| Keywords |
Wood flooring ; Laminate flooring ; Thermal conductivity ; Energy conservation ; Graphite ; High density fiberboard |
| Abstract |
In recent years, the researches on low energy building materials are very active with growing interests on eco friendly building. In wooden flooring sector, there are also strong interests in improving the thermal conductivity of the under floor heating system. In order to improve the thermal conductivity in laminate flooring, we have achieved a positive result by adding the exfoliated graphite into the floor base materials (HDF, High Density Fiberboard). By adding 0.5~4% of graphite into the HDF, we can improve the thermal conductivity, but the internal bond of the HDF was reduced up to 50% in relation to the quantity of graphite added. Moreover, to improve IB (Internal Bonding), we tried to increase the resin content and press time, but there is no improvement. However, we have noticed that the IB was improved to the required level when melamine content was increased from 12% to 20%. Since the graphite makes IB reduce and the HDF color be darker, it is practical to reduce the graphite down to 0.5% and to increase melamine the content up to 20% to get 8.3% of improvement the thermal conductivity. |