Composite wall panel, wall system and components thereof, and a method of construction thereof

Abstract

A composite wall, ceiling or floor panel (10), system and method, including a sheet (14) having a first face (18) including at least one first mounting portion (16), and at least one formwork member (20) with at least one second mounting portion (30) arranged to engage with the first mounting portion of the sheet to retain the sheet and said at least one formwork member together. Structural support comes from piers (for a wall) or beams (ceiling or floor) formed in the spacing between adjacent formwork members. The formwork members act as the core of a wall, ceiling or floor panel. An external coating (123) is applied to the formwork members, such as spray shotcrete or render. Channels (28) formed by the formwork members defines integrated ducting for services to be run.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a composite wall or floor panel, a panel system and a method of construction of a panel and a wall utilising the same, such as for a building.BACKGROUND[0002]Walls for buildings are typically constructed using either concrete panels raised in situ, single leaves of block, double leaves of brick or block, timber frame with cladding, or a modular insulation panel system attached to a light steel frame. Single leaf block walls, and double leaf brick or block walls are constructed relatively slowly and are labour intensive to build. Timber frame and cladding walls are only suitable for certain types of building and locations, and, like modular insulation panel construction, is typically used for rapid construction, semi-permanent or temporary buildings, and are not designed for industrial or commercial uses.[0003]With economic demands to construct buildings as quickly and cost effectively as possible, tilt up wall panel systems have ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent is about a new way to create composite insulated concrete wall / floors that can simplify construction of buildings. The method involves using formwork members with a special profile that can receive and hold a coating of concrete, such as sprayed concrete or render. The formwork members can be connected together to create panels that can be used to form the walls and floors of a building. The panels can have pre-formed floor panels or can be coated after placement. The panels have voids for services and utilities, which makes it easier to run cabling and pipes through the panels. The use of the composite insulated concrete coating eliminates the need for skilled tasks and makes the construction process faster and easier.

Problems solved by technology

Single leaf block walls, and double leaf brick or block walls are constructed relatively slowly and are labour intensive to build.

Timber frame and cladding walls are only suitable for certain types of building and locations, and, like modular insulation panel construction, is typically used for rapid construction, semi-permanent or temporary buildings, and are not designed for industrial or commercial uses.

However, such concrete sections are either precast offsite and transported to the construction site for erection, which increases transportation costs and difficulty in handling / maneuvering large, extremely heavy concrete slabs into position with associated risk of injury to personnel and need for heavy lifting equipment, or alternatively, the concrete sections are cast onsite, which can be prone to bad weather delaying the sections drying or damaging the sections as they dry e.g. due to frost or rain.

In either case, the solid concrete sections do not provide channels for utilities to pass through or along (vertically or horizontally) and provide little in the way of thermal insulation beyond the normal thermal characteristics of concrete.

This is a relatively complex and involved form of construction requiring many personnel and / or several different types of tradesman to complete the wall.

In addition to the above, existing insulated walling products for buildings may not include an interior lining i.e. a finished surface, nor do they allow for variable sized vertical structural columns to allow for different engineering requirements such as soil loading (foundations), multi-level / storey wind loading and earthquake safety.

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