Radiation contribution to the thermal conductivity of plastic foams

C. DE MICCO; C.M. ALDAO

JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE PART B-POLYMER PHYSICS

Año: 2005 vol. 43 p. 190 - 192

0887-6266

The validity of two approaches widely used to determine the radiant thermal conductivity in plastic foams is discussed.  While one approach is based on the solution of a geometric model, the other is derived from the experimental determination of the extinction coefficient.  Comparison to recently reported experimental data shows that the geometric approach predicts values that are in good agreement.  In contrast, values deduced from measurements of the mean extinction coefficient significantly underestimate the radiant thermal conductivity, an effect that can be traced to the way that the extinction coefficient is measured.