The disclosure generally relates to load bearing or non-loadbearing construction panels. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a thermally, acoustically and moisture insulated construction panels, that additionally are compliant with fire resistance codes.
Most modern residential and light commercial designs use platform framing, which involves poured in place column-and-slab techniques or skeletonized construction employing a framework of steel girders as a support for precast concrete members.
Furthermore, additional measures for heat insulation and sound insulation are incorporated between internal surface finishes and external weather resistant layers. A Thermal mass capacity of walls is preferable to achieve a balanced room temperature. Structures are required by building regulations to have fire resistance which can either be inherent to the materials used or provided by additional protective layers.
Thermal insulation can be typically added to the exterior walls and roofs of building structures to reduce the rate of heat transfer between the between the interior controlled environment and the external environment.
Insulation can be placed between structural members and also layered inside or outside them before the application of an exterior finish, such as an exterior siding or roofing and internal finishes such as plasterboard.
In typical construction methods, “cold bridges” can form across insulation panels or typical insulation fillers such as mineral wool, between the interior of a structure and the exterior environment, which can form localized areas of increased heat transfer, causing increased HVAC costs and localized material damage, for example from condensation causing corrosion, mold, or rot.
Similarly, acoustic barriers are added between the external and internal walls, as well as various moisture barriers or membranes.
Therefore, the ability to provide selectably adjustable structural elements (in other words, elements which adjustability does not impact the operation and/or functionality of other components in the panel) in construction panels that would allow the optimization of thermal, acoustic, fire and moisture barriers and insulators in a relatively thin construction panel, without forming cold bridges, would be advantageous.
Disclosed, in various embodiments, are thermally, acoustically and moisture insulated construction panels, that additionally are compliant with fire resistance regulations without forming cold bridges.
In an embodiment, provided herein is an integrated, multifunctional construction panel comprising: an internal wall section; an internal studs' array operably coupled to the internal wall section, extending externally; a moisture control layer coupled to the internal wall section; an internal thermal insulation layer, an external thermal insulation layer; an external wall section; and an external studs' array operably coupled to the external wall section, extending internally, wherein, the internal studs' array is staggered with respect to the external studs' array.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present technology will become understood by the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the technology disclosed and claimed herein. To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this disclosure may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the disclosure.
For a better understanding of the thermally, acoustically and moisture insulated construction panels, that additionally are compliant with fire resistance codes without forming cold bridges, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate corresponding elements or sections throughout and in which:
Provided herein are embodiments of thermally, acoustically and moisture insulated construction panels, that additionally are compliant with fire resistance codes without forming cold bridges and methods for their use.
A more complete understanding of the components, methods, and devices disclosed herein can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings. These figures (also referred to herein as “FIG.”) are merely schematic representations based on convenience and the ease of demonstrating the present disclosure, and are, therefore, not intended to indicate relative size and dimensions of the devices or components thereof, their relative size relationship and/or to define or limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments. Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of the embodiments selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings and the following description below, it is to be understood that like numeric designations refer to components of like function.
Likewise, cross sections are referred to on normal orthogonal coordinate apparatus having XYZ axis, such that Y axis refers to front-to-back, X axis refers to side-to-side, and Z axis refers to up-and-down.
Turning now to
Moisture control layer 102, or moisture barrier layer, can be comprised, for example, of a resin saturated overlay in a laminate that provides resistance to the passage of air and airborne water vapour. The moisture control layer can be completely or selectively water vapour impermeable and substantially liquid water impermeable, and be comprised of composite sheet material and include an outer non-woven fiber layer, a semi-permeable film, and a reinforcing layer. Other examples of the moisture control layer can be lightweight, non-wet laid polyester nonwoven, a polymer-coated, high tenacity polyester mesh, and a lightweight, non-wet laid, polyester nonwoven material. The moisture control layer 102 can also be abrasion, tear, mildew and fire resistant, thus assisting in the fire retardation capabilities of the construction. The term “control layer” as used herein in connection with moisture, refers to the selective nature of the moisture barrier in being water vapor and liquid water impermeable. Being water vapor impermeable refers to the moisture control layer having according to BS EN 12524 a water vapour diffusion-equivalent air layer thickness Sd>50 m, while having bulk water holdout with hydrostatic head of between about 160 cm and about 200 cm.
