Vitrified Perlite Mortar for Thermal Insulation and Fire Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lightweight building materials used for thermal insulation and fire protection, such as EPS and open-cell perlite, have low compressive strength, are hygroscopic, expensive, and not environmentally friendly, while airgel-based materials lose their insulating effectiveness when mechanically stressed during application, making them unsuitable for widespread use in building finishing plasters.
Innovation Solution
A mortar mixture composed of at least 20% vitrified, closed-cell spheres made of expanded silica sand or perlite with high compressive strength, combined with binders and other additives, which can be pumped and applied without significant loss of thermal insulation properties, and is designed to be vapor permeable and cost-effective.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If open-cell perlite or EPS is used as lightweight insulation material, then thermal insulation and weight reduction are improved, but compressive strength becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines vitrified expanded perlite spheres (providing thermal insulation and light weight) with cement binder and sand (providing structural strength) to create a composite mortar mixture that achieves both low density and high compressive strength. The synergistic combination allows the lightweight material to function effectively without sacrificing structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms perlite from its conventional open-cell structure to a vitrified closed-cell structure through controlled heating and cooling processes. This parameter change in the material's internal structure dramatically increases its compressive strength while maintaining its lightweight and insulating properties, resolving the strength-density contradiction.
2Quantity of substance
If airgel is used for thermal insulation, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but mechanical stability deteriorates under pumping stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the fragile, pump-destroyed airgel with a more robust vitrified perlite-based mortar mixture that can withstand pumping and application stresses. While airgel offers superior insulation, the invention accepts a slightly higher lambda value in exchange for mechanical reliability and ease of application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and structural parameters of the insulation material from airgel's ultra-fine porous structure to vitrified perlite's closed-cell spherical structure, which maintains good thermal insulation properties while providing the mechanical strength needed to survive the pumping and application process.
3Weight of stationary object
If conventional lightweight materials are used, then weight reduction is achieved, but fire protection performance becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite system where vitrified perlite spheres (lightweight, non-combustible) are embedded in a cement-sand binder matrix. This composite structure provides both weight reduction and fire protection, as the vitrified perlite does not burn and the cement binder forms a protective char layer during fire exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the potential weakness of lightweight materials (low fire resistance) into a strength by using vitrified perlite, which is inherently fire-resistant due to its glassy structure. The material's light weight and fire resistance become complementary rather than contradictory properties.
4Quantity of substance
If traditional sand-based mortar is used, then structural strength is maintained, but thermal insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional sand with vitrified expanded perlite spheres in the mortar mixture. The perlite spheres create a more porous, insulating structure while the cement binder maintains structural integrity. This composite approach achieves thermal insulation without sacrificing the strength needed for structural applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the porous structure of vitrified perlite spheres to improve thermal insulation. The closed-cell structure traps air pockets that reduce heat transfer, while the overall porous morphology maintains adequate mechanical strength through the cement binder network.
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 mortar mixture provides superior thermal insulation and fire protection with a lower lambda value, higher compressive strength, and reduced water absorption, making it easier to handle and apply, while being environmentally friendly and cost-effective, suitable for use on both new and old buildings.
Implementation Method 1
The mortar mixture provides superior thermal insulation and fire protection with a lower lambda value
Implementation Method 2
vitrified, closed-cell spheres made of expanded silica sand or expanded perlite
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a mortar mixture which can be embodied as insulating plaster, in the form of a plastering mixture, for insulating building envelopes, and which can also be embodied as final coat. However, the mortar mixture can be used for horizontal surfaces or as casting mortar in molds, including pressing molds. At least 20% of the mortar mixture by volume consists of balls composed of expanded silica sand or expanded perlite, which balls are glazed and thus closed at the surface thereof and are filled with air. Said perlite balls are mixed with binding agents, additives as binders, an air-void forming agent, and/or further chemical admixtures as liquefiers, quick-setting binders, and composed of polymers. The method for producing the mortar mixture is performed in such a way that perlite sand is first sorted into various grain sizes by means of a grading curve. Each individual grain size is then expanded in a trickling channel having multi-stage temperature zones such that the surface of the balls is glazed. Glazed, expanded perlite produced in such a way is mixed together into a homogenous mixture by adding binding agents and cellulose, air-void forming agent, and/or chemical admixtures. The mortar mixture is used to insulate exterior or interior walls or floors of buildings. For this purpose, the mortar mixture is sprayed through a hose (7) and through a nozzle (10), with or without the addition of water, onto a wall to be insulated, by means of a screw pump having a screw (1) and having a pump cylinder (3), to which pump cylinder air pressure or oil pressure can be applied from outside in the region of the screw (1) and which pump cylinder is housed in a pressure-resistant outer pipe (4). In the use of the mortar mixture as a final coat, an aqueous dispersion is used as binding agent.