper falls in the category of sustainable development technologies.

Possibility of using the expanded polystyrene and rape straw to the manufacture of lightweight particleboards

The study investigated the possibility of using rape straw and expanded polystyrene for the production of low density particleboards. Particleboards with the core layer made of wood chips or rape straw, partly substituted with polystyrene (7%), were manufactured within the density range of 500 – 650 kg/ m 3 , and resinated with MUF resin. Our study confirmed that wood chip-expanded polystyrene (WP) and wood chip-rape straw-expanded polystyrene boards (WRP), of density reduced to 600 kg/m 3 , met the mechanical requirements of the subject standard for boards intended for interior design (including furniture) and used in dry conditions. However, further density reduction required an increased resination of the core layer.

Interaction between plasticized polyvinyl chloride waterproofing membrane and extruded polystyrene board, in the inverted flat roof

The inverted flat roof is a constructive system widely used in flat roof construction. In this constructive solution, the insulation is placed over the waterproofing material as a protection. It is believed that this solution provides a longer life cycle; given the fact that it limits the thermal variation the waterproofing material bears up to the end of its life cycle. Consequently, the result will be providing a longer life to the waterproofing membrane. This constructive solution always incorporates polymers or other materials with a thermoplastic addition in their composition. Some polymers show interactions between them that can affect their integrity, and, at the same time, the bulk of the polymeric materials are incompatible. The extruded polystyrene board is always present in the inverted flat roof, and although it is an unbeatable product for this use, it presents incompatibilities and interactions with other materials, and these can affect their properties and therefore the durability of them.

A contribution for the improvement in thermal insulation of tabique walls coated with metal corrugated sheets

Tabique is a traditional Portuguese building technique using timber and earth and was intensively applied until the 20th century. There is an impressive tabique heritage that requires maintenance and rehabilitation interventions. Taking into account the facts that technical and scientific publications related to this particular technique are lacking and that the technique is also applied worldwide, this research work is a very relevant one. This study aims at studying the thermal insulation behaviour of tabique walls and in particular, tabique walls coated using metal corrugated sheets and thermally reinforced with an insulation material. This type of building component is initially characterized and some building details concerning the metal corrugated sheet coating are described. An experimental work was conducted to determine the thermal transmission coefficient of the tabique wall samples. It was concluded that providing the tabique wall coated with metal corrugated sheets with a 3 cm extruded polystyrene board results in a thermal insulation improvement of 61%. These results revealed that the thermal insulation reinforcement of tabique walls is possible and it may be a straightforward building procedure because it can be achieved using the thermal insulation building materials that are currently being used. Therefore, the thermal insulation reinforcement of tabique walls seems feasible. Furthermore, the thermal insulation parameters obtained in this study are similar to the ones obtained for currently applied walls solutions in new buildings. This technical fact may provide guidance for the possibility of using solutions used in old buildings to meet the thermal comfort requirements expected in today’s times. The knowledge gained will also be useful to support future proposals of energy rehabilitation solutions. Practical implications: In this article, tabique construction and its relevance worldwide are discussed. This article highlights the building details concerning the use of metal corrugated sheet coating on tabique walls and evaluates the thermal insulation behaviour of this wall system. The outcomes indicate that it is possible to improve the thermal insulation of a tabique wall. The data obtained in this study may be valuable for repairing tabique walls and may also inspire innovative building solutions in modern industrial practice.

The Future of the Polystyrene as Thermal Insulation in Buildings

The future of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) as thermal insulation in the construction industry is divided into two trends. The first one contains polystyrene boards and shaped elements already built-in in the buildings, respectively problems of their liquidation as construction or demolition waste generated during reconstructions and demolition of the buildings. The second trend is focused on the future production of polystyrene foam as the material for thermal insulations. Its target in particular is the change of technological processes and finding new methods to reduce energy consumption during production, improve the thermal insulation properties and replace the existing flame retardant other, environmentally acceptable.

Study on the Combustion Characteristic of Adhesive Polystyrene

In this paper, two kinds of adhesive polystyrene with different proportions and one retardant polystyrene board were studied by test of non combustibility, calorific value and single combustion test. By analysis and comparison, on the premise of the roughly same cost and thermal conductivity, adhesive polystyrene materials showed much less fire risk than that of the polystyrene board.

Research on Thermal Insulation and Energy Saving of External Wall in City High-Rise Building of Cold Area

This paper applies the method of numerical simulation and field detection, and studied energy-saving insulation characteristics on the external walls of high-rise buildings in cold area, analyze and recommend the best arrangement of building and the most generous exterior wall insulation system suitable for cold area, and the degree of insulation materials were studied. The results show that: the mode preferred cold area is exterior insulation, insulation material made of extruded polystyrene board, frame structure filling wall preferred ceramsite hollow block.

