Cold Link Africa June 2022 | Page 23

INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN

FEATURE a certain grade of stainless steel . Rock wool insulation may be used to store high value products or used as a fire barrier in facilities owing to its flame and fire resistance .

Generally speaking , managing heat load in terms of insulation is the result of exposure time to an element ( like the sun ). To manage various heat loads and R-values for different zones at a facility or location , manufacturers produce different panel thicknesses . If you select a panel that is too thin , it is likely to result that an element ( like the sun ) will essentially overwhelm the insulation and start to transfer heat to the inside of the space – clearly not ideal as your cooling equipment now has to work excessively to keep that heat out . For these reasons , it is important to have very specific details around heat loads , not only considering the environmental influence but conditions within . This will further avoid premature plant failures .

It is important to have very specific details around heat loads .

Material choice also comes to the fore when for example you have a very confined space or small rooms to work with . Here selection of a polyurethane panel that is 60mm thick will provide the same thermal properties as a 100mm polystyrene panel , or 100mm polyurethane panel can replace a 150mm polystyrene panel , and so on . In a room that is only 1.2m wide , an 80mm space saving may be critical .

Moisture is another element that needs to get careful consideration when it comes to insulated panels . Resting moisture ingress opens up the door to the risk of toxic mould and bacterial growth . Now although some of the insulation materials have been formulated to have a low- to zero condition for these risks , no matter what core material you are working with , moisture will be a problem . Typically , moisture will have the greatest impact and affect at the joints in freezer rooms . Moisture means ice-formation and this can result in the core material breaking and compromising the room or facility . For this reason , coupled to insulated panels is the need for properly installed vapour barriers and correctly joined and sealed units .

LOCAL MANUFACTURING VERSUS IMPORTED PRODUCTS South African manufacturers in this space have come to compete with a large number of international companies from around the world ( for example from China , UK , Central Europe , Russia , Poland ) and these businesses have significant production facilities . Some suggest that the largest global supplier has the capacity to supply 20 times the volumes of the combined local production , which is of course a concern

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An example of a polyisocyanurate ( PIR ) core panel .

An example of an expanded polystyrene ( EPS ) core panel .

for the sector . This comes with several challenges in terms of pricing , research & development , and international recognition and accreditation .

The major barrier for entry into the global market space for local companies is the fact that testing and global accreditations can quickly accumulate to R2-million - which to say is prohibitive is really an understatement . However , the quality of production , production methods and various types of products produced are essentially on the same level as international companies in many respects . This then opens up the question of what can the industry do to work together to gain some form of international recognition , and is this even something to consider ?

With the fast-growing sectors making use of these products , it would make sense for local manufacturers to bolster their status and the industry , keep the revenue within the country rather than companies being forced in supporting imported products , and then potentially sustain thousands of muchneeded employment opportunities . Action such as this would ensure that foreign investors ( who are heavily involved in SA expansions currently with some high-cost developments ) could be and are willing and able to support local content .

South African manufacturing of insulated panels goes back probably more than 50 years , so hundreds of thousands of facilities already exist , and have existed for decades , and are satisfactorily performing to the facility requirements . Other than the recent rioting , looting and damages to the sector , very few incidents and problems have been reported – thus proving that locally we have the ability to produce quality and safe products . Naturally incidents do occur , but almost all of these involve external factors of human involvement and not the product itself .

A major hinderance for this sector locally is the subject of fire . This is something that gets spoken about very often related to insulated panels , and also often results in heated debates and opinions . One of the questions I asked during the process of putting this article together was : why can ' t the industry develop a panel that doesn ' t burn if this is such a big issue ? We have access to such clever scientists and technologists ! Unfortunately , the answer is not that simple !

The problem is not really a core or material itself but rather how a combination of elements that make up the final product will react . It is not to say that this cannot be done , however with repeated or continuous exposure to a flame , almost all components break down or have a change in properties – usually related to structural stability . Often a lot of emphasis is placed onto the panel itself when in a fire situation , and the core materials are not engineered to contribute to fire spread . The main problem comes in with the steel skins . Even as a rigid and sturdy material – under flame and heat conditions , steel also becomes unstable at a certain point . Because insulated panels in the cold chain form a major part of the structure , the building then becomes unstable . Naturally some materials handle heat and flame better than others , but if a fire reaches flashover point the construction materials become irrelevant – even for brick and mortar .

In several simple tests that Cold Link Africa witnessed , each material ( 1 imported product and 3 locally manufactured ) reacted differently as expected – the materials were exposed to a flame for around 10 seconds and certain ones were still cold to the touch while others displayed properties that are not openly and accurately reported in terms of their reactions ( not as bad ). These simple tests are by no means a conclusive evaluation – but merely an indication of how each core product reacts . It must be noted that fire incidents must be considered from a holistic point of view and in this regard , no partial testing will produce the same result .

The point here really being that comparatively , South African-made products are as good as any other product available and react the same way as products produced anywhere else in

the world . This speaks to the support of local industries that have been effectively providing for the sector for decades . It makes sense under these conditions to support and preserve local manufacturing .

OTHER APPLICATIONS OF INSULATED PANELS As a versatile product , insulation panels have been formulated into complex building components that have seen their deployment on a large scale into other sectors as an alternative construction product that is also being used as a modular system – designed and manufactured off-site and then transported to its destination and erected simply , effortlessly , and importantly – very quickly . These applications include :

• Houses ( high-end and low-cost solutions )

• Data centres

• Chemical storage areas

• Clean rooms

• Laboratories

• Hospitals

• General plant rooms

• Breweries

• Shipping

• Petrochemicals

• Mining

• Manufacturing

• Toilet and show facilities

• Entertainment

• Portable facilities

• Flooring solutions

• Agriculture

• Insulated panels have also been used extensively around the world for various building cladding or façades

As a critical element of the cold chain , insulated panels , as simple as they are , in fact have some very technical properties . Hopefully you have something more to think about when considering your next facility .

South African manufacturing of insulated panels goes back probably more than 50 years , so thousands of facilities already exist from locally made products .