Q&A Forums

shear & tensile strength Post New Topic | Post Reply

Author Comments
Matt Kenner
Posted: Jul 07, 2009 08:15 AM
shear & tensile strength
I had a contractor ask for the shear and tensile strength of 2lb (closed cell) foam. He said the building inspector required it. What would be the reason for needing this information? Is there a building code that requires a certain shear strength?
mason
Posted: Jul 07, 2009 08:30 AM
Not for interior insulation but the ICC codes do require that SPF for roofing comply with ASTM C 1029. One of the physical properties listed is tensile strength along with closed cell content, R value, compressive strength, water absorption, permeance. Typically the compressive strength and tensile strength are pretty similar values. The tensile strength should be listed on the material data sheet.

Note: the ICC Acceptance Criteria for SPF does list tensile strength as a value so if the code official requires an evaluation report on the foam they would also look for the tensile strength.

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.