Wood-Frame Facade Watertight Joint Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing non-load-bearing facades with metal frames cannot be easily adapted for wooden frames due to the difficulty in precise machining of wood materials, which complicates the installation of watertight joints and limits the use of wooden frames in high-rise structures, despite wood being a carbon-free and biosourced construction material.
Innovation Solution
A non-load-bearing facade design featuring waterproof panels with a wooden core between exterior and interior coatings, incorporating a bracing system and EPDM seals with deformable tubular portions for effective sealing, allowing for easy installation and adaptation to various geometries, and providing fire resistance, thermal insulation, and impact resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If metal frames are used for non-load-bearing facades, then precise machining and watertight joint installation are facilitated, but the use of carbon-free and biosourced wood material is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the joint components to accommodate wood material characteristics. The grooves are designed with specific dimensions (e.g., 5-10mm width, 2-5mm depth) that account for wood's natural variability, allowing precise fitting without requiring the high machining precision of metal while maintaining watertight sealing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The facade system uses a composite construction combining wood frame elements with sealing materials (EPDM rubber, adhesive tapes, foam fillers). This composite approach allows the primary structure to be biosourced wood while incorporating synthetic materials specifically for sealing functions, thus maintaining both sustainability and manufacturing precision
2Adaptability or versatility
If wooden frame panels are used in non-load-bearing facades, then carbon-free and biosourced construction is achieved, but precise machining for watertight joints becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The joint system is segmented into multiple independent components: grooves cut in wood members, separate sealing profiles (EPDM rubber), adhesive tapes, and foam fillers. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the wood structure provides the biosourced framework while separate sealing elements provide the watertight function without requiring the wood itself to be precisely machined to tight tolerances
Solution Approach 2:
Sealing materials such as EPDM rubber profiles and adhesive tapes serve as intermediaries between wood members. These intermediary elements compensate for the inability to achieve high machining precision in wood, creating reliable watertight joints by filling gaps and accommodating dimensional variations in the wooden components
3Reliability
If joints between wooden panels are designed to ensure mechanical properties and tightness, then watertightness is achieved, but installation complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Sealing elements such as adhesive tapes and foam fillers are pre-installed into grooves or channels of wooden members before the final assembly. This preliminary action ensures that when panels are joined, the sealing function is already in place, reducing on-site complexity and ensuring reliable watertightness without requiring complex joint designs during installation
Solution Approach 2:
The joint system divides sealing functions into separate manageable components: mechanical connection elements, sealing profiles, adhesive tapes, and foam fillers. Each segment addresses a specific requirement (structural connection, primary sealing, secondary sealing, gap filling), making the overall complex function manageable through simple, standardized installation steps
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 solution enables the creation of watertight, airtight, and fire-resistant wooden facades suitable for high-rise buildings, ensuring durability and compliance with regulatory standards without the need for additional linings, while simplifying installation and maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
a second substantially tubular portion which can deform so as to flatten when it is compressed by an external element such as a second panel
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
Non-load-bearing building facade comprising a plurality of watertight panels and at least one joint sealing a set of at least two of said panels, said watertight panels comprising a core consisting of at least 10% by mass of a woody material, provided with at least one bracing covering.