Onsite Concrete Panel Casting System Reduces Transport Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
The conventional construction of precast concrete wall panels faces challenges such as logistical difficulties and safety risks due to the heavy weight and costly transportation of concrete panels, which disrupts building schedules and budgets, and requires meticulous handling and care during transportation.
Innovation Solution
A panel casting system comprising a panel casting apparatus with two outer forms surrounding dividers and concrete receiving inserts, where concrete is poured vertically onsite, reducing transportation weight and enabling efficient assembly and installation, using a concrete hopper with dispensers and chain tensioner brackets to shape and set the concrete, and a platform for safety features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If concrete wall panels are cast in reusable molds and transported to installation sites, then the panels can be pre-assembled with windows and doors, but the heavy weight (exceeding 150 pounds per cubic foot) makes transportation costly and logistically difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The panel casting apparatus is divided into modular components including reusable outer forms, dividers, and concrete receiving inserts. The inserts themselves are segmented into rebar mesh bodies with attached bulkheads, allowing selective assembly and transportation of only the necessary components rather than complete assembled panels.
Solution Approach 2:
The concrete receiving inserts are extracted from the complete panel assembly process, allowing them to be prepared separately without concrete, then transported to the installation site where concrete is poured onsite. This separates the heavy concrete material from the transportation process.
2Reliability
If concrete panels are transported long distances from assembly factories, then precast panels can be produced in controlled environments, but the transportation process requires meticulous handling and care at each loading and offloading step
Solution Approach 1:
The concrete receiving inserts are prepared in advance at the assembly factory with all windows, doors, steel embeds, and electrical fixtures pre-positioned. The inserts are then transported empty, avoiding the need to handle heavy concrete panels during loading and offloading operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The concrete receiving inserts serve as intermediaries between the factory preparation process and onsite concrete pouring. They are transported separately from the concrete material itself, allowing controlled curing conditions to be established at the installation site rather than requiring long-distance transportation of complete panels.
3Ease of operation
If concrete wall panels are individually hoisted and erected using portable tower cranes, then panels can be installed as part of the building façade, but the installation process proceeds slowly and disrupts the building schedule
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple concrete receiving inserts are assembled within a single panel casting apparatus frame, allowing multiple panel sections to be prepared simultaneously. The apparatus itself is transported as a complete unit to the installation site, combining transportation and assembly operations into a single efficient process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from vertical transportation and installation using tower cranes to horizontal transportation of the complete apparatus on a trailer, followed by onsite concrete pouring. This dimensional change from vertical to horizontal operations eliminates the need for expensive crane equipment and accelerates the installation process.
4Weight of moving object
If conventional large trailers are used to transport heavy concrete panels, then panels can be transported from factory to site, but the overall weight of the trailer increases and transportation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The concrete material is extracted from the transportation process entirely. Only the lightweight concrete receiving inserts, dividers, and outer forms are transported on the trailer to the installation site, where the heavy concrete is poured locally. This eliminates the need to transport complete heavy panels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state and location of the concrete material from being transported as solid panels to being poured onsite from a hopper. This parameter change from transported solid material to locally placed material dramatically reduces the weight that must be transported.
Data Source
AI summary
A concrete panel assembly system features a panel casting apparatus, a panel trailer, and a divider trailer. The panel casting apparatus includes two outer forms that surround a plurality of dividers and concrete receiving inserts. The concrete receiving inserts are custom assembled at an offsite factory and transported to the jobsite without concrete. A conveyor then moves a concrete hopper from one side of the panel casting apparatus to the other while selectively pouring concrete vertically into each concrete receiving insert via a plurality of dispenser valves. Chains and threaded compression rods are fastened across the panel casting apparatus to properly shape and set up the concrete. A surrounding platform with towers couplable to a fall restraint system enables users to safely supervise the casting process. Upon curing, the concrete wall panels are removed by crane and transported to a nearby building for final installation.