Patent Grant
9383174
The invention generally relates to an improved building system for use as walls, roofs, floors and also for use in combination with typical building materials for constructing commercial residences and buildings, as well as a retrofit for existing buildings. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved building system that dissipates and carries blasts or projectile impacts throughout the structure and to the foundation of the building of which it is a part.
Blast and penetration resistant building structures have been used for many years to protect inhabitants from a variety of natural destructive forces (e.g., tornadoes) as well as man-made destructive forces such as impact loads from projectiles and blasts associated with explosives detonations. These traditional building structures often are constructed of substantial thicknesses of reinforced concrete capable of withstanding the forces associated with the aforementioned loads. An obvious disadvantage of using concrete is its great weight, which makes it difficult to transport and assemble on site. Additionally, although concrete is capable of withstanding large forces or projectile impacts, extreme loading can cause concrete walls to spall, break apart, or be pushed over.
Building modules are known which comprise sheet metal in lieu of concrete and thus are relatively light. These known building modules may easily be prefabricated and transported to the building site for assembly. An example of such modules are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,468 to Phillips, the entirety of which disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. These building modules may contain thermo/acoustic insulation, or they may contain supplemental internal structures for preventing forcible entry. The structures in these modules may also prevent penetration of the associated building panel by low level ballistic projectiles.
Still some current building modules may be difficult to handle and transport due to their substantial size and weight, making their procurement and installation expensive and costly to heat and cool.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a lightweight, low cost building assembly that would resist and dissipate and carry the forces associated with projectiles or blasts to mitigate damage to the overall building structure.
The desired assembly should be versatile enough to be used in a wide variety of structural applications. In addition to the aforementioned blast or projectile resistance, such an assembly should provide substantial structural load-bearing strength to enable its use in any of a variety of building structures.
The disadvantages heretofore associated with the prior art are overcome by the inventive design for a building assembly that is lightweight, cost effective, and that provides enhanced protection from penetration due to projectiles and blasts.
The inventive assembly is designed to accept multiple local bendings without resulting in structural failure of the building in which the assembly is incorporated. Thus, a wall constructed in accordance with embodiments of the inventive assembly can sustain local bending from an explosive blast, but will retain sufficient structural integrity to remain intact, thus allowing evacuation of the occupants and continued use of the structure. Even where the blast force is sufficient to cause a breach of the inner wall, embodiments of the inventive assembly are still designed to maintain sufficient structural integrity to allow occupants to evacuate and contents to be evacuated, and to enable the building itself to be repaired and returned to full service.
Thus, a structural assembly for use in a building is disclosed, the structural assembly may comprise a building, module, wall, roof, column, beam, or floor. The assembly may comprise a first plate forming a first face sheet of the structural assembly, and a second plate forming a second face sheet of the structural assembly. Third and fourth plates may be positioned between the first and second plates and may be laterally offset with respect to each other, such that an end portion of the third plate may overlap an end portion of the fourth plate. A first flanged web member may connect the first plate to the third plate, and a second flanged web member may connect the second plate to the fourth plate. Further, the first and second flanged web members may be offset by a lateral distance.
A structural assembly is further disclosed, comprising first and second spaced apart plate members, and third and fourth plate members disposed between said first and second plate members. The third and fourth plate members may be laterally offset with respect to each other such that an end portion of the third plate member overlaps with an end portion of the fourth plate member. The structural assembly may comprise a building, module, wall, roof, column, beam, or floor. The assembly may further comprise first and second flanged webs, the first flanged web connecting the first and third plate members, and the second flanged web connecting the second and fourth plate members. The first and second flanged webs may be laterally offset with respect to each other.
A structural assembly is further disclosed, comprising: first and second facing panels; first and second interior panels; and first and second flanged webs. The first and second facing panels may be spaced apart by a distance sufficient to receive the first and second interior panels there-between, with the first facing panel connected to the first interior panel by the first flanged web, and the second facing panel connected to the second interior panel by the second flanged web. The first and second interior panels may be laterally offset with respect to each other such that only a portion of the first interior panel overlaps with a portion of the second panel. Additionally, the first and second flanged webs may be laterally offset with respect to each other.
