Two proposed standards concerning properties of aerosol foam sealants are currently in development within ASTM International Committee C24 on Building Seals and Sealants. Both proposed standards — WK6156, Practice for Specimen Preparation for Determining Rate of Air Leakage for Aerosol Foam Sealant Insulating Materials and Other Joint Insulating Materials, and WK6328, Test Method for Determining the Post Expansion for Aerosol Foam Sealants — are under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee C24.61 on Aerosol Foam Sealants. According to Robert Braun, chair of Subcommittee C24.61, the purpose of WK6156 is to create a simplified means of measuring air permeance for aerosol foam sealants used in building construction to reduce energy-wasting air leakage in and out of the building envelope. “We want to develop a new test method suitable for measuring a standardized simulated construction joint air leakage value that will also provide a uniform value for specification references and, for some products, a material property value as well,” says Braun.

The purpose of WK6328 will be to provide uniform product label information to the consumer concerning the amount of post-cure expansion of an aerosol foam sealant to expect after initial dispensing. Braun says that users of aerosol foam find it helpful to know how much wet uncured foam is needed to fill a cavity when applying foam to gaps and joints in the building envelope because this knowledge allows users to reduce foam sealant waste while effectively reducing energy-wasting air leakage and the associated problems to the building envelope caused by unwanted air leakage.

Subcommittee C24.61 is actively seeking participation from any parties interested in the development of either WK6156 or WK6328. //

Contact
Technical information:
Robert Braun, Dow Chemical, Wilmington, Ill.
Phone: 815/476-1131
ASTM staff:
Scott Orthey
Phone: 610/832-9730
Upcoming Meeting:
June 12-16,
June Committee Week, Reno, Nev.