Expanded Metal Lath with Localized Web Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
One coat stucco systems using lighter woven wire laths fail to meet performance expectations due to reduced material efficiency and increased cracking, while expanded metal laths are unsuitable due to shearing issues and high material costs.
Innovation Solution
An expanded metal lath with varying web dimensions and stabilizers is designed to provide structural reinforcement, minimize cracking, and facilitate efficient packaging, featuring heavier bands for fastening areas and lighter sections elsewhere, with stabilizers to prevent distortion and ensure flat finishes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If lighter woven wire lath is used to reduce material cost, then material cost decreases, but stucco finish performance deteriorates and cracking increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expanded metal lath features varying web thicknesses within the same structure: thicker webs at locations subject to fastening forces and thinner webs elsewhere. This local variation in material distribution provides enhanced strength where needed while maintaining overall lightness, resolving the contradiction between material cost and finish performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the metal lath by using expanded metal construction with controlled web thickness variations and incorporating stabilizer elements. These parameter changes enable the lath to achieve both reduced weight and improved performance characteristics simultaneously.
2Strength
If expanded metal lath with uniform heavy webs is used to prevent shearing, then shear strength increases, but material cost and weight increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniform heavy construction throughout, the expanded metal lath implements localized thickness variations with heavier webs only where structural demands require enhanced shear resistance. This selective material distribution achieves necessary strength while minimizing overall material usage and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The lath structure is segmented into zones of different web thicknesses based on functional requirements. High-stress areas receive heavier web construction while low-stress areas use thinner webs, creating an optimized structure that balances strength and material efficiency.
3Stability of the object's composition
If woven wire lath with twisted strands is used to form hexagons, then structural continuity is achieved, but material efficiency decreases due to unnecessary wire for twisting
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the unnecessary twisting operation from the lath construction. By using expanded metal with inherently stable interwoven strands, the design removes the redundant material consumption associated with twisting while preserving the structural continuity and stability required for effective stucco reinforcement.
4Weight of moving object
If expanded metal lath is made lighter to reduce weight, then installation ease improves, but fastener holding capability deteriorates due to shearing
Solution Approach 1:
The expanded metal lath incorporates localized reinforcement with thicker webs at strategic positions where fasteners will be applied. This ensures adequate holding capability at attachment points while maintaining overall light weight for ease of installation. The stabilizer elements further enhance this localized strength without adding significant overall weight.
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 achieves equivalent performance to traditional laths with reduced material usage, preventing shearing and cracking, and enabling cost-effective, efficient installation while meeting energy code requirements.
Implementation Method 1
Exposing the slitted metal sheet or strip to a tensile force causes the slits to separate and form openings in the lath
Data Source
AI summary
An expanded metal lath may be formed by slitting a metal sheet or strip in a defined pattern and subjecting the sheet or coil to a tensile force sufficient to cause the slits to form a plurality of openings. The web bands forming the plurality of openings can include a heavier web bands in areas where fasteners will be used to affix the expanded metal lath to a substrate and lighter web bands in other areas where fasteners will not be used. The expanded metal lath can include stabilizers or selvedge wires at opposed lateral or longitudinal edges to protect the expanded metal lath during shipping and installation. The expanded metal lath may include furring elements integrally formed with the web bands to raise the expanded metal lath off an underlying surface.