Facade Mullion Intumescent Strip for Fire Heat Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing facade and skylight designs fail to effectively prevent heat penetration from fires, particularly in post-and-beam constructions, and existing insulating solutions are not easily installable or secure.
Innovation Solution
An insulating strip with a monolithic base body made of intumescent material, featuring clamping and holding areas with different material properties, is designed to securely fit into a screw groove, expanding to form a heat barrier upon exposure to high temperatures, ensuring easy installation and secure fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a rigid insulating material is used, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but installation accuracy and secure fixation are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the insulating material from rigid to soft/compressible. The insulating strip is made of a soft material that can be compressed during installation to fit into the screw groove, then maintains its insulating function. This parameter change allows the material to be easily installed while still providing effective thermal insulation.
2Ease of operation
If a soft insulating material is used, then ease of installation and contour accuracy are improved, but structural stability at high temperatures is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the phase transition property of intumescent materials that undergo volumetric expansion when exposed to fire temperatures. The soft insulating strip remains stable during installation, but when exposed to high temperatures, it expands up to 3-4 times its original volume to form a stable, protective char layer that maintains structural integrity and provides thermal insulation during fire conditions.
3Manufacturing precision
If the insulating strip is made monolithic, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability to different gap sizes is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the insulating strip dynamically adaptable by using a soft, compressible material that can be pressed into different sized gaps. The monolithic strip design maintains manufacturing precision, while its soft nature allows it to deform and adapt to various gap dimensions during installation, providing both precision and versatility.
4Reliability
If the insulating strip expands at low temperatures, then gap sealing is improved, but premature activation and false sealing are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs intumescent materials with a specifically engineered activation temperature threshold. The material remains stable and does not expand at normal or elevated service temperatures, ensuring no premature activation. Only when exposed to fire temperatures (typically above 200-250°C) does the material undergo its phase transition and expand to seal the gap, providing reliable sealing only when actually needed.
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 insulating strip effectively prevents heat penetration by expanding to seal gaps between glass panes, providing high thermal insulation and secure fixation, even at high temperatures up to 1,000°C, while being easy to install.
Implementation Method 1
The intumescent material of the base body is a relatively soft material with high thermal insulation properties. Due to this softness, the base body of the insulation strip can be securely fixed to the screw groove.
Implementation Method 2
The base body of the insulation strip has a clamping area facing the screw groove with opposing clamping webs, between which the screw groove is clamped or can be clamped, at least partially and/or in certain areas.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a facade or skylight (1) with a mullion or transom profile (2) on which two spaced-apart glass sealing gaskets (3) are provided, against which a filling element (4), in particular in the form of a panel or a glass pane, rests. The two filling elements (4) are held on the glass sealing gaskets (3) by a retaining strip (5), and an insulating strip (6) is arranged between the end faces of the filling elements (4), which is fixed to a screw groove (7) of the mullion or transom profile (2). The insulating strip (6) has a base body (8), in particular monolithic, made of an intumescent material. The base body (8) of the insulating strip (6) has a clamping area (9) facing the screw groove (7) with opposing clamping ribs, between which the screw groove (7) is clamped or can be received, at least partially and/or in sections.Furthermore, the base body (8) of the insulating strip (6) has a retaining area (10) facing the retaining strip (5) with two opposing retaining webs, between which an insertion channel (16) is formed for receiving a screw (11) that is screwed or is to be screwed into the screw groove (7).