Insulating Concrete Form Panels with Interlocking Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insulating concrete form systems face challenges such as difficulty in fitting panels together, pouring concrete, utility installation, and attachment of finishing materials, along with costly manufacturing processes and issues with transportation and storage, particularly due to the need for specially molded corner blocks and embedded connectors.
Innovation Solution
The proposed system includes interlocking insulating construction panels with regularly spaced coplanar and angular passages for easy assembly and disassembly, along with insertable ties and flat-shaped moldings for interlocking panels, which simplifies the construction process, reduces labor costs, and allows for easier recycling, while maintaining insulation and serving as a backing for finishing materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If preassembled insulating concrete form blocks with embedded connectors are used, then assembly is simplified, but manufacturing cost increases and transportation/storage becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the insulating concrete form into separate modular components: insulating panels and removable tie members with connectors. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using simpler processes while maintaining ease of assembly through the standardized connector interface that receives the tie member.
2Strength
If specially molded corner blocks are used, then structural integrity is improved, but manufacturing cost and transportation/storage issues increase
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating panels are designed with universal features including coplanar passages and angular passages that serve multiple functions: they accommodate tie members for structural integrity, provide attachment points for finishing materials, and enable utility installations. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for specially molded corner blocks while maintaining structural strength.
3Strength
If embedded connectors are used in insulating panels, then panel connection is strengthened, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is extracted from the insulating panel and made into a separate, removable tie member. The panel retains only the coplanar and angular passages that guide and secure the tie member. This extraction simplifies panel manufacturing while maintaining connection strength through the dedicated tie member design.
4Strength
If traditional wooden forms with rebar are used, then structural strength is achieved, but construction time and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the insulating function and the formwork function into a single integrated assembly. The insulating panels with coplanar and angular passages serve both as the insulating layer and as the formwork that defines the concrete boundary. This eliminates the need for separate wooden forms and rebar installation, significantly accelerating construction while maintaining structural strength through the concrete-insulating panel assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
An insulated construction panel having a top end, a bottom end, a first end, a second end, a front side and a rear side, the panel for constructing a single or multi-thickness concrete form, the panel including regularly spaced coplanar passages extending completely through the panel from the top end of the panel toward and through to the bottom end of the panel. For each of the regularly spaced coplanar passages, an angular passage perpendicularly intersecting each coplanar passage at the top end and extending toward and through a portion of a front side surface of the front side and rear side surface of the rear side of the panel, each angular passage extending only partially through the panel from the top end toward the bottom end. For each of the regularly spaced coplanar passages, an angular passage perpendicularly intersecting each coplanar passage at the bottom end and extending toward and through a portion of the front side surface of the front side and the rear side surface of rear side of the panel, each angular passage extending only partially through the panel from the bottom end toward the top end.