Expansion Joint Tape With Triangular Sealing Strips
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional expansion joint tapes in buildings fail to provide adequate moisture protection and sealing due to their wedge-shaped design, which leads to displacement and penetration of moisture, especially in areas with mechanical stresses and temperature changes, resulting in compromised tightness and potential water ingress.
Innovation Solution
An expansion joint tape with polygonal sealing strips connected via a web, featuring a U-shaped mounting bracket for alignment, which includes leg arms with part-circular recesses for reinforcing rods, ensuring secure embedding and maintaining positional stability despite relative movements, and incorporating thermoplastic elastomers that swell in water to enhance sealing capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional wedge-shaped expansion joint tapes are used, then installation is simple, but sealing performance deteriorates due to displacement and moisture penetration
Solution Approach 1:
The expansion joint tape is divided into multiple sealing strips (typically three) arranged in a specific geometric pattern rather than a single wedge shape. Each sealing strip has a triangular cross-section with the bases forming a straight line, creating a segmented structure that prevents displacement while maintaining ease of installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetric arrangement of sealing strips where the triangular sections are positioned with their bases aligned horizontally and apexes pointing upward, creating an asymmetric configuration that resists displacement forces while simplifying the installation process compared to traditional symmetric wedge designs.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional expansion joint tapes are used, then manufacturing is simple, but durability worsens due to aging and shrinkage
Solution Approach 1:
Each sealing strip is designed with specific local geometric characteristics (triangular cross-section with defined base and apex orientations) that provide enhanced resistance to aging and shrinkage. The local quality of each triangular sealing element contributes to overall durability while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through consistent geometric replication.
3Quantity of substance
If wedge-shaped sealing strips are used, then material usage is minimal, but tightness deteriorates due to spacing from joint surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The segmentation into multiple triangular sealing strips with horizontally aligned bases creates continuous contact along the joint surfaces. This segmented arrangement ensures tightness by distributing contact points while using minimal material, as each triangular strip efficiently fills the joint space without excessive material consumption.
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 provides a higher and uniform ability to expand, maintains positional fidelity, and ensures a permanent seal, effectively preventing moisture penetration even under seismic conditions, while adapting to gap changes without compromising waterproofing, sound-absorbing, or heat-insulating properties.
Implementation Method 1
incorporating thermoplastic elastomers that swell in water to enhance sealing capabilities
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an expansion joint tape with an elastic plastic-like material, the joint tape comprising two sealing strips extending in strand form along a central longitudinal axis, the sealing strips having a polygonal cross-section; the corner regions of which merge into the web in cross-section, the sealing strips having an isosceles triangle cross-section, the web sides bounding the web laterally are aligned at right angles to the outer surfaces of the sealing strips, and ribs extending in a strip-like manner are formed on the longitudinal sides and/or outer surfaces of the sealing strips and/or the web sides, the ribs extending along the central longitudinal axis.