The details of the invention may be obtained by a review of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
A new structural assembly is disclosed for use in building applications in which a high resistance to large explosive blast and projectile impact loads is desired. The structural assembly design incorporates a pair of outer face sheets, spaced apart to form a void there between. Within the void are a plurality of particularly situated and oriented structural members configured to resist and mitigate by dissipating explosive blast or projectile loads applied to one of the outer wall faces. The internal structural members are designed and positioned to bend in response to such loads, thereby minimizing the chance that one or both of the external faces will be breached. In addition to breach-prevention, the new structural assembly design also will maintain the structural integrity of the building for sufficient time to enable the occupants to evacuate, to enable the contents to be evacuated, and to allow the building to be repaired and reused.
Thus, embodiments of the present invention provide for inward movement of one of the outer faces (typically the face (e.g., building, module, wall, roof, column, beam, or floor) that is closest to the explosive blast or projectile impact), to thereby dissipate and carry forces rather than to completely withstand it. For cases in which the blast or projectile are of such magnitude that the assembly (wall, roof, floor, etc.) is penetrated, sufficient structural integrity is maintained to allow the occupants to safely evacuate, the contents of the building to be removed, and the building to be repaired and reused.
Referring to
As noted, the structural assembly 1 comprises complete and continuous floors, walls, roofs and buildings having the disclosed arrangement of face sheets 2, 4 and internal structural members 6 in various embodiments. The structural assembly 1 is manufactured in at least one of a variety of sizes, depending upon what the installation equipment and site conditions will allow. Thus, for some applications, the structural assembly 1 is pre-manufactured at the factory to comprise an entire floor, wall, roof or building and then shipped to the site for installation. In other applications, such as for retrofit applications, the assembly is manufactured in discrete modules at the factory, shipped to the installation site, transported into the building and fastened together to form a larger overall assembly 1.
In the embodiments depicted in
In certain embodiments, the structural assembly 1 further comprises additional supportive flanged web members 16 positioned opposite to some of the intermediate panels. In the illustrated embodiment of
It will be appreciated that where the structural assembly 1 comprises a complete wall, floor, roof, column, beam, or building, that the reaction to an explosive blast will be substantially the same all the way along the length of the assembly, since the arrangement of the flanged web clusters (i.e., those formed by flanged web members 12 and 16) and the interlocking channel shaped members 9, 11 is carried throughout the assembly, as will be described in greater detail. Thus, the flanged web cluster and channel shaped member arrangement serves to effectively dissipate a blast throughout the interior structure to minimize the chance that any of the structural members will fail, at the same time, carrying a substantial portion of the horizontal and vertical blast force to the foundation.
The additional flanged web members 16 do not directly contact the intermediate panels 8 in preferred embodiments and during normal use and/or positioning of the assembly 1. Rather, members 16 are offset from the intermediate panels 8 by a gap such that the additional flanged web members 16 only contact the intermediate panels 8 when an explosive blast or projectile impact load is applied to one of the first or second face sheets 2, 4. This offset enhances the thermal and acoustical efficiency of the structural assembly 1 by eliminating a direct metal-to-metal contact path between the first and second face sheets 2, 4. Additionally, insulation material or epoxy may be provided within the gap to further enhance the thermal and acoustical efficiency of the structural assembly 1. Thus, the gap is preferably of sufficient size to allow for the installation of a desired thickness of thermal insulation or epoxy.
Thus configured, the internal arrangement of the structural assembly 1 provides for efficient dissipation and carriage of forces in response to a blast or projectile impact load applied to one of the external faces 2, 4. For example, when an explosive blast or projectile impact load of sufficient force is applied to the first or second face sheets 2,4, the portion of the assembly immediately adjacent to the flanged web clusters (12, 16) remains substantially rigid, while the intermediate panel 8, 10 associated with the impacted face sheet moves toward the opposing intermediate panel, causing the channel shaped members 9, 11 to engage. The engagement of the channel shapes prevents the face sheet 2 (with its associated flanged web member 12 and intermediate panel 8) from completely separating from face sheet 4 (with its associated flanged web member 14 and intermediate panel 10), during a blast or projectile impact. Interlocking also connects the intermediate panels 8, 10 to the immediately adjacent flanged web clusters 12, 16, thus providing support and facilitating the efficient carriage of force between the face sheets 2,4 and the intermediate panels 8, 10. The bending of the intermediate panels 8, 10 and face sheets 2,4 substantially dissipates the forces from explosive blast and projectile impacts, thus maintaining sufficient structural integrity in the structure to allow occupants to evacuate and contents to be evacuated, and to enable the building itself to be repaired and returned to full service.
