Faced fiberglass board with improved surface toughness

Abstract

An insulation product is provided comprising a sheet of randomly oriented fibers bonded by a binder. The sheet has first and second major surfaces and a pair of side portions. A facing layer is bonded to at least one of the major surfaces. A region of the sheet proximate to the facing layer is more puncture resistant than a remainder of the sheet.

1 . An insulation product comprising:
 a sheet of randomly oriented fibers bonded by a binder, said sheet having first and second major surfaces and a pair of side portions; and   a facing layer bonded to at least one of said major surfaces,   wherein a region of said sheet proximate to said facing layer is more puncture resistant than a remainder of said sheet.   
   
   
       2 . The insulation product of  claim 1 , wherein said sheet is a rigid or semi-rigid insulation board. 
   
   
       3 . The insulation product of  claim 2 , wherein said board is a fiberglass board having a fiber density greater than about 2.0 pounds per cubic foot. 
   
   
       4 . The insulation product of  claim 3 , wherein said board has a thickness between about 0.5 to 2 inches. 
   
   
       5 . The insulation product of  claim 1 , wherein said facing layer is selected from the group consisting of a polymeric, foil, paper, or FSK or PSK laminate layer. 
   
   
       6 . The insulation product of  claim 1 , wherein said binder is a heat cured binder, said sheet having a higher percentage by weight of said heat cured binder in said region compared with a total percentage by weight of said binder in said sheet, thereby improving the puncture resistance of said region. 
   
   
       7 . The insulation product of  claim 1 , wherein said sheet includes at least about 16 percentage by weight binder and said region is between about 25-33 percent of the thickness of said sheet. 
   
   
       8 . The insulation product of  claim 7 , wherein said sheet includes a toughness improvement additive in said region. 
   
   
       9 . The insulation product of  claim 8 , wherein said additive includes a latex additive. 
   
   
       10 . The insulation product of  claim 8 , wherein said additive improves the toughness of said region by at least 10%. 
   
   
       11 . The insulation product of  claim 8 , wherein said additive improves the tensile strength of said region. 
   
   
       12 . The insulation product of  claim 8 , wherein said additive comprises thermoplastic fibers that are meltbonded to said randomly oriented fibers at least in said region. 
   
   
       13 . The insulation product of  claim 7 , wherein said sheet includes between about 16-25 percentage by weight binder. 
   
   
       14 . The insulation product of  claim 1 , wherein said region includes a toughness improvement additive. 
   
   
       15 . The insulation product of  claim 12 , wherein said additive includes a latex resin. 
   
   
       16 . A fiberglass board insulation product, comprising:
 a rigid or semi-rigid fiber glass board comprising randomly oriented glass fibers bonded by a heat cured binder, said board having first and second major surfaces and a pair of side portions and having a fiber density greater than about 2.0 pounds per cubic foot; and   a facing layer bonded to at least one of said major surfaces,   said board having a higher percentage by weight of said heat cured binder in a region of said board proximate to said facing layer compared with a total percentage by weight of said heat cured binder in said board, thereby improving a puncture resistance of said region.   
   
   
       17 . The insulation product of  claim 16 , wherein said board includes at least about 16 percentage by weight binder and said region is between about 25-33 percent of the thickness of said board. 
   
   
       18 . The insulation product of  claim 17 , wherein said board includes between about 16-25 percentage by weight binder. 
   
   
       19 . The insulation product of  claim 16 , wherein said region includes a toughness improvement additive in said region. 
   
   
       20 . The insulation product of  claim 19 , wherein said additive includes latex. 
   
   
       21 . The insulation product of  claim 16 , wherein said board has a thickness between about 0.5 to 2 inches. 
   
   
       22 . A fiberglass board insulation product, comprising:
 a rigid or semi-rigid fiber glass board comprising randomly oriented glass fibers bonded by a heat cured binder, said board having first and second major surfaces and a pair of side portions,   said board having a higher percentage by weight of said heat cured binder in a region of said board proximate to at least one of said major surfaces compared with a total percentage by weight of said heat cured binder in said board, thereby improving a durability of said region.