GB2291900A

GB2291900A - Building panel comprising phenolic resin foam

Info

Publication number: GB2291900A
Application number: GB9415657A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Gaskill
Original assignee: FASTRAC BUILDINGS Ltd
Current assignee: FASTRAC BUILDINGS Ltd
Priority date: 1994-08-03
Filing date: 1994-08-03
Publication date: 1996-02-07
Also published as: GB9415657D0

Abstract

A building panel comprising a foamed plastics material core (16) contained within a cage (14) in which the foamed plastics material (16) comprises phenolic resin foam; it may be embedded in concrete 18. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEiENTS IN OR RELATING TO BUILDING PANELS This invention relates to building panels and in particular to building panels which consist of a core of foamed plastics material contained within a wire mesh cage. Such building panels can be used in the construction of buildings and other structures by securing panels together and coating the assembled panels with concrete or other suitable materials so that the wire mesh acts as a reinforcement for the concrete or other suitable materials.

These panels can be manufactured cheaply using an expanded polystyrene core but the cost of transporting the manufactured panels from the place of manufacture to the construction site usually renders this form of building construction uneconomic.

The present invention seeks to provide among other things a building panel which can be manufactured on site.

Accordingly the present invention provides a building panel in which the foamed plastics material contained within the wire mesh cage is phenolic resin foam.

The phenolic resin foam core can be provided with voids so that the density of the core is similar to the density to a core of foamed polystyrene material occupying the same volume.

The phenolic resin foam can be formed as a block which is then cut into portions, each portion having a flat side and a corrugated side. Two portions of foam can then be adhered together at the points of contact between peaks on adjacent corrugations. The thus formed core having voids of a corrugated foam can then be positioned within a wire mesh cage.

The corrugations can be in the shape of any appropriate wave form. The voids are not limited in shape to a corrugated, or wave form but can be in the form of openings of any suitable shape, e.g. circular.

Building panels formed in this manner can then be assembled into structures such as buildings by securing together panels to form walls and roofs and then coated on one or both sides with an appropriate material such as concrete.

The phenolic foam block can be cut using hot wire cutters or a bandsaw or bandsaws. If hot wire cutters and bandsaws are used then alternate cutters and bandsaws are static and oscillating to produce the portions with one surface flat and one surface corrugated.

In an alternative arrangement the block can be cut into portions by passing over a static bandsaw and then each portion passed through the bandsaw again with the bandsaw oscillating.

The invention further provides a building panel comprising a core of foamed plastics material located within a cage of the core being provided with voids.

The core can be formed from a phenolic resin foam.

The present invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an end elevation of one form of building panel according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a side elevation of the building panel as shown in figure 1; Figure 3 shows diagrammatically the method of cutting a foam block to form a core; Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the core of a building panel according to the present invention; and Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a building panel according to the present invention which has been coated on both sides.

Referring to the drawings a building panel (10) comprises a core (12) contained within a wire mesh cage (14).

The core (12) comprises two parts (12a,12b) of a foamed plastics material in this case phenolic resin foam, each portion having been formed with corrugations as will be described below.

The cage (14) comprises two sides of wire mesh (14a,14b) which are attached together by trusses (14c) at fixing points (14d,14e). It will be noted that the fixing points (14d,14e) are staggered vertically with respect to one another.

In order to make the core (12) the raw materials necessary for the production of phenolic foam namely resin catalyst and blowing agent are mixed in a suitable container using, for example, a hand held electric stirrer. The mixed ingredients are poured into a drop side mould with dimensions of, for example, approximately 8 x 4 x 4 ft. The bottom of the mould can be heated if required in order to achieve a rapid reaction start. The heating can be provided, for example, by utilising the cooling water from a generator which will provide electrical power for the production unit of the panels.

When the foam has expanded and solidified the resulting foam block is moved in order to be cut and corrugated.

The cutting and corrugation can be carried out using sets of horizontal, parallel electrically heated wires. Each alternate wire is fixed to a frame which oscillates sinusoidally in a vertical plane. The foam block is driven forward through the cutting head for example by a chain operated rail mounted fence. Therefore referring to figure 3 it will be appreciated that the static electrically heated wires will cut along lines A and B whilst the oscillating wires will cut along lines C, D and E.

In an alternative arrangement the electrically heated wires can be replaced by bandsaws, alternate ones of which are static whilst the others can oscillate. The phenolic foam block is passed through these gangs of bandsaws which will again cut the block as shown in figure 3.

In a further arrangement the block can be cut using a single bandsaw which can be either static or oscillating. In the static mode the phenolic foam block is passed over the bandsaw so that the block is cut along lines A and B. Each portion of the block so formed is then passed through the bandsaw again which is in the oscillating mode in order to cut along lines C, D and E in the blocks. Thus each portion will be cut into two parts each having a sinusoidal face and a flat face.

Referring to figure 4 which shows the core (12) it will be appreciated that the parts (12a,12b) have been moved so that the peaks of. adjacent corrugations are in contact with each other. Prior to being placed into contact a fast setting adhesive is applied to the peaks by for example a lick roller and then the two parts placed together to form the core (12).

The completed panels can then be transported, for example, by nip rollers in order to drive the panel through a set of vertical parallel electrically heated wires or bandsaws in order to cut the panels into strips (16) (see figure 5).

The strips are then be assembled into the cage (14) with the trusses (14c) extending between adjacent strips (16), from the wire mesh (14a) to the wire mesh (14b).

As shown diagrammatically in figure 5 adjacent building panels (10) are secured together and coated on both sides in order to embed the cage (14) by appropriate materials for example concrete or plaster or any other local indigenous material (18,20).

Claims

1. A building panel comprising a foamed plastics material contained within a cage in which the foamed plastics material comprises phenolic resin foam.

2. A panel as claimed in claim 1 in which the core is provided with voids.

3. A panel as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the core is in two parts secured together each part being formed with peaks and troughs so that when assembled together voids are formed in the foam core.

4. A building panel constructed and arranged for use and operations substantially as herein described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. A building formed from panels as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the panels are secured together to form walls and roofs, one or both sides of the panels being coated with an appropriate material such as concrete.

6. A method of manufacturing a building panel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4 comprising forming a block of phenolic resin foam, cutting the block into portions, forming each portion with a flat side and a corrugated side and adhering the two portions of the foam block together at the point of contact between peaks on adjacent corrugations.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 in which the phenolic foam block is cut using hot wire cutters or a bandsaw or bandsaws.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 in which alternate hot wire cutters or bandsaws are static and oscillating to produce the portions with one surface flat and one surface corrugated.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7 in which the block is cut into portions by passing over a static bandsaw or hot wire cutter and each portion is then passed through a hot wire cutter or bandsaw again with the hot wire cutter or band saw oscillating.

10. A method of making a building panel substantially as herein described.