An example of how the internal structures of the structural assembly 1 react in response to an applied blast is shown in
The structural assembly 1 may be oriented to protect the inside as well as the outside of the building. In various embodiments, structures of the present disclosure are arranged to protect the building from internal blasts, such as where the building is an armory, a chemical plant, or the like.
This is in sharp contrast to conventional building module designs, one of which is illustrated in
As previously noted, the structural assembly 1 may be used in retrofit applications in which an existing wall, floor, roof or portion of an existing building requires blast or projectile impact protection. In such applications, the confines of the existing building prevents the installation of large assemblies 1 (i.e., full walls, roofs or floors), and thus the assembly is manufactured in discrete modules, shipped to the installation site, transported into the building and joined together to form a larger overall assembly 1.
In various embodiments, adjacent modules are fixed together using any suitable connection method, such as welding, gluing, bolting, and the like. An example of how adjacent modules may be fixed together is shown in
As previously noted, the internal arrangement of structural members within the structural assembly 1 is repeated throughout the assembly, and thus the force dissipating flanged web clusters 12, 16 and interlocking features 9, 11 are carried throughout the entire assembly. This will also be true for retrofit applications, in which individual modules are formed and joined together at the installation site. Thus, the multiple flanged web clusters are formed throughout the assembly when multiple individual modules are joined together, enabling the invention to be applied to buildings of virtually any size.
As previously noted, the end regions 18, 20 (
It is noted that the channel shaped members 9, 11 also serve to hold the first and second face sheets 2, 4 together when one of the face sheets is subjected to heat of sufficient magnitude that it weakens a portion of one of the structural assembly and its associated structural members. This is important where building integrity must be maintained for a sufficient time to enable the occupants to evacuate and contents to be evacuated.
In various embodiments, the gaps “G” are filled with insulation material, epoxy or other filler materials to further reduce conduction heat transfer across the structural assembly 1. It will be appreciated, however, that providing gaps between these structures is not critical, and thus, the structural assembly 1 may be formed without such gaps.
In further embodiments, the structural assembly 1 is filled with foamed and/or blown insulation, or precut and formed insulation material or board, to enhance the overall thermal and acoustical efficiency of the building of which it is a part. Other materials also may be provided in the space between face sheets 2, 4, such as a material appropriate to the specific requirements of the building to provide the assembly with additional mass and resistance to blast or projectile impacts. Additionally, where prevention or inhibition of electronic eavesdropping is desired, the assembly 1 is partially or completely filled with shredded copper or other appropriate material. Other filler materials include, but are not limited to, copper steel slag filler material (mineral wool and silica), fire resistant insulation, or impact resistant insulation. Additionally, impact resistant insulation such as fiberboard may be applied to one or more surfaces within the assembly. Such impact resistant insulation substantially enhances the assembly's resistance to crushing.
Sheets of the present disclosure may be cut to various user-desired sizes, and bent into the appropriate form to impart desired structural features, and then connected to form site specific structural assemblies 1 (e.g., walls, roofs, columns, beams, floors) which are ultimately formed into a complete building structure.
Further, the structural assembly 1 (e.g., walls, roofs, columns, beams, floors) can be manufactured at the factory in a size as large as the installation equipment and site conditions will allow. When used in a retrofit application, smaller, discrete modules are be manufactured and delivered to the site for assembly with one or more other discrete modules. In one embodiment of the retrofit application, the individual structural elements that form a module are formed and shipped to the installation site as individual pieces or sub-modules where they may be joined together to construct one or more modules. This provides the advantage(s) in that it enables the inventive structural assembly 1 to be transported and installed anywhere in the world, and minimizes or eliminates problems associated with long-range shipping of oversized loads. Additionally, these features enable unobtrusive installation of the modules for reinforcing all or part of existing buildings. Such unobtrusive installation has the benefit of enabling discreet installation, for example, in protecting classified domestic or foreign building installations or portions thereof.
In various embodiments, structural assemblies of the present disclosure may be formed on-site through the use of one or more portable or semi-portable forming machines. For example, where larger jobs require various structural assemblies in accordance with the present disclosure, the provision of on-site forming machines is contemplated to provide ease of access and rapid construction of the appropriate structural unit.
