Faced fiberglass board with improved surface toughness
An insulation product is provided comprising a sheet of randomly oriented fibers bonded by a binder. The sheet has first and second major surfaces and a pair of side portions. A facing layer is bonded to at least one of the major surfaces. A region of the sheet proximate to the facing layer is more puncture resistant than a remainder of the sheet.
1. A method of manufacturing an insulation product comprising the steps of:
forming a web of randomly oriented fibers on a forming belt, said fibers being coated with a heat curable binder, said web generally having a first major surface and a second major surface and a pair of side portions,
wherein said web has a higher percentage by weight of said heat curable binder in a region of said web proximate to at least one of said major surfaces compared with a total percentage by weight of said binder in said web,
compressing and heating said web to form a sheet of said randomly oriented fibers bonded by said heat curable binder, said sheet having first and second major surfaces and a pair of side portions; and
affixing a facing layer to said at least one of said major surfaces of said sheet,
wherein a region of said sheet proximate to said facing layer is more puncture resistant than a remainder of said sheet.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sheet is a rigid or semi-rigid insulation board.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said board is a fiberglass board having a fiber density greater than about 2.0 pounds per cubic foot.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said facing layer is selected from the group consisting of a polymeric, foil, paper, or FSK or PSK laminate layer.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sheet includes at least about 16 percentage by weight binder and said region of said sheet proximate to said facing layer is between about 25-33 percent of the thickness of said sheet.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said sheet includes between about 16-25 percentage by weight binder.
7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising the step of providing a toughness improvement additive to said web, wherein said region of said sheet proximate to said facing layer includes said toughness improvement additive.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said additive includes a latex additive.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein said additive improves the toughness of said region by at least 10%.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein said additive improves the tensile strength of said region.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein said additive comprises thermoplastic fibers that are meltbonded to said randomly oriented fibers at least in said region.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of providing a toughness improvement additive to said web, wherein said region of said sheet proximate to said facing layer includes said toughness improvement additive.
13. A method of manufacturing an insulation board product comprising the steps of:
forming a web of randomly oriented glass fibers on a forming belt, said fibers being coated with a heat curable binder, said web generally having a first major surface and a second major surface and a pair of side portions,
wherein said web has a higher percentage by weight of said heat curable binder in a region of said web proximate the first major surface compared with a total percentage by weight of said binder in said web,
compressing and heating said web to form a rigid or semi-rigid fiber glass board, said board having first and second major surfaces corresponding to the first and second major surfaces of the web and a pair of side portions; and
affixing a facing layer to the first major surface,
wherein a region of said board proximate to the facing layer is more puncture resistant than a remainder of said board.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein said board has a fiber density greater than about 2.0 pounds per cubic foot.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising the step of providing a toughness improvement additive to said web, wherein said region of said board proximate to said facing layer includes said toughness improvement additive.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein said board includes at least about 16 percentage by weight binder and said region of said board proximate to said facing layer is between about 25-33 percent of the thickness of said board.
17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising the step of providing a toughness improvement additive to said web, wherein said region of said board proximate to said facing layer includes said toughness improvement additive.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said additive includes latex.
19. The method of claim 17 , wherein said additive improves the toughness of said region by at least 10%.
20. The method of claim 17 , wherein said additive improves the tensile strength of said region.
21. The method of claim 17 , wherein said additive comprises thermoplastic fibers that are meltbonded to said randomly oriented glass fibers at least in said region.
22. A method of manufacturing an insulation board product comprising the steps of:
forming a web of randomly oriented glass fibers on a forming belt, said fibers being coated with a heat curable binder, said web generally having a first major surface and a second major surface and a pair of side portions,
wherein said web has a higher percentage by weight of said heat curable binder in a region of said web proximate the first major surface compared with a total percentage by weight of said binder in said web,
compressing and heating said web to form a rigid or semi-rigid fiber glass board, said board having first and second major surfaces corresponding to the first and second major surfaces of the web and a pair of side portions; and
affixing a facing layer to the first major surface,
wherein a region of said board proximate to the facing layer is more durable than a remainder of said board.