Composite Panel Kit with Foam Core to Reduce Stone Panel Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Solid panels of quartz stone, marble, or granite are excessively heavy, leading to occupational health and safety issues, increased costs in importation, handling, and installation, and posing challenges in achieving cost savings and lightness.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight panel kit comprising a surface sheet and a body layer with a lower density, where the body layer has a majority of void space, such as a foam or honeycomb structure, and a side edge portion made of the same material, allowing for customization and resizing, while maintaining a visual appearance similar to solid panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If solid panels of quartz stone, marble or granite are used, then visual appearance and feel are desirable, but weight becomes excessively heavy causing OHS problems and increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
The panel combines a thin surface sheet of natural stone (quartz, marble, or granite) with a lightweight foam core material. This composite structure maintains the desirable visual appearance and feel of solid stone panels while dramatically reducing the overall weight, eliminating OHS problems and handling costs associated with solid stone panels.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel uses a foam core material with a porous structure that provides insulation and structural support while maintaining very low density. This porous lightweight core replaces the solid stone material in the bulk of the panel, achieving weight reduction while preserving the aesthetic qualities of natural stone through the surface sheet.
2Shape
If solid panels of quartz stone, marble or granite are used, then appearance is maintained, but importation, handling and installation expenses increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The composite construction with a thin stone veneer and foam core reduces material costs, simplifies handling and installation procedures, and lowers importation expenses. The lightweight nature of the foam core makes the panel easier to transport and install compared to solid stone panels, while the stone surface sheet maintains the desired appearance.
3Weight of moving object
If the body layer is made with majority void space to reduce weight, then lightness is achieved, but structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The combination of the thin natural stone surface sheet and the foam core creates a composite structure where the stone layer provides a strong, durable surface that resists impact and wear, while the foam core provides structural support and rigidity. This composite construction achieves weight reduction while maintaining adequate structural strength for panel applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The thin surface sheet of natural stone acts as a strong outer shell that protects the lightweight foam core. This thin film structure provides the necessary surface strength and durability while the foam core contributes to overall panel rigidity, achieving a favorable strength-to-weight ratio.
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
The solution results in a significantly lighter, cost-effective, and safer panel that maintains high strength and visual similarity to solid panels, reducing the risks associated with heavy materials and offering customizable options.
Implementation Method 1
a surface sheet adhered to one surface of the body layer, and a plate adhered to an opposite surface of the body layer
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3
AI summary
A kit for forming a panel including a panel component, the panel component including a surface sheet formed from a first material, and a body layer to which the surface sheet is adhered generally parallel to the body layer, wherein the body layer has a thickness greater than a thickness of the surface sheet, the body layer has a density less than a density of the surface sheet, and a separate side edge portion adapted to be adhered along at least one edge of the panel component.