Any desired fabrication/shipping method may be used, and, as noted, the decision about which method to undertake is based on site-specific requirements, such as the size of the installation equipment and the space available for installation. For example, in new construction applications it may be more cost-effective and efficient to fabricate an entire structural assembly 1 (walls, roofs, floors, columns, beams, etc.) at the factory and ship them to the installation site. For retrofit applications, however, it may only be practical to fabricate and transport relatively smaller modules that can be hand carried into existing building structures for assembly.
Referring to
Larger sub-assemblies 40a, 40b are then moved together (along respective arrows “B”) as shown in
The completed module shown in
Referring now to
Although welding has been described for use in joining the individual elements that make up the finished structural assembly 1, other joining techniques may also be used to connect some or all of the sub-units together. For example, one or more of the sub-units may be glued together, such as with an appropriate high-strength epoxy. Alternatively, a combination of epoxy and welding techniques may be used. Thus, in one embodiment, a low-modulus, high-strength epoxy is used in combination with welding to connect the flanged web member subcomponents (12a, 12b; 14, 16a, 16b). Epoxy may also be used to strengthen corner members, which may be subjected to extreme loading during an explosive blast or projectile impact.
In addition to its use in fixing individual elements of the structural assembly 1 together, a layer of epoxy may also be provided over one or more interior surfaces of the assembly 1 to increase strength and enhance the energy dissipating characteristics of the assembly. Further, a layer of impact resistant insulation may be applied to one or more interior surfaces of the structural assembly 1.
The individual structures used to fabricate the structural assembly 1 may be any of a variety of appropriate materials known for use in structural building applications. In one embodiment, cold drawn sheet steel is provided. Alternatively, some or all of the structural members are made from other metals or a suitable non-metallic material such as PVC, vinyl, etc. Various combinations of such materials are also provided in further embodiments.
The inventive module comprises a modular, lightweight, and cost effective building system that can be used in a variety of applications, including blast walls, safe rooms, hurricane shelters, vandal-resistant garage or storage structures, and the like. It can be applied to existing buildings, as well as new construction, for virtually any structure that requires higher security than can be provided with commercial construction techniques.
Referring now to
The structural assembly 50 of
In various embodiments, the structural assembly 50 comprises complete and continuous structures having the disclosed arrangement of face sheets 60, 62 and internal structural members 57, 58. The structural assembly 50 is manufactured in at least one of a variety of sizes, depending upon what the installation equipment and site conditions will allow. Thus, for some applications, the structural assembly 50 is pre-manufactured at the factory to comprise an entire floor, wall, roof or building and then shipped to the site for installation. In certain applications, such as for retrofit applications, the assembly is manufactured in discrete modules at the factory, shipped to the installation site, transported into the building and fastened together to form a larger overall assembly 50.
In the embodiment depicted in
In order to connect adjacent panels, sections are spaced apart and butt welded to each other. For example, a prefabricated assembly 50 is connected to one or more additional prefabricated sections by providing the assemblies in close proximity and butt welding the assemblies together.
An infinite wall can thus be fabricated at almost any desired width or height as may be desired. In various embodiments, a wall is provided with a width of between approximately three inches and approximately eighty inches. In more preferred embodiments, a wall may be provided with a width of between approximately six inches and approximately forty inches.
In certain embodiments, the structural assembly 50 comprises at least two flanged members 52, 54 extending substantially perpendicularly from internal structural members 57 and at least one flanged member 56 extending substantially perpendicularly from internal structural members 58. Flanged members 52, 54 extend generally perpendicularly from structural member 57 toward structural member 58 and further comprise secondary flanged members 52b, 54b, respectively. In various embodiments, secondary flanged members 52b, 54b extend substantially perpendicularly from flanged members 52, 54 and extend toward flanged member 56. Flanged member 56 is disposed generally between additional flanged members 52, 54 and, in one embodiment, is provided approximately at a mid-point between flanged members 52, 54.
Thus, when a load is applied to the second face sheet 62 (the one to which flanged web member 57 is attached), the load is carried from the face sheet 62, through structural member 57 to the flanged members which absorb energy from the load.
Flanged members 52b, 54b and 56b provide a substantially interlocking arrangement for improved blast and fire resistance. At least one of flanged members 52b, 54b and 56b are provided to engage at least one other flanged member 52b, 54b and 56b regardless of the specific direction and/or vector of force that is applied to the assembly.
