Foam in the Ocean | Ask Mason Knowles - SPF Consultant | Spray Foam Technical Questions and Answers | SprayFoam Magazine Q&A Forums

Q&A Forums

Author	Comments
Jay Sheridan Posted: Feb 17, 2010 08:22 AM	Foam in the Ocean Got a bit of a strange one for you. Need to find a really good insulation material which can stand up to the rigors of the Ocean. Exposure time would be for about a month, but the insulation needs to remain intact and not disintegrate (no pollution), even while being battered by waves during that period. Is there any form of hard-wearing spray-on foam which might be suitable? TIA, Jay.
mason Posted: Feb 17, 2010 12:35 PM	In order to get the maximum impact strength, you would want a 3 lb foam (or higher). Then coat the foam with a with polyurea coating. The polyurea coating has a very high tensile strength and impact & abrasion resistance. It will also keep the foam from absorbing water from hydrostatic pressure. Check with foam and coating suppliers for a combination that works. There are some sprayfoams that have military specs or Coast Guard approval but I think most of them are for a 2 lb density foam. You might find a 3 lb foam that has military or Coast Guard specs for flotation Good luck
John Shockney Posted: Feb 17, 2010 12:47 PM	I have one supplier that has up to 10lb/cuft foam available in as little as 1 gallon amounts that can be hand mixed or sprayed. Also there are some Kevlar reinforced polyurea coatings that can bulletproof a car or building. I think SPI in Washington State has that coating. Good luck Airpro Spray Foam airpro@gotsky.com
Jay Sheridan Posted: Feb 17, 2010 12:58 PM	Thanks for the suggestion Mason. I'll try to post whatever I find out. Jay.
Posted: Feb 18, 2010 11:27 PM	Hey J It only needs to be Coast Guard Approved if it is used in a boat or safety device. If you are going to use it like a mooring buoy, it doesn't make a difference. Is it for an experiement? We did several for shipping companies if you need any advice. We used 3-4 inches of 3 Pound for the shell and 2 pound in the interior, followed by Polyurea for the coating. Still in use 2 years later!
Jay Sheridan Posted: Feb 23, 2010 10:43 PM	Bayouboy, We're building a floating tin can (!) which will be filled with cryogenic liquid oxygen at a temperature around -300 degrees F. LOX is a potential explosion hazard, so this thing is going to be rigorously built to the highest standards. The service cycle is likely to be only around 1-2 months, and then the thing will get dry-docked for a full service, where we expect all the foam will need to be replaced. But during that 30-60 days of use, we don't want the foam insulation layer to be failing. We have started talking with SPI, and I think they're going to be able to recommend something ideally suited to our needs. Thanks to all for the suggestions. Jay.
mason Posted: Feb 24, 2010 09:43 AM	Those temperatures go beyond the capability of most SPF systems. Any 2 or 3 lb polyurethane foam will shrink and crack at those temperatures I would definitely get a manufacturer involved who is knowledgable about cryogenic temperatures and insulation. When we had to insulate a cryogenic vessel, we installed foam glass on the substrate then foamed over it to stop air leaks.

Author

Comments

Jay Sheridan

Posted: Feb 17, 2010 08:22 AM

Foam in the Ocean

Got a bit of a strange one for you.

Need to find a really good insulation material which can stand up to the rigors of the Ocean.

Exposure time would be for about a month, but the insulation needs to remain intact and not disintegrate (no pollution), even while being battered by waves during that period.

Is there any form of hard-wearing spray-on foam which might be suitable?

TIA,

Jay.

mason

Posted: Feb 17, 2010 12:35 PM

In order to get the maximum impact strength, you would want a 3 lb foam (or higher). Then coat the foam with a with polyurea coating. The polyurea coating has a very high tensile strength and impact & abrasion resistance. It will also keep the foam from absorbing water from hydrostatic pressure.

Check with foam and coating suppliers for a combination that works. There are some sprayfoams that have military specs or Coast Guard approval but I think most of them are for a 2 lb density foam. You might find a 3 lb foam that has military or Coast Guard specs for flotation

Good luck

John Shockney

Posted: Feb 17, 2010 12:47 PM

I have one supplier that has up to 10lb/cuft foam available in as little as 1 gallon amounts that can be hand mixed or sprayed.

Also there are some Kevlar reinforced polyurea coatings that can bulletproof a car or building. I think SPI in Washington State has that coating.

Good luck
Airpro Spray Foam
airpro@gotsky.com

Jay Sheridan

Posted: Feb 17, 2010 12:58 PM

Thanks for the suggestion Mason.

I'll try to post whatever I find out.

Jay.

Posted: Feb 18, 2010 11:27 PM

Hey J

It only needs to be Coast Guard Approved if it is used in a boat or safety device.

If you are going to use it like a mooring buoy, it doesn't make a difference.

Is it for an experiement? We did several for shipping companies if you need any advice.

We used 3-4 inches of 3 Pound for the shell and 2 pound in the interior, followed by Polyurea for the coating.

Still in use 2 years later!

Jay Sheridan

Posted: Feb 23, 2010 10:43 PM

Bayouboy,
We're building a floating tin can (!) which will be filled with cryogenic liquid oxygen at a temperature around -300 degrees F.

LOX is a potential explosion hazard, so this thing is going to be rigorously built to the highest standards.

The service cycle is likely to be only around 1-2 months, and then the thing will get dry-docked for a full service, where we expect all the foam will need to be replaced.

But during that 30-60 days of use, we don't want the foam insulation layer to be failing.

We have started talking with SPI, and I think they're going to be able to recommend something ideally suited to our needs.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Jay.

mason

Posted: Feb 24, 2010 09:43 AM

Those temperatures go beyond the capability of most SPF systems. Any 2 or 3 lb polyurethane foam will shrink and crack at those temperatures

I would definitely get a manufacturer involved who is knowledgable about cryogenic temperatures and insulation. When we had to insulate a cryogenic vessel, we installed foam glass on the substrate then foamed over it to stop air leaks.

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.