Evaluation of the performance of extruded polystyrene boards – Implications for their application in earthquake engineering

The paper summarizes the results of laboratory tests that were performed on samples of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS). The aim of the investigation was to determine the mechanical characteristics which are essential for the seismic analysis of modern low-energy building structures, where XPS boards are used as a thermal insulation layer beneath the building's foundations. As well as this, the shear behaviour of differently composed thermal insulation (TI) foundation sets was investigated, and their friction capacity estimated. The results showed that, in general, XPS material with higher compressive strength also possesses higher shear strength. Sliding between individual components of TI foundation set was revealed to be a likely failure mechanism in the case of building structures that are founded on a TI layer when subjected to strong earthquake loadings.

Experimental Study on the Thermal Conductivity of Thermal Insulation Materials Used in Residential Buildings

The most basic way to keep comfortable indoor environments for a building’s occupants and save energy for space heating and cooling in residential buildings is to insulate the building envelope. Among the building materials to be used, thermal insulation materials primarily influence thermal performance. In particular, the type, thermal conductivity, density, and thickness of heat insulator, are important factors influencing thermal insulation performance. We investigate the design status of residential buildings which were designed in accordance with the building code of Korea and selected the type of thermal insulation materials applied to the walls of buildings. The present study aims at measuring the thermal conductivity of thermal insulation materials used for building walls of residential buildings. In this study, after collecting the design documents of 129 residential buildings, we investigated the type and thickness of insulation materials on the exterior wall specified in the design documents. As the thermal insulation materials, extruded polystyrene (XPS) board and expanded polystyrene(EPS) board are used the most widely in Korea when designing residential buildings. The thickness of thermal insulation materials applied to the exterior wall was 70mm, most frequently applied to the design. We measured the thermal conductivity and the density of XPS board and EPS board. When the density of XPS and EPS was 30~35 kg/㎥, the thermal conductivity of XPS was 0.0292 W/mK and it of EPS was 0.0316 W/mK.

Analyses the New Building Wall Materials and Exterior Wall Thermal Insulation Technology

New building wall materials is a kind of material which is not at the price of consuming cultivated land, destruction of ecology and environmental pollution, adapting to the construction industrialization, construction mechanization, reducing wet construction operations at the site, improving the function of modern building construction. Presently, as for our country stage, new building wall materials is including all building wall materials except for clay solid brick building wall materials. In our country, the production of new type wall materials has been increasing rapidly and its quality and product has been improved obviously, what’s more, the technology and equipment level also rises fast which created very convenient advantages for the development of exterior wall thermal insulation technology. Presently, there are mainly three kinds which are the out-cell heat preservation, a polystyrene board and wall body casting molding at a time and polystyrene particles insulation pulp outer wall heat preservation.

Simulation and optimization of solar greenhouses in Northern Jiangsu Province of China

Abstract A simulating model was used to simulate and improve the thermal performance of solar greenhouses. Simulations with the weather conditions of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province show that the greenhouse with clay brick wall (0.6 m thick) insulated with polystyrene boards (0.1 m) and the greenhouse with soil wall (3 m thick) perform better than the one with hollow concrete block wall (0.6 m thick). The lowest air temperature increases with thermal resistance and thermal inertia index of north wall. The thermal performance of the solar greenhouse with hollow concrete block wall can be improved by increasing the density and reducing the thermal conductivity of north wall. The soil wall can be conceptually divided into three layers from inside to outside: energy-storing layer, thermal stable layer, and thermal insulating layer. Thermal stable layer shrinks with the reduction of the size of north wall and it would disappear when the wall is reduced to a certain size. A trapezoidal soil wall with a top of 0.5 m and a base of 1.7 m appears to be a proper design if the air temperature is to be maintained above 10 °C under the weather conditions of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province of China.

Comparative Study on Life Cycle Assessment for Typical Building Thermal Insulation Materials in China

Studies on life cycle assessment of three typical building thermal insulation materials including polystyrene board, rock wool board, and rigid foam polyurethane board related to building energy-saving were carried out. Based on the method of life cycle assessment, "1 kg of thermal insulation material" is first selected as one of the functional units in this study based on the production field data statistics and general market transaction rules of the thermal insulation materials, and life cycle resource consumption, energy consumption and exhaust emission of the three products in China are deeply surveyed and analyzed. The abiotic depletion potential (ADP), primary energy demand (PED), and global warming potential (GWP) for production of 1 kg of the three thermal insulation materials are calculated and analyzed. Furthermore, the functional unit is extended to be "1 m2 of thermal insulation material meeting the same energy-saving requirements" so as to compare the difference of environmental friendliness among the three building thermal insulation materials, and the corresponding life cycle environmental impact is also calculated and analyzed. As shown by the results, where calculated in unit mass, the order of production life cycle environmental impact significances of the thermal insulation materials is as follows: rock wool board < polyurethane board < polystyrene board. However, where calculated in unit area (m2) meeting the 65% energy-saving requirements, the production life cycle environmental impact significances of the three kinds of insulation materials are sorted as polystyrene board < polyurethane board < rock wool board, whatever the region is, which is opposite with that of the results for the insulation materials in unit mass (kg). The reason for such difference is that they have different volume weights and heat conductivity coefficients. The polystyrene board has a smaller volume weight and the smallest heat conductivity coefficient, whereas the rock wool board has the highest volume weight and heat conductivity coefficient. Source of the project fund. Subject "the Research and Application of Life Cycle Assessment Technology to the Building Materials for Building Engineering in Typical Regions" of the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period (No.: 2011BAJ04B06)

