Contents
- Advantages and disadvantages of
- How to choose a foam glass?
- The largest manufacturers on the market in Russiainsulation that can more or less effectively retain heat in the house. Among them, one of the most versatile and unique is foam glass. Its peculiarity is that it perfectly retains sounds, thus acting as a heat and sound insulator. Using such material, one can be sure that the dwelling will be protected from cold weather, the cost of heating will decrease, and inside it will become calm, quiet and comfortable. Unfortunately, foam glass is a relatively new material in the domestic construction market, not everyone knows about it, so its main advantages and disadvantages, particular features and key manufacturers require more careful consideration.
Foam glass was created on the territory of the Soviet Union in the 1930s, and its use at that time was built on floating properties. Then it turned out that the material can act as an excellent heat and sound insulator, so it can be used in residential and industrial construction. The material in composition is is actually ordinary glass, but with one difference - it contains a lot of bubbles filled with air. As raw materials often use broken glass and waste of the glass industry. All this is ground into powder, a blowing agent is added, which often serves as coke, coal or anthracite, placed in molds and sent to a furnace where heating to 10000 ° C occurs. First, the powder melts in such conditions, then a reaction occurs that promotes swelling, and as a result, the volume of the initial mixture increases to 15 times. After slow cooling, the product can be cut into individual blocks with the specified parameters. The chemical composition of the blocks - this is the usual silicate glass, but the difference is in the presence in the foam glass of a huge number of bubbles with air or carbon dioxide .Such a structure and causes all the unique properties of this heat and sound insulating material.
Most often foam glass can be seen in the form of blocks or plates , but there is also another form - granules with different size fractions , which are made by a slightly different technology. Plates and blocks are distinguished by a more versatile area of use for : this is the insulation of external walls, facades, partitions, roofs, basements, industrial buildings, etc. Granular foam glass can be used as a bulk material in the walls with a layer or to fall asleep as a heater and sound insulation for the floor. 
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Many experts who have already encountered foam glass call it a unique material, consisting of alone, the advantages of .Here are just some of them :
- excellent thermal insulation properties , which allow the material to retain heat in the house, while allowing good savings on insulation. Thus, the coefficient of thermal conductivity is about 0.045 W / m * K;
- foam glass is an excellent sound insulator , which absorbs noises of a different nature. Thus, a 10 cm thick slab can reduce noise by 56 dB, which means it will be an effective protection even if the house is located near a noisy street or roadway;
-
durability : in the characteristics of the material indicate that it can retain all its operational properties in full for 100 years. Of course, not every wall will last a century, but still the foam glass will allow you not to worry about heat and sound insulation for a very long time after installation; - foam glass well withstands temperature fluctuations , perfectly tolerates very high and very low temperatures, and at the same time its structure is not deformed, and the main properties are not lost;
- as a part of foamed glass there are no organic compounds that may be of interest to different types of bacteria, therefore there will never be fungus or mold here .This property allows you to safely use the foam glass, even in rooms with high humidity;
- this material has great strength , which eliminates the need for auxiliary fasteners, which facilitates the installation process;
-
the invariance of the geometrical dimensions of and the properties of the material during the time is explained by its structure, so the foam glass is close to concrete or brick, becoming a durable and reliable material; - absolute resistance to high temperatures and flame retardancy .To verify this property of foam glass, you need to recall its manufacturing technology: glass melts at enormous temperatures, around 10000С, i.e.at achievement of similar indicators the material will also begin to melt, but not to burn, and at the same time no harmful substances will be emitted;
- foam glass does not pass water, therefore it will become an additional hydro-barrier;
- material is able to breathe , creating an optimal indoor climate;
- high adhesion to many building materials m, incl.to plaster.
The only drawback of foam glass is in its high cost , since its manufacturing technology remains expensive and complicated. But even despite this, the material becomes an indispensable heat insulator in some cases , competing with other cheaper options. Thus, in the construction of high structures, it is used due to its high strength and fire resistance, and in pools, water parks and baths it is used due to absolute inertness to water. Food or medical buildings also often use foam glass, since it is safe from a sanitary point of view. Its unique properties allowed it to be used even in industry, as well as in the construction of nuclear power plants.
How to choose a foam glass?
It is still rather difficult to choose foam glass, since it is a relatively new heat and sound insulation material on the market, and its quality criteria are not completely clear to everyone. It is necessary to pay attention to the so that the plates or blocks are of the same size and that the structure contains mostly separate, non-communicating bubbles. As for the granulated foam glass, the production technologies of different manufacturers are slightly different, so the result can be a material with good or not very vapor permeability, and the indicator is better specified in the accompanying documentation. The absence of such means that you will buy foam glass at your own peril and risk. Before starting the insulation and buying materials, it is better to carry out a calculation that shows the optimal thickness of the heat and sound insulator, so that the dew point is in it and the outer wall does not cool below + 50C, otherwise condensation may occur, negatively affecting the wall of the house. Such a calculation is relatively complex, it can be trusted with professionals, but the experience of using foam glass in our climate suggests that most often a layer of 12-20 cm is enough.
