Spray Polyurethane Foam and cPVC Pipes and Fittings-
Research Project Update
January
5, 2009 - Over the past several months the building construction
community has questioned the compatibility between spray polyurethane foams and
pipes and fittings made with cPVC. It is important to note we are not aware of any cPVC failure that was a result of a chemical incompatibility with properly applied SPF. Two studies have been recently
completed that address these questions. The first study, sponsored by
SPFA and Lubrizol, a leading supplier of cPVC resins, evaluated the chemical
compatibility and simple thermal compatibility on unpressurized pipe and fittings between a wide range of SPF products (low density, medium density, and one component foam) and cPVC products made with
Lubrizol resins. This comprehensive testing program demonstrated that no
environmental stress cracking of the cPVC is caused by the SPF products
tested. A copy of the technical paper, Industry Study of Compatibility of Spray Polyurethane Foam with CPVC -Part II v2, presented at Polyurethanes 2009 Technical Conference October 5-7, 2009 Gaylord National Harbor, MD, can be downloaded here. In addition, a summary statement
on the results of this chemical compatibility research from Mr. Jim Paschal, a
PVC pipe technical expert, can also be downloaded here. The second
separate study, performed in cooperation with Lubrizol and a SPFA member foam
supplier, evaluated more extensively the effects of exothermic temperatures from both
low-density (LD) and medium-density (MD) when applied to a variety of cPVC pipe
diameters and thicknesses. This study shows that exothermic heating of
pressurized cPVC pipes should not be an issue if this suppliers LD foam is
applied at 6” or less per pass, and MD foam is applied at 2” or less per pass
over any Lubrizol cPVC pipe or fitting product. In addition, this
exotherm study has provided a simple test method for foam suppliers to evaluate
individual products for exotherm compatibility. Lubrizol has recently
issued a statement on the Lubrizol website in regard to the outcomes of both projects. In addition both of these research
projects will be presented during the technical breakout sessions at the SPFA’s Spray Foam 2010 Conference in
Orlando, FL on February 14-17, 2010 and the presentations will be available for
download after the conference.
