---
_id: '63720'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: The aging behavior of closed-cell polyurethane (PUR) foam, a material widely
used in household refrigeration, is studied by examining the variation of cell
gas composition and thermal conductivity over time. Aging is primarily driven
by gas permeation, wherein the initially present cell gases carbon dioxide and
cyclopentane are progressively replaced by nitrogen and oxygen from the ambient,
resulting in an increased thermal conductivity and reduced insulation performance.
The cell gas composition is measured over 1400 days employing gas chromatography,
and the thermal conductivity of the foam is measured over 190 days. Morphological
foam characteristics, such as average cell diameter, are determined via scanning
electron microscopy and barrier measurements are performed to estimate the effective
diffusion coefficient of oxygen. To simulate the aging process, one-dimensional
and three-dimensional models are developed for both diffusive mass transfer as
well as heat transfer. The present model for the thermal conductivity explicitly
accounts for condensation effects, i.e. partial condensation of cyclopentane and
carbon dioxide occurring at around 12°C, which significantly influences the insulation
behavior of the foam. Sensitivity analyses indicate that an initial cell gas pressure
of approximately 0.7 bar yields results that closely coincide with the experimental
measurements, where the three-dimensional model demonstrates better accuracy.
These measurements and simulations provide valuable insights for evaluating and
predicting the long-term degradation of the insulation performance of PUR foams.
article_number: '129850'
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Daniel
full_name: Schumacher, Daniel
last_name: Schumacher
- first_name: Gabriela
full_name: Guevara-Carrion, Gabriela
last_name: Guevara-Carrion
- first_name: Tina
full_name: Kasper, Tina
id: '94562'
last_name: Kasper
orcid: '0000-0003-3993-5316 '
- first_name: Andreas
full_name: Paul, Andreas
id: '7828'
last_name: Paul
- first_name: Andreas
full_name: Elsner, Andreas
id: '16124'
last_name: Elsner
- first_name: Bettina
full_name: Peters, Bettina
id: '62920'
last_name: Peters
- first_name: Wenke
full_name: Wollny, Wenke
last_name: Wollny
- first_name: Marcus
full_name: Bluemel, Marcus
last_name: Bluemel
- first_name: Heike
full_name: Hoelscher, Heike
last_name: Hoelscher
- first_name: Nicola
full_name: Brzoska-Steinhaus, Nicola
last_name: Brzoska-Steinhaus
- first_name: Klaus
full_name: Heil, Klaus
last_name: Heil
- first_name: Lukas
full_name: Schleelein, Lukas
last_name: Schleelein
- first_name: Wolfgang
full_name: Becker, Wolfgang
last_name: Becker
- first_name: Ulrich
full_name: Gries, Ulrich
last_name: Gries
- first_name: Jadran
full_name: Vrabec, Jadran
last_name: Vrabec
citation:
ama: 'Schumacher D, Guevara-Carrion G, Kasper T, et al. Aging of polyurethane foam:
Experimental analysis and modeling of cell gas composition and thermal conductivity.
Applied Thermal Engineering. 2026;289. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850'
apa: 'Schumacher, D., Guevara-Carrion, G., Kasper, T., Paul, A., Elsner, A., Peters,
B., Wollny, W., Bluemel, M., Hoelscher, H., Brzoska-Steinhaus, N., Heil, K., Schleelein,
L., Becker, W., Gries, U., & Vrabec, J. (2026). Aging of polyurethane foam:
Experimental analysis and modeling of cell gas composition and thermal conductivity.
Applied Thermal Engineering, 289, Article 129850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850'
bibtex: '@article{Schumacher_Guevara-Carrion_Kasper_Paul_Elsner_Peters_Wollny_Bluemel_Hoelscher_Brzoska-Steinhaus_et
al._2026, title={Aging of polyurethane foam: Experimental analysis and modeling
of cell gas composition and thermal conductivity}, volume={289}, DOI={10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850},
number={129850}, journal={Applied Thermal Engineering}, publisher={Elsevier BV},
author={Schumacher, Daniel and Guevara-Carrion, Gabriela and Kasper, Tina and
Paul, Andreas and Elsner, Andreas and Peters, Bettina and Wollny, Wenke and Bluemel,
Marcus and Hoelscher, Heike and Brzoska-Steinhaus, Nicola and et al.}, year={2026}
}'
chicago: 'Schumacher, Daniel, Gabriela Guevara-Carrion, Tina Kasper, Andreas Paul,
Andreas Elsner, Bettina Peters, Wenke Wollny, et al. “Aging of Polyurethane Foam:
Experimental Analysis and Modeling of Cell Gas Composition and Thermal Conductivity.”
Applied Thermal Engineering 289 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850.'
ieee: 'D. Schumacher et al., “Aging of polyurethane foam: Experimental analysis
and modeling of cell gas composition and thermal conductivity,” Applied Thermal
Engineering, vol. 289, Art. no. 129850, 2026, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850.'
mla: 'Schumacher, Daniel, et al. “Aging of Polyurethane Foam: Experimental Analysis
and Modeling of Cell Gas Composition and Thermal Conductivity.” Applied Thermal
Engineering, vol. 289, 129850, Elsevier BV, 2026, doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850.'
short: D. Schumacher, G. Guevara-Carrion, T. Kasper, A. Paul, A. Elsner, B. Peters,
W. Wollny, M. Bluemel, H. Hoelscher, N. Brzoska-Steinhaus, K. Heil, L. Schleelein,
W. Becker, U. Gries, J. Vrabec, Applied Thermal Engineering 289 (2026).
date_created: 2026-01-23T12:48:07Z
date_updated: 2026-01-23T12:53:26Z
department:
- _id: '728'
doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.129850
intvolume: ' 289'
keyword:
- Polyurethane
- Foam
- Gas permeation
- Diffusion models
- Thermal conductivity
- Condensation
- Gas chromatography
- Scanning electron microscopy
language:
- iso: eng
publication: Applied Thermal Engineering
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 1359-4311
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier BV
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'Aging of polyurethane foam: Experimental analysis and modeling of cell gas
composition and thermal conductivity'
type: journal_article
user_id: '7828'
volume: 289
year: '2026'
...