The Thermal Insulation Performance of Envelope Construction of Residential Housing – A Case Study of Detached Houses in Yilan, Taiwan

This research aims to study the design and thermal insulation performance of detached houses in Taiwan through the analysis of 55 detached houses. The research shows that 85% of detached houses are built using reinforced concrete (RC) construction, and the rest mostly using lightweight steel framing (LSF) construction. The thermal insulation performance of envelope construction of RC housing is poorer than LSF housing. More than 80% of the case study sample could not meet the roof thermal insulation requirements of Taiwans latest regulations on housing building energy saving. The most commonly used thermal insulation materials are polystyrene board, glass wool and rock wool, which are nearly all applied in LSF housings for the internal thermal insulation layer or the structural body layer of envelope construction. Polystyrene board has the widest range of use, including both internal and external thermal insulation layers of the envelope construction. If improving thermal insulation performance of the common envelope construction concluded from case study samples to meet Taiwans latest regulations on housing building energy saving, of the savings on air-conditioning energy during the summer could potentially be 11.5%. However, above improvement project is not economically beneficial due to the too long payback period.

Using Field Data to Evaluate Bottom Ash as Pavement Insulation Layer

A common problem in cold regions is the penetration of frost into susceptible subgrade soils. This study investigated the application of bottom ash in comparison with polystyrene boards as an insulation layer at a test road in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The adjacent normal section was used as the control section. All sections were instrumented at various depths to monitor temperature variation. On the basis of temperature measurements in the base and subgrade layers from October 2012 to June 2013, frost depth and freezing and thawing periods were analyzed for each section. R-values for thermal resistivity were calculated for each layer, considering its thickness and thermal properties, and were used for justifying and comparing the temperature trends. R-values were established at 1.4 and 16.7 m2 • °C/W for the bottom ash and polystyrene board, respectively. The base layer in the polystyrene section experienced higher temperatures in the summer and lower temperatures in the winter in relation to the bottom ash and control sections. On the basis of temperature measurements at depths of 1.61 to 3.27 m, the subgrade in the polystyrene section showed the lowest variation in temperature with respect to time and depth, followed by the bottom ash and then the control section. This behavior indicated that the insulation layers obstructed the heat transfer between the surface and the lower layers. The use of polystyrene boards and bottom ash as insulation materials decreased the frost depth by at least 40% and 28%, respectively, compared with the control section.

Large-Strain Performance Research of XPS Board under Long-Term Load for Controlling Foundation Differential Settlement

Differential settlement may occur in structure foundations for the differences between vertical loads in different parts of the superstructures, or the differences between deformation features of the foundation soils. Then it is of great significance to develop new methods for controlling foundation differential settlement by using special materials, of which the deformation features can be controlled. Through the compression tests, settlement controllable materials can be selected by comparing the bearing capacity and deformation features of different materials experimented in the tests. According to the results of the compression tests in short term and long term, this article analyzed the bearing capacity and deformation features of different materials through the stress-strain curves. The research shows that XPS (Extruded Polystyrene) boards are of high bearing capacity, large strain property and long-term property stability, and are well suited to be used in civil engineering by controlling the differential settlement of the structure foundation.

Analysis of Extruded Polystyrene Short-Term Compression Dependence on Exposure Time

Extruded polystyrene is extensively used in many applications such as thermal insulation, packaging, structural use and buoyancy. In order to an effective use of this material it is essential to know its behavior under compression. The research in this work was carried out by using extruded polystyrene boards (F200, F300, F400, F500 and F700) which were produced by Lithuanian and Finland manufacturers. The changes of extruded polystyrene ultimate compressive stress σ cr , ultimate strain, initial modulus of elasticity and thickness were determined right away after production and after a certain exposure time of specimens. It was noticed significant changes in strength characteristics after 45 days. Compression tests and conditioning of specimens were conducted at 23 °C ±2 °C ambient temperature and 50 % ±5 % relative humidity. Regression dependences of ultimate compressive stress σ cr and ultimate strain on exposure time (from 10 to 326 days) were presented. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.19.4.2582

Degradation of PVC-P Membranes in Flat Roof Compositions

The degradation of PVC-P membranes in direct contact with bituminous membranes is well known problem. There is also the degradation of PVC-P membranes connected with EPS polystyrene incompatibility. Both bituminous membranes and EPS polystyrene board have been used to determine the differences in signs of PVC-P degradation.

Experimental Study of Material Thickness Effect on Combustion Characteristic for Molded Polystyrene Board

In this paper, the experimental platform about combustion characteristics of thermoplastic insulation materials is designed and established. The material surface temperature, heat release rate, flame height and pyrolysis position of different thickness of molded polystyrene board are obtained. Research results show that the flame spread rate increased with the increase of the thickness of material thickness and the fire spending increase decreases first and then increases. Considering the heat preservation performance and combustion performance of this material, 50mm is the critical thickness.