Round Robin Test of Thermal Conductivity for a Loose Fill Thermal Insulation Product in Europe

Abstract

The paper describes the different steps of a round robin performed on a loose fill, grey, expanded polystyrene thermal insulation product followed by discussions of the results. The round robin was arranged by the Expert Group of the Insulation Keymark, the voluntary certification scheme in Europe established in 1999. The Expert group consisted of some of the most respected European laboratories. Some of these laboratories had also taken part in establishing the European reference material IRMM 440 for thermal conductivity measurements of insulation products. In addition to the Expert Group institutes, some manufacturers’ laboratories also participated. These laboratories were evaluated, regarding their capability to carry out testing to the required level of agreement for thermal conductivity of building insulation. The round robin test with participation of twelve individual laboratories showed that - It is possible to produce comparable test specimens of in situ products. - It is possible to obtain the same lambda level for individual test specimens with a within laboratory variation of 0.02 %. - It is possible to obtain the same level of variation as found for Keymark reference test specimens in the same thickness. The results were compared to an earlier round robin, performed by the Keymark Expert Group regarding comparative testing for factory made insulation products. The earlier findings were reported in the 27th and 32nd International Thermal Conductivity Conferences (ITCC)2,3.