Modular Wall Construction Using Height-Standardized Prefabricated Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for constructing building walls using prefabricated elements are inefficient due to high costs, long lead times, significant labor demands, and reduced flexibility, as well as environmental concerns related to waste generation and transportation, especially when custom-made walls are manufactured on-site.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a range of prefabricated construction elements with different heights, selected using mathematical formulas to achieve desired wall heights without cutting, combined with a binder for assembly and disassembly, allowing for easy reuse and reduced waste, and optimized element lengths for efficient construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional blocks are used for wall construction, then the wall can be built with standard materials, but construction time increases significantly and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wall is divided into modular prefabricated elements of standardized heights (e.g., 16.5 cm, 33 cm, 49.5 cm, 66 cm) that can be manufactured separately and assembled on-site. This segmentation enables parallel production of multiple wall elements, significantly increasing construction speed while maintaining ease of assembly through standardized connection methods.
Solution Approach 2:
Wall elements are manufactured in advance in a controlled factory environment rather than being built on-site. This preliminary action allows for optimized production processes, quality control, and simultaneous preparation of multiple elements, thereby accelerating the overall construction process while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
2Manufacturing precision
If custom-made walls are manufactured in a factory, then construction quality improves and waste is reduced, but final costs increase and lead times increase
Solution Approach 1:
A limited range of standardized wall elements with different heights serves multiple functions: they can be combined in various sequences to achieve different total wall heights, they can accommodate different opening positions when used in appropriate combinations, and they maintain consistent manufacturing processes. This universality reduces the number of unique components needed, lowering tooling and setup costs while preserving manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of manufacturing custom walls with varying dimensions, the invention changes the approach by varying the height parameter of standardized elements and their arrangement sequence. This allows a single manufacturing process to produce elements suitable for multiple wall height requirements, reducing per-unit costs while maintaining quality control benefits of factory production.
3Adaptability or versatility
If prefabricated building elements with different heights are used, then wall height flexibility is achieved, but the complexity of selecting and assembling elements increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different wall sections can use different sequences and combinations of standardized elements based on local requirements such as opening positions, wall height, and structural needs. This local customization within a standardized system maintains flexibility while limiting the complexity to manageable combinations of the same basic element types.
Solution Approach 2:
Once a valid sequence of elements is determined for a particular wall configuration, the same sequence can be copied and reused for identical or similar walls. This reduces the intellectual effort required for each new wall while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to different requirements by modifying the copied sequence as needed.
4Measurement precision
If building elements are cut to achieve desired heights, then precise wall heights are achieved, but material waste increases and construction time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wall height is achieved by stacking intact prefabricated elements of standardized heights rather than cutting a single large element. This segmentation approach ensures that elements are used at their full designed dimensions, eliminating the material waste associated with cutting while maintaining precise wall heights through the cumulative effect of standardized element dimensions.
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
This method enables faster, more economical, and ecological construction of walls with improved safety and quality, reducing waste and transportation costs while allowing for flexible and standardized element reuse.
Implementation Method 1
a layer of binder is applied each time between two superimposed elements
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for constructing a wall of a building where a range is used comprising at least five types of construction elements (p(1) to p(5i)) which are different in height from each other, four of these types of construction elements having by type a predetermined height (h(1), h(2), h(3), h(4)) and at least a fifth type is composed of construction elements which are part of a first set (p(5i)) of prefabricated construction elements having different heights (h(5i)) from each other, and in that before constructing the wall of a predetermined height H under the ceiling and taking into account a screed having a height h(c) applied on a slab on which the wall will be built, the construction elements necessary to obtain said height H are selected from said range by using a first mathematical formula f1 H= h(1)+h(2)+h(3)+h(4)+h(5i)-h(c).