It will be appreciated that where the structural assembly 50 comprises a complete wall, floor, roof, or building, that the reaction to an explosive blast will be substantially the same all the way along the length of the assembly, since the arrangement of the flanged web clusters is carried throughout the assembly. Thus, the flanged web clusters and channel shaped member arrangements serve to effectively dissipate a blast throughout the interior structure to minimize the chance that any of the structural members will fail, at the same time, carrying a substantial portion of the horizontal and vertical blast force to the foundation.
In various embodiments, plug welding methods are employed to form and/or join members of a structural assembly in accordance with the present disclosure. Plug welds are provided, for example, to reduce the number of requisite welds to join various portions of the assembly, increase the structural integrity of the assembly, and facilitate manufacturing processes related to forming assemblies of the present disclosure. Plug welds may be provided at various locations including, but not limited to, locations for joining internal structural members 57, 58 to respective first and second face sheets 60, 62. In alternative embodiments, plug welds are provided at unions of face sheets 2, 4 and respective internal members 12, 14, 16.
Specific weld structures, arrangements, positioning, and type of the present disclosure vary based on usage requirements. In preferred embodiments, full seam welding is provided. In alternative embodiments, such as where cost considerations are present, internal structures can be skip welded to the face and spaced at approximately nine inch centers or less.
It will be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent an embodiment of the invention, and are therefore merely representative of the subject matter that is broadly contemplated by the invention. Thus, for example, although the drawings do not represent the invention as part of a completed building structure, it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that such a completed building structure is contemplated. It will be further understood that the scope of the present invention encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art.
This Non-Provisional Patent Application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 61/599,639, filed Feb. 16, 2012 and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/714,941, filed Oct. 17, 2012, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3438168 | Tischuk | Apr 1969 | A |
| 3583123 | Holmgren | Jun 1971 | A |
| 4267679 | Thompson | May 1981 | A |
| 4299070 | Oltmanns et al. | Nov 1981 | A |
| 4332119 | Toews | Jun 1982 | A |
| 4433522 | Yerushalmi | Feb 1984 | A |
| 4677798 | Phillips | Jul 1987 | A |
| 4731964 | Phillips | Mar 1988 | A |
| 4850176 | Munsey et al. | Jul 1989 | A |
| 4928468 | Phillips | May 1990 | A |
| 5228257 | Bowersox et al. | Jul 1993 | A |
| 6298607 | Mostaghel et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 7651751 | Hasch et al. | Jan 2010 | B2 |
| 7654768 | Tullis et al. | Feb 2010 | B1 |
| 7661228 | Nolte et al. | Feb 2010 | B1 |
| 7802414 | Nolte et al. | Sep 2010 | B1 |
| 7806037 | Friedman et al. | Oct 2010 | B2 |
| 7870698 | Tonyan et al. | Jan 2011 | B2 |
| 7980165 | Misencik et al. | Jul 2011 | B2 |
| 8117788 | Mueller et al. | Feb 2012 | B1 |
| 8127502 | Hulls et al. | Mar 2012 | B2 |
| 8464479 | Guirgis | Jun 2013 | B2 |
| 8677708 | Williams | Mar 2014 | B2 |
| 20070094992 | Antonic | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20100101171 | Clifton et al. | Apr 2010 | A1 |
| 20140305061 | Phillips et al. | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| “Missile Resistant Building System Tested at Colorado State University,” Colorado State University, Oct. 2001, 2 pages. |
| Bienkiewicz et al. “Tornado Missile Impact Resistance of Barrier Construction System,” Colorado State University, Final Report for Barrier Construction Systems, Aug. 2001, 36 pages. |
| Sustainable Building Technologies brochure, 2007, 2 pages. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion for International (PCT) Patent Application No. PCT/US2013/026402, mailed Apr. 8, 2013, 9 pages. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International (PCT) Patent Application No. PCT/US2013/026402, mailed Aug. 28, 2014, 8 pages. |
| Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 14/186,452, mailed Nov. 6, 2014, 6 pages. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 14/847,911, filed Sep. 8, 2015, Phillips et al. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 14/186,452, mailed Apr. 20, 2015, 7 pages. |
| Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 14/847,911, mailed Oct. 5, 2015, 5 pages. |
| Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 14/847,911, mailed Nov. 13, 2015, 9 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140026742 A1 | Jan 2014 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61599639 | Feb 2012 | US | |
| 61714941 | Oct 2012 | US |
