Sheet Structural Element with Insulating Core Channels
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing timber-based building structures face issues such as significant shrinkage leading to cracks, limited sound-dampening and thermal regulation, difficulty in moisture detection, and inadequate impregnation against damage from fire, insects, and moisture, particularly in warmer climates.
Innovation Solution
A sheet-shaped structural element with an insulating core made of wood or composite materials, featuring elongated channels and flanges for reduced shrinkage, enhanced sound-dampening, and complete impregnation, along with integrated channels for air flow to regulate temperature and moisture monitoring systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional timber or log walls are used, then the building structure is simple and uses sustainable materials, but the timber shrinks significantly (8-10%) during drying causing cracks and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The wall structure is divided into multiple layers: outer wood panels, middle insulating core with elongated channels, and inner panels. This segmentation allows the insulating core to compensate for wood shrinkage, preventing cracks while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite materials combining wood panels with an insulating core containing elongated channels. This composite structure provides both the aesthetic and structural benefits of timber while eliminating the shrinkage problems through the channel-filled insulating material
2Reliability
If traditional log structures are used, then the construction is simple, but the logs twist and warp during drying creating thermal bridges
Solution Approach 1:
The wall is segmented into stable structural components where the insulating core with channels provides thermal continuity without the warping issues of traditional logs, eliminating thermal bridges while maintaining construction simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure combines dimensionally stable wood panels with an insulating core that resists warping, creating a thermally efficient wall system that eliminates thermal bridging problems
3Reliability
If traditional cross-beam walls are used, then the structure is simple, but the sound-dampening effect is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating core incorporates elongated channels filled with sound-absorbing material in the middle layer, providing localized sound dampening enhancement without requiring complex overall wall structures
Solution Approach 2:
The composite wall structure combines wood panels with an insulating core containing sound-absorbing material in the channels, achieving superior sound insulation through material composition rather than structural complexity
4Reliability
If traditional wood materials are used, then the material is renewable and aesthetically pleasing, but complete impregnation against fire, insects, and moisture is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The elongated channels in the insulating core provide concentrated pathways for impregnation agents, ensuring complete saturation of protective materials where they are most needed while reducing overall material costs
Solution Approach 2:
The channels act as intermediaries that facilitate deep penetration of impregnation agents into the wall structure, ensuring complete protection against fire, insects, and moisture throughout the entire assembly
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 structural element minimizes shrinkage-related damage, provides improved sound-dampening and thermal regulation, enables complete material impregnation, and allows for efficient cooling and heating, while detecting moisture and mold issues, thus reducing costs and damage risks.
Implementation Method 1
timber (log) walls change shape in connection with the logs drying out. It is for example not unusual for such a timber wall (log structure) to shrink between eight to ten percent in connection with its drying
Implementation Method 2
A further problem with existing designs of walls, such as for example cross-beam walls, is that they have a limited sound-dampening effect
Implementation Method 3
A yet further problem with existing designs of walls in buildings is that they do not include the possibility of controlling the amount of heat in the wall
Implementation Method 4
their form and thickness does not allow for their complete impregnation against damage from for example fire, insects, rot, moisture etcetera
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a structural element (1) intended for use in buildings and the like including at least one insulating core (2) which on at least one side (3) is provided with at least one material layer (4) and on the opposite side (5) is provided with at least one second material layer (6). What is unique with the insulating core (2) is that it includes at least two first core elements (7) including a first number of channels (12), with a first number of intermediate flanges (13), which range in depth from the first main side (8) toward the second main side (9). In the preferred embodiment the core element (7) also includes a second number of channels (14), with an intermediate second number of flanges (15), which range in depth from the second main side (9) toward the first main side (8).