Applicability of Thermal Analysis to Characterization of Roof Membrane Materials:A Summary of the 28-29 March 1990 Workshop

摘要

The objectives of this study were to determine whether (1) thermal analysismethods are applicable to the characterization of roofing membranes, and (2) thermal analysis methods can be usefully incorporated into voluntary consensus standards for membrane materials. Although long used to characterize synthetic polymeric products, thermal analysis (TA) methods are not widely used to characterize roof membrane materials. In 1988, a Joint International Committee (CIB/RILEM) proposed to include TA methods with other test methods used to characterize roof membrane materials. A program has begun to evaluate the performance of roof membrane materials, including the development of new or improved methods to determine their important properties. TA methods offer a means for such characterization, but whether they can be meaningfully incorporated into voluntary consensus standards for roofing membrane materials is unresolved. Thirteen participants contributed to a workshop convened to address this issue. The consensus of workshop participants was that TA methods are valuable tools in the laboratory for research studies and troubleshooting, and for tracking manufacturing processes to check that they remain in control. However, participants concluded that TA methods do not have immediate use in consensus standards for roofing because they cannot alone predict how a product may perform in service, and because the high cost of TA equipment may prohibit general use of the methods, or make their incorporation in standards unattractive.