One of the sectors of the Australian Government, the Australian Antarctic Division, has chosen Foamular XPS extruded polystyrene from Austech External Building Products to be used for a new construction project, the Davis Station Living Quarters.
The building is installed with super-insulated windows that include a krypton gas-filled air space, heat mirrors and two panes of glass along with Foamular insulation.
Foamular XPS material meets the requirements of a high performance insulation facility and resists the extreme environment of the Antarctic. Austech’s extruded polystyrene is 100 mm thick and it is chosen to wrap 452 sq m of underfloor area.
Major benefits of the Foamular extruded polystyrene insulation material include high R-Values, reduces carbon footprint in the environment and offers economical benefits by reducing the need for cooling or heating support. It provides an extremely high compressive strength of 650 kPa. Foamular XPS provides an R-Value of 3.80 at a temperature of -10ºC. The material has been installed along with other insulation systems to enhance the total R-Value of the structure. In addition, Foamular, which is used as an underfloor insulation, has been anticipated to endure heavy loads and high pressure.
The Davis Station Living Quarters has won an Engineers Australia Award for Excellence and is recognized as a ‘super insulated building.’