Elevated temperature thermal properties of advanced materials used in LSF systems

Lightweight cold-formed steel (CFS) construction solutions are increasingly adopted in low and mid-rise buildings. Many different materials are used to construct CFS wall systems, without a full understanding of their thermal properties. For many of these materials, only ambient temperature thermal properties are available from their manufacturers. This creates difficulty in classifying the materials for use at elevated temperatures. In this study, a series of elevated temperature thermal property tests to measure specific heat, thermal conductivity, and mass loss was conducted for a range building materials from wallboards, insulation, and phase-change materials (PCMs), used in Australia and several other countries. Simultaneous Thermal Analyser and Laser Flash Apparatus were used to determine the elevated temperature thermal properties of the selected materials, gypsum plasterboard, PCM incorporated gypsum plasterboard, magnesium sulphate board, fibre cement board, cellulose insulation, vacuum insulation panel, microencapsulated paraffin PCM, and bio-based PCM. Their elevated temperature thermal properties are presented in this article, which also includes analyses of their chemical composition and associated chemical reactions at elevated temperatures. These results can be used in the selection of suitable energy-efficient and fire-resistive materials, and in heat transfer modeling to identify wall configurations with increased fire resistance and energy efficiency.