Fire-Retardant Panel With Perforated Frame
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fire-retardant panels lack structural strength, are labor-intensive to install, and have limited effectiveness in slowing fire progression, requiring specialized skills and materials that are costly and aesthetically unappealing.
Innovation Solution
The development of fire-retardant panels with a frame that includes multiple holes or slots to reduce heat transfer, combined with layers of metal skins, insulation, and fire-resistant materials like gypsum or calcium silicate, which are easy to install and provide enhanced structural strength and fire resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional fire-retardant panels use a high-density mineral-wool core clad in sheet metal without internal frame structure, then fire resistance is achieved, but structural strength is not very high
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is segmented into distinct functional layers: metal skin, insulation layer, frame structure, and fire-resistant material layer. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the frame provides structural strength while the insulation and fire-resistant materials provide fire protection, resolving the contradiction between strength and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction combining metal skins, insulation materials, frame structures, and fire-resistant materials like gypsum or calcium silicate. This composite approach enables the panel to simultaneously achieve high structural strength from the frame and metal skins, while maintaining fire resistance through the combined action of multiple material layers.
2Reliability
If gypsum board is used to make a fire barrier by nailing or screwing it to a wall at a jobsite, then fire resistance is achieved, but installation is labor intensive and requires specialized skills
Solution Approach 1:
The fire-resistant material layer is pre-installed between the frame members during panel fabrication before shipment to the jobsite. This preliminary action eliminates the need for labor-intensive on-site installation of fire-resistant materials, allowing workers to simply attach the pre-assembled panel to the wall, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining fire resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple components (metal skin, insulation, frame, and fire-resistant material) into a single pre-assembled panel unit. This consolidation transforms the complex multi-step installation process into a simple single-step attachment operation, resolving the contradiction between reliable fire resistance and ease of installation.
3Reliability
If traditional fire-retardant panels are designed without internal supportive frame structure, then manufacturing is simpler, but the ability to slow fire progression is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is designed with local quality variations, including hollow sections and strategic openings in specific locations to optimize fire resistance while maintaining structural efficiency. This localized optimization allows the frame to slow fire progression through thermal breaks at critical points without unnecessarily increasing overall structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame incorporates hollow sections and openings that create thermal breaks and disrupt heat transfer paths. These porous or cavity-containing frame elements slow fire progression by interrupting continuous thermal conduction, while the overall frame structure remains relatively simple and integrated into the panel design.
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 panels that are stronger, easier to install, more effective at slowing fire progression, and cost-efficient, while being aesthetically appealing, thus addressing the limitations of traditional fire-retardant systems.
Implementation Method 1
frames include holes or slots, for example, in rows, for instance, that reduce heat transfer through the frame
Implementation Method 2
a first layer of insulation, for example, mineral wool, between the first skin and the layer of fire-resistant material
Data Source
AI summary
Fire-retardant panels that include: a frame with multiple holes that reduce heat conduction through the panel; or a frame that includes two portions separated by a layer of fire-resistant material (e.g., gypsum, calcium silicate, or gypsum board). Some embodiments include skins (e.g., sheet metal) or insulation (e.g., between skin and fire-resistant material, for instance, within the frame). In particular embodiments, the fire-resistant material is (e.g., midway) between: two skins, two layers of insulation, two portions of the frame, or a combination thereof. The portions of the frame can be: sheet metal, attached (e.g., screwed) to the skin(s) or to each other, or extend around the perimeter. The frame can include: various elongated members, (e.g., parallel) bends, or holes that are: in at least one row, elongated, or slots (e.g., parallel to each other or to the skin).