Use in construction

Industrial use

Granulated foam glass Scope of the granulated foam glass is not less extensive than a of a block foam glass. It can be used as an effective thermal insulation covering of the walls and ceilings of the buildings as well as in the construction of public roads. Granulated foam glass is sold in polypropylene bags.

Foam glass insulation

Foam glass insulation bearing Neotim® trademark comes from China and is produced at the factory Lanzhou Pengfei Heat Preservation Co., Ltd - the flagship of Chinese industry for the production of insulating materials. The plant has an international ISO 9001: 2000 quality certificate. The plant's products are widely used in the construction of new buildings as well as in oil and gas industry of China at the high risk sites for the processing and storage of oil and gas. At present the plant produces 100 000 m³ of foam glass insulation per year.

Our company is the exclusive representative of the factory Lanzhou Pengfei Heat Preservation Co., Ltd for the sales of foam glass insulation in Russia. One can always find a stockpile of 50.100 and 125 mm thick НеоТим® foam glass insulation in the warehouses of the company.

At present the first stage of the НеоТим® foam glass insulation producing plant with capacity of 50 000 m³ per year is under construction. The plant start-up is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013.

НеоТим® foam glass insulation has passed all the certification tests in Russia. Its physical and technical characteristics are confirmed by laboratory tests at the Central Scientific Research Institute of Building Structures named after V.A. Kucherenko, Central Scientific Research and Experimental Design Institute of the Industrial Buildings and Constructions and State Unitary Enterprise NII Mosstroy. There are also reviews of the use of НеоТим® foam glass insulation in construction and industry presented by various Russian organizations.

Commission of Experts on the new technology used in the construction of the Moscow Department of Town Planning, Development and Reconstruction of Moscow has recognized it appropriate "to use insulation slabs and articles thereof (НеоТим® foam glass) in the construction of Moscow".

Each batch of foamed glass undergoes random visual quality assessment and verification of its physical and technical properties by the international independent expert company SGS-CSTC at the border with Russia.

JSC TsNII Promzdaniy has developed «Guidelines for the application of Neotim® glass foam insulation slabs in coatings, walls and floors» (PDF file, 2.2Mb, download)

Foam glass is an inorganic, lightweight and durable high-porosity cellular material made of glass. It is frozen glass foam forming a set of closed cells of spherical or polyhedral shape at the size of 0.3 – 2.0 mm. The larger size increases the thickness of the walls of cells from a glass having high thermal conductivity, which increases the thermal conductivity of insulation to 0.08-0.1 W/m K at (25 ± 5) °C and a density of up to 170-200 Kg/m3.

«Neotim®» foam glass	«Foamglas T - 4» foam glass	Open JSC Gomelsteklo foam glass

Currently foam glass insulation comes to Russia mainly from Belgium, Belarus and China. Although all of them are manufactured according to the same high-temperature carbon technology the thermo physical properties and the cost of these materials vary greatly.

The results of the tests of НеоТим® foam glass insulation in Russia showed that the calculated thickness of НеоТим® foam glass insulation for profiled decking of an administrative building in Moscow at Rtr = 3.41 is only 6% more than the estimated thickness of foam glass insulation of the FOAMGLAS T -4 brand made by the company PITTSBURGH CORNING SA, while the cost of one square meter of НеоТим® thermal insulation is almost two times less than of the FOAMGLAS T-4 insulation. (See Chart of direct costs and Table No. 1).

While comparing customers often look only at the cost of one square meter of insulation without considering its efficiency, durability, physical and technical characteristics, which leads to inadequate assessment of actual costs for construction and operation. Additional work to protect the insulation from moisture coming from the premises, installation of protective screeds against subsidence and insulation ventilation system, especially on the roofs of profiled decking is not considered at all.

Direct costs for making heat insulation layer of the flat roof made of profiled decking for a public building in the city of Moscow

Comparative cost analysis of direct costs

Table No.1

- Prices for insulation specified for a volume of purchase of up to 500 m³.

- The additional work included: installation of vapor barrier, installation of insulation with plastic plugs mounting, installation of the reinforced cement-sand screed (up to 50 mm) and insulation ventilation system.