Breathable waterproof layer 106, or breather membrane, can be comprised, for example, of a non-woven polypropylene fabric that provides resistance to the passage of liquid water. The breathable layer can have a fixed or variable water vapour permeability, be substantially liquid water impermeable, and be comprised of composite sheet material and include an outer non-woven fiber layer, a semi-permeable film, and a reinforcing layer. Other examples of the breathable layer can be resistant to ultraviolet light, have fire retardant additives, be fire resistant glass fibre, metal foil laminated bubble film, paper. The breathable layer 108 can also be abrasion, tear, mildew, ultaviolet and fire resistant, thus assisting in the fire retardation capabilities of the construction. The term “breathable” as used herein in connection with moisture, refers to the selective nature of the moisture barrier in being water vapor permeable while simultaneously being substantially liquid water impermeable. Being water vapor impermeable refers to the moisture control layer having according to BS EN 12524 a water vapour diffusion-equivalent air layer thickness Sd<0.50 m. while having bulk water holdout with hydrostatic head of between about 160 cm and about 200 cm.
The term “staggered studs” refers in an embodiment to metal studs or studs of other materials, being arranged with the elements (in other words, the studs) in the at least one row, optionally being offset relative to one another in an X and or Y dimension. The offset of the studs can be fixed or variable in each of the X or Y direction.
Each of internal wall section 100 and external wall section 108 comprised in the construction panels described herein can consist of a slab having front side and a back side. Turning now to
Also illustrated in
Likewise, (see e.g.,
As indicated hereinabove, distal end 142 of each ith stud in internal studs' array 104i, can be configured to define gap D1 between distal end 142 and back side 181 of external wall section 108, while distal end 152 of each jth stud in external studs' array 105j defines gap D2 between distal end 152 and the front side 162 of internal wall section 100. Moreover, D1 between distal end 142 and back side 181 of external wall section 108, is no less than about 10 mm, while gap D2 between distal end 152 and the front side 162 of internal wall section 100, is likewise no less than about 10 mm.
In an embodiment, the internal and/or external studs' arrays (104i, 105j respectively) can be further configured to have variable periodicity (referring to any periodic characteristic of the studs elements). Furthermore, the term “fixed periodicity” and/or “variable periodicity” is intended to refer to the degree center-to-center spacing by which each of an array of interspersed stud is separated. In an embodiment, periodicity can increase in those sections where structural load is increased, for example next to floor boards, above windows etc. In the event a specific numerical value for a periodicity of distribution is provided herein, a margin of error of ±20 percent may be assumed.
In addition, internal stud's array 104i, used in the multifunctional construction panels provided herein, can be out of phase (in other words, staggered) with external stud's array 105j by a variable distance. In other words, the periodicity of internal stud's array 104i, can vary identically or variable with respect to external stud's array 105j. Again, the variability and the degree of staggering between the studs is a function, in an embodiment, of the functions sought to be imparted on multifunctional construction panel (MCP) 10. For example, the staggering of the internal stud's array 104i, in relation to external stud's array 105j means that the insulation 103, 107 protects internal stud's array 104i, once the fire-side board (in other words, the wall exposed to the fire) has degraded following exposure to fire. In an embodiment protection resulting from internal stud's array 104i, being out of phase, or staggered in relation to external stud's array 105j prolongs the integrity of MCP 10 significantly during fire test and 90 minutes structure and integrity performance and 60 mins insulation performance were achieved, which is not typical for a system comprising only a single board of fire protection.
In an embodiment, by using staggered studs' arrays (104i, 105j respectively), defining gaps D1, D2 insulation 103, 107 (see e.g.,
As illustrated in
As indicated hereinabove, internal and/or external insulation layers (103, 107 respectively, see e.g.,
Additionally, internal wall section 100 used in the integrated MCP 10 described and claimed herein, can be, for example; particle wood, cement particle, magnesium oxide, calcium silicate, gypsum based board or a composition comprising one or more of the foregoing.
Turning now to
For example, as illustrated in
In certain embodiments, acoustic insulation can be achieved using a separate absorbing and decoupling material, for example, batts constructed from, glass fibre, and polyester—in addition to the mineral wool. In certain embodiments, the acoustic insulation (in other words, sound adsorbing and decoupling), can comprise a bladder layer of viscoelastic material, such as hydrocolloid gum, for example, gelatin, xanthan, cellulosics and the like.
The same thickness can be modified to increase structural integrity as illustrated in
Increasing W3 (See e.g.
