A building wall and its method for manufacture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing building walls, particularly those using expanded foamed plastic materials, face challenges such as labor-intensive construction, quality control issues, and difficulties in embedding plumbing and electrical conduits, which can lead to costly repairs and compromised insulation.
Innovation Solution
A method involving positioning a load-bearing reinforcement structure within an expansion mould, blowing in and expanding insulating plastic beads to form a foamed core plate that encases the reinforcement, and applying a fire-proof cementitious coating to create a prefabricated, insulating, and load-bearing building wall module that can be manufactured in a factory and assembled on-site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If building walls are manufactured in situ using ICF forms, then the walls can be constructed on-site with modular units, but labour costs increase and quality control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The wall core is pre-manufactured in a factory setting with the reinforcement structure and insulating material integrated before transportation to the construction site. This preliminary manufacturing action resolves the contradiction by enabling on-site assembly while maintaining factory-level quality control and manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The building wall is divided into modular wall core units that can be independently manufactured and then assembled on-site. This segmentation allows factory production with high productivity while enabling flexible on-site construction through modular assembly.
2Ease of operation
If plumbing and electrical conduits are placed inside ICF forms after pouring concrete, then they can be installed, but settling problems cause them to break requiring costly repairs
Solution Approach 1:
Plumbing and electrical conduits are pre-installed within the wall core structure during factory manufacturing, before the wall is transported and assembled on-site. This preliminary action ensures conduits are securely positioned and protected from settling damage, while still allowing for installation flexibility through pre-planned routing.
Solution Approach 2:
Conduits are nested within the wall core structure, which itself is nested within the final building assembly. This nested configuration protects conduits from external settling forces while maintaining their functional integrity and accessibility.
3Ease of operation
If a hot knife is used to create openings in foam for piping and cabling, then openings can be made, but the process is labour-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Openings for piping and cabling are pre-created in the wall core during factory manufacturing using automated processes. This preliminary action eliminates time-consuming on-site cutting operations while maintaining ease of operation through standardized opening configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual hot knife cutting process is replaced with automated manufacturing processes in the factory setting, substituting labour-intensive mechanical operations with automated systems that are faster and more consistent.
4Strength
If reinforcement structure is embedded in concrete with EPS blocks, then structural strength is achieved, but the construction process becomes complex and quality control is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement structure and insulating material are merged into a single integrated wall core unit manufactured in the factory. This merging simplifies the construction process by eliminating separate installation steps while maintaining structural strength through integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement structure is pre-positioned and integrated with the insulating material during factory manufacturing. This preliminary action reduces on-site construction complexity while ensuring proper structural strength through controlled factory conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method allows for the mass production of fire-proof, insulating, and load-bearing building walls with improved structural integrity and reduced on-site construction costs, enabling efficient assembly and integration of plumbing and electrical components without settling issues, while maintaining high insulation properties.
Implementation Method 1
blowing beads of an insulating expandable plastic material into the expansion mould, expanding the beads in the expansion mould and allowing them to melt together to form a foamed core plate
Implementation Method 2
the cementitious material adhering to said one major surface to thereby provide coating of the one said major surface of the wall core with the cementitious material
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method for manufacture of a fire-proof and insulating prefabricated building wall comprising a wall core of an expanded, foamed plastic material, such as EPS (expanded polystyrene), with an integrated reinforcement structure and a coating of a cementitious material.