Composite Floor Cassette for Fire-Resistant Fast Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor cassettes made of timber or similar materials do not provide the same fire resistance and sound insulation as concrete floors, and in-situ concrete floor systems like Speedfloor require skilled labor for embedding rolled joists, making installation time-consuming and prone to atmospheric conditions.
Innovation Solution
A concrete floor cassette comprising a profiled steel deck with non-load bearing elements suspended from the steel deck, allowing services to pass through open webs, assembled in a controlled factory environment, which can be easily installed on-site as a finished floor system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If timber floor cassettes are used, then installation is simpler, but fire resistance and sound insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite structure combining timber joists with a concrete slab and profiled steel deck. The timber joists provide structural support while the concrete slab (minimum 65mm thickness) delivers fire resistance and sound insulation. This composite approach allows the floor cassette to achieve both ease of installation as a pre-assembled unit and the required performance characteristics that timber alone cannot provide.
2Strength
If in-situ concrete floor systems with embedded rolled joists are used, then structural performance is improved, but installation time and skill requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-assembling the floor cassette in a factory setting before site installation. The profiled steel deck is attached to the timber joists and the concrete slab is poured and cured in controlled factory conditions. This pre-assembly includes all necessary structural components ready for installation, eliminating the time-consuming on-site work of embedding rolled joists into concrete and allowing the entire cassette to be installed as a single unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the floor construction into modular cassettes that can be manufactured separately and assembled on-site. Each cassette is a self-contained module comprising joists, steel deck, and concrete slab, which can be produced in advance and transported to the building site for quick installation, thereby reducing on-site construction time and complexity.
3Reliability
If in-situ concrete pouring is performed, then fire resistance is improved, but exposure to atmospheric conditions and damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes preliminary action by completing the concrete pouring, curing, and strength development in a controlled factory environment before transport. The concrete slab achieves its full fire-resistant properties and structural strength under controlled conditions, protecting it from atmospheric factors such as temperature fluctuations, humidity, and potential damage from site activities during the critical curing period.
Data Source
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AI summary
A floor cassette (1) comprising a profiled steel deck (3). A layer of set concrete (4) is provided on top of the profiled steel deck. The steel deck and concrete form a self-supporting structural component. A non-load bearing element such as a joist (2) or insulation (52) is attached to the opposite side of the steel deck from the concrete. The non-load bearing element having openings (25, 26) to allow the services to pass through, in use. The invention also extends to a method of constructing a building in which the cassettes (1) are pre-formed in a factory.