Prefabricated Cladding Elements for Insulated Seismic Wall Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cladding systems for reinforced concrete structures face challenges in providing thermal insulation, soundproofing, accommodating facilities and installations, resisting seismic stresses, and requiring skilled labor, while being heavy and cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A building system using prefabricated modular elements with reinforced concrete or alternative materials, featuring a 'U' and 'H' shaped design, allows for easy assembly with resin-sealed metal rebars, incorporates 'tongue and groove' systems, and includes holes for pipelines, enabling versatile installation of fixtures and insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional rubble-filled cladding walls with parallel masonries are used, then thermal insulation and soundproofing are provided, but the system requires multiple materials, skilled labor for alignment and plastering, and multiple interventions for facilities installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges thermal insulation, soundproofing, and structural cladding functions into a single integrated sandwich-type panel system. The panel comprises an outer shell, inner shell, and core material that simultaneously provides structural support, thermal insulation, and soundproofing, eliminating the need for separate masonry layers and plastering operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The sandwich-type cladding panel serves multiple functions: structural support, thermal insulation, soundproofing, and facility integration. The design incorporates embedded conduits and mounting provisions that allow electrical, plumbing, and HVAC installations to be integrated during manufacturing, making the panel a universal building component.
2Reliability
If sandwich-type cladding walls with metal box-like structures are used, then vertical closures and thermal insulation are achieved, but the system requires skilled labor for precise positioning, multiple materials, and complex pipeline installation
Solution Approach 1:
The cladding panels are manufactured with pre-integrated features including embedded conduits for pipelines, pre-positioned mounting brackets for facilities, and pre-insulated core materials. This preliminary preparation during manufacturing eliminates the need for skilled labor to perform complex positioning and installation operations on-site.
Solution Approach 2:
The sandwich-type panel is designed as a self-contained unit that provides its own structural support, insulation, and facility integration capabilities. The panel's inherent design features allow for easy self-installation without requiring specialized skills for alignment, positioning, or pipeline integration.
3Reliability
If conventional cladding systems are used, then structural coverage is provided, but the systems are heavy and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The sandwich-type panel utilizes composite construction with a lightweight core material (such as foam or honeycomb structure) between outer and inner shells. This composite design provides the necessary structural strength and rigidity for building coverage while maintaining significantly lower weight compared to traditional solid masonry or metal cladding systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
The building system is mainly applicable to the civil buildings, houses, shops, offices and so on. It is applicable to buildings with a concrete, metal or wooden bearing structure; it's not applicable to buildings with masonry walls bearing structure. The building system is conceived to realize versatile cladding wall, anti-seismic, fire-resistant and very insulating, with a new technic that assures a considerable saving of time and money. The cladding wall are realized through the assembly of prefabricated modular elements, in adherence between them, flanked side by side and overlaid. It's possible to fill all the possible spaces between the pillars by choosing properly the elements. Differently, the space between the planking level and the beam's intrados of the upper floor is filled with two lines of elements. Thereupon, the applicable law usually establishes standard heights; however, even if the height of the elements isn't corresponding to the height to fill, the space can be filled just changing the thickness of curb where the first line of elements is going to be installed. By this building system is easy to assembly the cladding walls, eliminating a lot of interventions necessaries to realize the traditional cladding walls, shortening the execution times, also because there are no interventions like to wall up, to plaster, to skim, to paint and so on, and shortening the processing time, because they don't need mortars, smoothing materials nor plasterworks' drying and desiccation time. The elements, assembled and linked among them and with the bearing structure's backbone, form a framework with its own stiffness. So that the elements form a sub-framework in relation to the main framework (the bearing structure of the building). It's possible to install thermal insulation and soundproofing panels on this sub- framework, followed by the installation of closing panels and fagade finishing layer. This way, it's possible to avoid the negative effect of "thermal bridges" and the sound insulation between the external and internal environment is effective. In the thickness of elements, it's possible to place utilities' pipelines and ducts. The building system eliminates demolition work, opening traces, closing tracks, plastering and so on. Inside the single element is possible to install every external and internal window fixture, like doorways, windows, French windows, interior doors. The element has constructive regularity and high degree of accuracy, so that it performs the function of counter-framework, avoiding the need to provide and install counter-frameworks in the building site. All the elements have holes with several uses, including the goal to equip the external sides with photovoltaic panels and solar thermal panels; the sub- framework is suitable to support ventilated walls. The elements are produced in limited series. They are conceived both reinforced concrete elements and metal or wooden elements. The building system is also suitable to performs the function of room dividers, dividers between different flats, and so on. Moreover, the elements are also suitable to other uses like: for example, parapets, railings, pedestrian barriers, bollards, guardrails, framework for niches to locate the utilities, and so on.