When necessary, it is possible to increase W3 even further. As illustrated in
The term “coupled”, including its various forms such as” operably coupling”, “coupling” or “couplable”, refers to and comprises any direct or indirect, structural coupling, connection or attachment, or adaptation or capability for such a direct or indirect structural or operational coupling, connection or attachment, including integrally formed components and components which are coupled via or through another component or by the forming process. Indirect coupling may involve coupling through an intermediary member or adhesive, or abutting and otherwise resting against, whether frictionally or by separate means without any physical connection
The term “about”, when used in the description of the technology and/or claims means that amounts, sizes, formulations, parameters, and other quantities and characteristics are not and need not be exact, but may be approximate and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, and other factors known to those of skill in the art. In general, an amount, size, formulation, parameter or other quantity or characteristic is “about” or “approximate” whether or not expressly stated to be such and may include the end points of any range provided including, for example ±25%, or ±20%, specifically, ±15%, or ±10%, more specifically, ±5% of the indicated value of the disclosed amounts, sizes, formulations, parameters, and other quantities and characteristics.
The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to denote one element from another. The terms “a”, “an” and “the” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, and are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The suffix “(s)” as used herein is intended to include both the singular and the plural of the term that it modifies, thereby including one or more of that term (e.g., the aggregate(s) includes one or more aggregates). Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “an embodiment”, and so forth, means that a particular element (e.g., feature, structure, and/or characteristic) described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment described herein, and may or may not be present in other embodiments. In addition, it is to be understood that the described elements may be combined in any suitable manner in the various embodiments.
Accordingly and in an embodiment, provided herein is an integrated construction panel comprising: an internal wall section; an internal studs' array operably coupled to the internal wall section, extending externally; a moisture control layer coupled to the internal wall section; an internal thermal insulation layer, an external thermal insulation layer; an external wall section; and an external studs' array operably coupled to the external wall section, extending internally, wherein, the internal studs' array is staggered with respect to the external studs' array, wherein (i) each of the internal wall section and the external wall section consists of a slab having front side and a back side, (ii) each stud in the internal studs' array has a proximal end coupled to the front side of the internal wall section and a distal end opposite the proximal end; and wherein each stud in the external studs' array has a proximal end coupled to the back side of the external wall section and a distal end opposite the proximal end, (iii) the distal end of each of the studs in the internal studs' array defines a gap between the distal end and the back side of the external wall section, wherein (iv) the distal end of each of the studs in the external studs' array defines a gap between the distal end and the front side of the internal wall section, wherein (v) the gap between the distal end of each of the studs in the internal stud's array and the back side of the external wall is no less than about 10 mm, wherein (vi) the gap between the distal end of each of the studs in the external stud's array and the front side of the internal wall is no less than about 10 mm, wherein (vii) the internal and/or external studs' arrays have variable periodicity, wherein (viii) the internal stud's array is out of phase with the external stud's array by a variable distance, wherein (ix) the integrated construction panel defines a quadrilateral prism having a basal facet, an apical facet, a pair of side walls disposed on opposing sides of the basal and apical facets forming a frame and coupled to the front side internal wall section and the back side of the external wall section, (x) wherein each of the studs in the internal and/or external studs' array is a beam defining a longitudinal axis with a rectangular cross-section transverse to the longitudinal axis, (xi) each of the studs in at least one of the internal studs' array and external studs' array is a beam defining a longitudinal axis with a rectangular cross-section transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein (xii) the cross section is no less than 10 mm by 63 mm, wherein (xiii) the beam spans the length of the panel between basal and the apical facets, wherein (xiv) the internal and/or external insulation layer comprises multiple or single layers, (xv) the insulation is mineral wool fibers, rock wool fibers, slag wool fibers, glass wool fibers, polymer based insulation or a composition comprising one or more of the foregoing, (xvi) the internal wall section is particle wood, cement particle, magnesium oxide, calcium silicate, gypsum based board or a composition comprising one or more of the foregoing, and wherein (xvii) the distance between the front end of the external wall section and the back end of the internal wall section is between about 89 mm and about 450 mm.
While particular embodiments have been described, alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and substantial equivalents that are or may be presently unforeseen may arise to applicants or others skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims as filed and as they may be amended, are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications variations, improvements, and substantial equivalents.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/GB2018/052477 | 8/31/2018 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62553154 | Sep 2017 | US |