The Balmoral Supatherm™ insulation system is based on a thermoset epoxy resin syntactic foam, originally developed for the simultaneous provision of buoyancy and/or thermal insulation on flooded sealine bundles and hybrid riser towers where lifetime tolerance to hot/wet conditions at temperatures exceeding 90ºC in depths to 3000msw.
This exceptional performance characteristic also makes Balmoral Supatherm ideal for other high temperature ‘flooded shell’ insulation systems.
The material has an extremely high glass transition point (Tg), so that full mechanical support for the hollow glass microspheres is maintained to well beyond all anticipated service conditions. This outstanding mechanical support allows the use of much lower density glass microspheres than is feasible with any other insulation system. This, in turn, results in the achievement of outstandingly low k-values; far below those of any competing insulation system.
The ultimate performance limit for all glass syntactic foams operating in hot/wet conditions is not related to the matrix resin system but rather to the dissolution of the hollow glass microspheres at temperatures beyond 90-95°C. With glass dissolution, the thickness of the microsphere walls progressively decreases, eventually leading to microsphere collapse. What is left behind is a ‘relic structure’ of water-impregnated resin matrix. Associated with this water penetration is a massive increase in k-value, with a fully-saturated syntactic epoxy having a k-value of up to 0.4 W/m.k; a 300+% increase.