It is worth noting that foam glass will “work” better if is used to insulate the newly constructed building, which is already being designed with regard to the use of such a thermal insulator. This is due to the fact that the foam glass is best to insulate thin strong and cold walls, for example, a brick wall of 1.5 bricks. If the thickness of a brick wall increases to 2.5 bricks, or foam blocks or gas silicate blocks are used, which are already material with thermal insulation properties, a thicker layer of foam glass will be needed. This is explained by the same location of the dew point, which will need to be shifted to the layer of insulation. When choosing foam glass today, it is better for to focus on the products of those manufacturers that have already recommended themselves to .As a result, you get not only quality products, but also advice that allows you to maximize the unique properties of this material.
The largest manufacturers on the market in Russia
Pittsburgh Corning
The leading manufacturer of foam glass in the United States and the world. Production began here in 1943, and in the 60s three new factories were opened in Belgium, the Czech Republic and Germany. Foamglass is produced by under the brand name FOAMGLAS , and is used in industry and civil engineering. The company offers not only blocks of foam glass , but also a lot of auxiliary products : sealants, decorative coatings, adhesives, etc. The manufacturer has a representative office worldwide, incl.and in Russia. One of the main objectives of the company is to maximize customer satisfaction of products. That is why “Pittsburgh Corning” offers in addition such services as energy audit of the building, calculation of the required thickness of thermal and sound insulation of , installation assistance, etc.
SAITAX
Domestic company, which is one of the largest players in the Russian foam glass market. She specializes in the production of this material, so she has already gained a lot of experience and established herself. The product range includes blocks and plates made of foam glass of various parameters, as well as foam glass granules. The company does not stand still in its development, constantly modernizes the technologies used, expands the range of products. The company's products have a certificate of conformity, but much more says about it that it was this foam glass that was used in the heat and sound insulation of important government facilities, sports complexes, and administrative institutions.
"STES-Vladimir"
Company from Vladimir, which became the first domestic manufacturer , which began to revive the production technology of foam glass in the country after they were all lost and forgotten in the 90s of the last century. As a result, already in 2000, the new company entered the domestic market with its unique production technology, which made it possible to produce a heat and sound insulator that is not inferior, and even superior to some of the best world analogues in quality.
Today it is a modern, powerful company that uses in production only the most advanced equipment purchased from world-known supplier companies that are leaders in their field. All this helps STES-Vladimir to produce products of the highest quality and in ever-growing volume. It is in great demand in the national market and begins to go beyond it.
The range of products today is very extensive, and includes both plates with different parameters and shaped products, incl.shells, segments and elbows, which can be useful when insulating industrial facilities, and, if desired, warm the pipeline.
JSC Gomelglass
is a Belarusian company that has existed since the pre-war period, and during this period has entered the international level. Foamglass has been produced here since 1956, so many years of experience have been gained, and the production technology of this material has been improved. The manufacturer in the public domain places all the necessary documents and certificates that confirm the high quality of the products. Anyone can get acquainted with the documentation regarding foam glass in blocks and granules: certificates of conformity for Russia and the Republic of Belarus, certificate of state hygienic registration, as well as test reports. The manufacturer provides extensive information on its products, actively promoting it in the Russian market, where it provides customers with not only slabs and blocks of various sizes, but also provides full support for .So, if necessary, the company's specialists will help to calculate the required layer of foam glass, depending on the specific conditions.
“Venusal”
“Porosital” is another domestic foam glass manufacturer that has established itself well. Its products are perfectly sold in all regions of the country, has all the necessary quality certificates, incl.sanitary and hygienic conclusion, fire certificate, certificate of conformity TU, test report. The company's product range includes foam glass in slabs, granulated and fine fraction foam glass, as well as foam glass rubble. All the necessary information can be found on the company's website, where you can also completely free of charge and it is very easy to calculate which layer of foam glass you need to use for a specific structure in a specific climate zone.
TD "Stekloprodukt"
A company whose products are in demand not only in private construction, but also for the insulation of industrial and public buildings. Along with other glass products, the highest quality foam glass is produced here. The range includes blocks of different geometric sizes and granules. The products passed all the necessary certification and were used including.in the construction of facilities for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. LLC “Plant of Building Heat-Insulating Materials”
Plant, which was the first in Ukraine and the second in the CIS to begin production of foam glass - a unique heat and sound insulating material. The first batch of this material was made here in 2007, and used a completely new, not borrowed technology from anyone. Above it worked several research centers and foreign experts. To date, the company produces blocks and slabs of foam glass , which are of the highest quality. In the near future, plans to expand the product range of granular and shaped foam glass.
