FAQ - Dúvidas mais Frequentes

Some doubts regarding the use of the insulating material or the fastening system, or even the coating are quite common. In order to make things easier to the visitors of our site, we formulated some questions and answers with the intention of clarifying these doubts:

1- Which are the main insulating products manufactured in Brazil?
R- R- The main insulating products manufactured in Brazil are: mineral wool, glass wool, ceramic fiber, calcium silicate, expanded polyesthyrene (EPS), polyurethane, elastomeric foam among others.

2- Why should I use the heat insulating material, in other words, what are the purposes of the heat insulating material?
R- R- The main purpose of installing a heat insulating system is to inhibit the flow of heat. Based on this it is possible to obtain:

Energy conservation reducing the costs with fuel;
Maintenance of temperature in industrial processes, temperatures of processes;
Control of superficial temperature aiming individual protection – safety temperature;
Reduction in the heat absorption or heat loss in equipments and structures;
Prevent condensation or freezing of water vapor on surfaces.

3- What do Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Resistance mean?
R- Thermal conductivity: it is the most important in any insulating product. Its numeric value is fundamental to the elaboration of thermal projects, heat loss calculation tables, economic thickness calculation.

Theoretical definition: it is the quantity of heat in unit time that passes through an specific area and of specific thickness, which differs from the opposite surface temperature by one degree.
Practical definition: it is the fundamental measure of a material to transfer heat. The lower its value the better its insulating properties.

R- Thermal resistance: it is the capacity of a material to keep the heat flow. When the resistance increases the heat flow decreases. R=E
K

Heat flow: it is usually used to quantify the heat gain or loss in a system per hour in a specific area.

4- How can I choose a good heat insulating material
R- You need to analyze some variants of the material:

The temperature considered for insulation;
What is the recommended thickness (see manufacturer table);
Availability of the insulating material in the market;
Cost of the insulating material – make comparisons.

With the temperature of operation, the temperature of the cold surface required (normally 60ºC) and analyzing the variants above, it is possible to select a good insulator.

5- Which is the operating range of the heat insulation material manufactured in Brazil?
R- We can list the operating range of heat insulating material as follow:

Mineral wool: from - 200ºC to 750ºC
Glass wool: from - 200ºC to 550ºC
Ceramic fiber: to 1.400ºC and some specified products up to 1.600ºC
Calcium silicate: to 815ºC
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)/ (Styrofoam?): from - 50ºC to 80ºC
Polyurethane: from 80ºC to 100ºC (short periods)

6- Do the heat insulating material follow any standards for its manufacture?
R- Yes. The products are manufactured according to ASTM or ABNT standards and Petrobrás standards.

7- Which is the coating normally applied when we use Calcium Silicate?
R- We use corrugated aluminum with thickness of 0.15 or 0.40 mm according to Petrobrás standards.

8- Should I consider heat insulation an expense or an investment?
R- Doubtlessly insulation is an investment because you invest initially, save fuel and therefore there is a return of your investment. Usually this return of investment occurs in 15 months, however, there are a lot of variants to be considered, such as energy costs, depreciation etc.

9- How do I choose among the several types of finishes available?
R- In each situation the insulating material, the fastening system and the coating must be analyzed. Regarding the coating there are several types: stainless steel plate, galvanized sheets, aluminum sheets, special textile, special emulsions, trapezoidal tiles, pre painted sheets etc. You will follow the client request but in case of your own specification you must pay attention to:

The coating used by the client;
Availability on market;
Local of application (inside/ outside);
Ease of application;
Application time;
Cost.

10- Which are the normally used acoustic insulating materials?
R- Normally the fibered ones: Mineral wool, glass wool, ceramic fiber and premoulded polyurethane foam.

11- What are thermal acoustic blankets/panels/ jackets?
R- They are special products usually manufactured with fibered material (Mineral wool, glass wool or ceramic fiber) - depending on the temperature of operation - and totally covered with special textiles AT – (it reaches 1.000ºC).

12- Where are the thermal acoustic blankets/panels/ jackets used?
R- Usually in “not-uniform” equipments. The thermal acoustic blanket/ jacket, among others, have the advantage of covering and uncovering the equipment without damaging the final product.

13- Which is the cheapest insulating material?
R- You cannot analyze only the insulator to make a decision about the lowest cost. It is necessary to analyze the set (Insulator, fastening, assembly, coating and work). After having the cost of these items you will be able to decide about the most economically feasible set.

14-How do I convert ºC into ºF ?
R- To convert Celsius into Fahrenheit degrees, multiply by 9, divided by 5 and add 32.
Example: 20ºC = 68ºF (20 x 9 ÷ 5 + 32 = 68).

15- How do I convert ºF into ºC ?
R- To convert Fahrenheit into Celsius degrees, subtract 32 from temperature, the result is multiplied by 5 and divided by 9. Example: 68ºF = 20ºC (68 – 32 = 36 x 5 = 180 ÷ 9 = 20).