| Heat-insulating materials | Advantages (+) | Drawbacks (-) |
Silicate cotton | - does not burn, curbs the spread of fire - low shrinkage (including thermal shrinkage), maintenance of geometric sizes - non-hydroscopic - high chemical resistance, chemically passive environment that does not produce corrosion in contacting metals | - absorbs steam, which leads to its self-destruction - when transported and stored it consolidates and gets “worn down”, part of fibres break and turns into dust - requires additional protection from mechanical impact in structures - is hard to pack - silicate cotton manufactured of blast-furnace slags is not resistant to temperature variations, high humidity, high loads and deformations |
Glassfiber materials | - durability and resistance to vibration - high chemical stability - relatively low cost - non-hydroscopic, do not contain corrosion elements - do not release toxic and hazardous substances when exposed to fire, non-flammable - can be used to encase uneven surfaces | - operation temperature does not exceed 400°Ñ - irritates skin - can cause allergic reactions |
Cellular polystyrene | - moisture resistance - biological inertness - high heat-insulating and sound-proofing properties - does not alter colour of walls - no fibres or dust | - cannot resist for long the UV rays - easily warps - can be easily damaged by insects and rodents - high cost (in comparison to silicate cotton and glass cotton) |
| – ecologically clean, complete absence of deleterious chemical elements - does not produce allergic reactions and skin irritation - high steam penetration allowing the walls to “breathe” - low thermal conductivity - high sound-proof properties - does not burn - low apparent density and correspondingly load to the structure - resistant to insects and rodents (material and items manufactured of this material) - does not decompose - stable to temperature variations - can be used over unlimited time - regulates the indoor microclimate | - a lot of dust when being packaged - 15% shrinkage |
Perlite concrete blocks
| - keep well heat; can be sawn and drilled as wood - do not burn, limit the spread of fire - can be easily plastered and painted - do not contain hazardous substances - durable - possess high frost-resistance - 15 cm of a block substitute about 100 cm of lime-sand brick or 95 cm of clay brick | - relatively high cost |
Perlite advantages
- Constant wall heat insulating. The perlite insulating fill does not lose its properties with time and does not settle either in thermal shields, or in brickwork cavities or the wall blocks.
- Sound proof characteristics. Perlite insulating fill is the good material to fill out the cavities and therefore reduce the transmission of sound waves across the walls. In terms of sound proof index the light 20-centimeter block packed with perlite exceeds normative values.
- It withstands ignition, keeps away insects and ants.
- It does not burn. The perlite melting temperature is 1,260ºÑ, the fire spreading rate is 0; content of flammable components is 0; if the cavities of 20 cm thick concrete blocks are filled out with water-repellent perlite the structure’s fire resistance goes up from 2 to 4 hours.
- Economy. Perlite insulating fill of the brickwork ensures perfect thermal and fire-resistance qualities for walls at low costs. It is light and quickly fills out all necessary brickwork cavities without requiring any specific equipment or unorthodox skills.
An interesting fact
The study of actual size wall fragments showed that the brickwork previously filled with water-proof perlite insulation in terms of its heat-resistant properties is 22% more efficient than the same brickwork insulated with cellular polystyrene components.