Foam glass insulation is completely non-combustible material (Class "NC"), does not emit toxic and carcinogenic substances, does not absorb water, is not subject to mold and fungus, rodent resistant, has high compressive strength which is ten times more than the best fibrous insulation made on the basis of basalt used in the roofs. This allows you to:

- not to install reinforced screed over insulation and backfilling of profiled decking in the ceilings;
- significantly reduce the amount of concrete work to protect insulation from subsidence in rampant, parking areas and operated roofs;
- minimize unloading zones in facades because insulation does not subsides like a mineral wool slab forming cold bridges.

Studies show that the presence of 1% of moisture in the mineral wool insulation increases (worsens) the thermal conductivity almost twice. The amount of moisture increases while the insulation loses its mechanical and thermo technical properties. Water evaporates and water vapor under the waterproofing spreads over the entire area of the roof leading to a significant increase in thermal losses and the cost of heating of a building as well as corrosion of the profiled decking during the winter.

In contrast to styrofoam and fibrous insulation foam glass insulation virtually does not change its physical and technical characteristics during operation and is not subject to aging and degradation during the whole life of the building. This is confirmed not only by accelerated durability tests carried out in Russia but by the results of independent examinations conducted at sites in Europe where the foamed glass was first used as insulation in the roofs more than 50 years ago.

The Lab of Thermal Characteristics and Durability of Building Materials and Products of the Research Institute of Building Physics of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences has conducted the study on durability of the "wet" type facade system with a thin plaster layer and thermal insulation made of the most used slab insulation. All types of insulation were tested simultaneously by a single method and with the same external factors impact. Tests were conducted continuously throughout the year. According to the results of tests the conditional serviceability before overhaul considering the influence of natural factors turned out to be: ten years for extruded polystyrene, fifteen years for basalt-based mineral wool slab, twenty years for block polystyrene and more than forty five years for foam glass. All samples except for foam glass were filled with moisture. At the same time the duration of the completed experiment is not final to determine the lifetime of the system using blocks of foam glass.

"Over 50 years" durability of НеоТим® insulation was confirmed in the Laboratory of Durability of Building Materials and Confinement of Mosstroy Scientific and Research Institute: "Studies have shown that changes in physical and technical properties after 100 cycles of conditional tests are well below the limit values. Additional tests for determining the normative limits of longevity are required".

The use of foam glass can improve all parameters of energy efficient thermal insulation systems of roofs and facades of the constructed and reconstructed building sites, significantly increase the efficiency of capital investment while greatly extending the service life of insulation systems before the current and capital repairs, significantly reduce operating costs for heating and repairs.

НеоТим® foam glass insulation is the material for our customer for whom it is important to effectively invest money not only during construction but also save substantial funds during the operation of the building. This is especially true at sites where any emergency (fire, collapse, leaks and significant heat loss) may lead to loss of lives and property and long-term demurrage associated with the repair work may cause large financial losses. In the West where the foam glass is used for more than 50 years such buildings are:

Administrative, social and sports buildings which have significant social value and original architectural solutions with curved surfaces (community centers, business offices, sports facilities and swimming pools).
Facades of tall buildings where the replacement of insulation is an expensive and technically difficult task.
Buildings with large areas of the roof (airport terminals, supermarkets, industrial parks and assembly shops of the industrial buildings).

Effective and durable foam glass insulation is an integral component of the modern construction of stone, concrete and reinforced concrete building sites

Insulation materials are always used to increase the thermal insulation of residential, commercial and social buildings as well as the thermal insulation of communications, heat and water supply systems in regions with harsh climatic conditions. Foam glass thermal insulation is currently the most efficient, durable and inexpensive type of insulation compared with other materials. Durable porous material structure provides excellent thermal insulation of facades, basements and roofs of buildings. At the same time thermal insulation does not lose its properties over time. With high humidity and temperature foam glass thermal insulation is not destroyed and retains its shape. Foam glass thermal insulation has a high fire resistance. In addition such insulation is environmentally friendly which allows its use in the interior. Insulation of foamed glass material has excellent adhesion to all materials and could be easily handled and installed. Using this type of insulation you will significantly reduce the energy consumption for operating a building.