EP4022143A1

EP4022143A1 - Sound insulating and thermal insulating masonry with an insulation core

Info

Publication number: EP4022143A1
Application number: EP20859418.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Malgorzata Trzaskoma
Original assignee: Trzaskoma Malgorzata
Current assignee: Trzaskoma Malgorzata
Priority date: 2019-08-30
Filing date: 2020-08-30
Publication date: 2022-07-06
Also published as: WO2021040550A1; EP4022143A4; PL430997A1

Abstract

A sound insulating and thermal insulating masonry block comprising a continuous supporting member bonded by interlocking and adhesion with a continuous thermal insulation core, in its cross-section parallel to the base of the masonry block comprising at least two walls of the supporting structure (4) and (5) and at least one insulating material layer (3) separating the supporting member at the entire length of the masonry block, wherein the insulating material layers in contact with the top surface of the masonry block form a different shape than the insulating material layers in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block, at the entire masonry block height, said masonry block comprises a top part (1) including the insulating material in contact with the top surface of the masonry block and a bottom part (2) including the insulating material in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block, and in the cross- sections perpendicular to the end surfaces of the masonry block, the insulating material layers, at least 20% of the masonry block length are formed in such a way that when the insulating material layer in contact with the top surface of the masonry block is closer to the first end surface of the masonry block, the insulating material layer in contact with the bottom part of the masonry block is closer to the second end surface of the masonry block, at least a single wall of the supporting member in the first horizontal part adjoins at least two walls of the supporting member in the adjacent second horizontal part; if the masonry block in its top part and its bottom part includes a single insulating material layer, the maximum width of the insulating material layer is 30% of the width of the masonry block; if the masonry blocks includes at least two insulating material layers (13 and 14), at least one of said layers separates the supporting member at the entire length of the masonry block, and an internal wall of the supporting member is formed between the layers of the insulating material (15), wherein at least one of the insulating material layers in the top part of the masonry block, as viewed from the top, partially overlaps at least two layers of the insulating material at the bottom part of the masonry block, and each wall of the supporting member of the first horizontal part is in contact with at least two walls of the supporting member adjacent to the second horizontal part.

Description

Sound insulating and thermal insulating masonry with an insulation core.

The present invention relates to a masonry block with sound insulating and thermal insulating properties comprising an insulation core for use in construction of solid walls.

A masonry block disclosed in PL181846 patent specification comprises a formed continuous core including geometric solids, preferably made of thermal insulating material and a supporting member filling the voids formed by the core between the solids, characterized in that the continuous core has at least a single plane parallel to its base, forming a plane in which the faces of the geometrical solids are arranged, wherein said plane divides the continuous core into at least two layers forming a uniform whole with different shaped cross-sections in the planes parallel to said plane.

In said blocks, the insulation core always forms a multi-layer structure with the voids filled by a supporting member, and said structure is continuous at any height of the block in its horizontal cross-section. Both the arrangement of the solid structures of the insulation core and the voids formed by the insulation core are filled with the supporting member and most of all the continuity of the multi-solid core in each horizontal layer of the block improve the thermal insulating properties and affect the sound insulating properties. In accordance with PL181846, the insulation core cannot be a single longitudinal layer or two separated layers which significantly limits the ability to manufacture blocks that require good sound insulating properties.

A masonry block disclosed in CN209308260 comprises the insulation layers in form of flat panels. An arrangement of flat panels affects the sound insulating properties when materials showing high dynamic stiffness, e.g. EPS are used as an insulating material. The insulation panels do not form a continuous structure throughout the block, which makes this solution impossible to use in the blocks manufactured using methods, where the insulating core is a sacrificial formwork for the supporting member, as is the case in production processes using a block making machine.

A masonry block disclosed in CN108018983 comprises a single corrugated or zig-zagged insulation layer dividing the insulation layer into two parts along its entire height. The components in accordance with the invention does not show the structural compactness of the supporting member, and the insulating material is bonded with the supporting member by adhesive forces only, which means that during construction of the wall, additional means of connecting the supporting member layers separated with the insulating material layer must be used, wherein each additional connection point affect the thermal and sound insulating properties. A complete separation of the supporting member of the masonry block with the insulating material layer - even corrugated - will affect the sound insulating properties, if the insulator shows excessive dynamic stiffness, as is the case with EPS. Many studies show that a complete separation of the wall with a EPS insulation layer affects its sound insulating properties. Leaving a void instead of the EPS layer improves the sound insulating properties but will affect the thermal insulating properties of the wall made of said masonry blocks. The solution also does not allow to manufacture blocks with high thermal insulating properties which, as per relevant requirements for external walls, require at least a 25 cm thick insulation layer. The masonry blocks with a thick insulation layer made of standard EPS and (to improve their sound insulating properties) made of heavy concrete will be practically impossible to handle and transport and will fail under their own weight.

PL341998 discloses a hollow masonry block including recesses, wherein a part of the supporting member is below the recesses and tops all walls of the masonry block to form an extensive direct thermal bridge. The lateral walls of the supporting member form virtually direct thermal bridges. Even the internal lateral walls joining the longitudinal concrete layers and arranged under a specific angle to the walls do not extend the thermal bridge formed by the supporting member and result in a minor offset between the lateral wall joining the longitudinal walls and the lateral wall joining the next longitudinal layer. This shape of the lateral walls of the supporting member shows a minor effect at theoretical calculation of the insulating properties of the masonry block without allowing for the fact that the heat is transferred through the path of the least thermal resistance, i.e. without allowing for the fact that the thermal flux by-passes the insulating material at the path formed by the supporting member. The lateral surfaces of the masonry block also form a direct thermal bridge. An oval seat in the middle section does not extend the thermal bridge enough to affect the thermal insulating properties of the entire masonry block. The masonry blocks in accordance with PL341998 show a closed outline and very unfavourable length to width ratio. As a result, the design of the blocks includes a large number of direct thermal bridges and a very large heat transfer surface in relation to the surface of the entire masonry block. Using good insulating material in these blocks will not improve their properties, and applying materials with lower thermal conductivity will result in the higher thermal flux flowing through the thermal bridges and by-passing the insulating material. A disparity between the thermal conductivity of the supporting member material and modem insulating materials filling the voids in the masonry block is extremely high. Thermal conductivity for a lightweight concrete in accordance with PL341998, i.e. a concrete with density of approx. 1,100 kg/m³ is approx. 0.3 - 0.2 W/mK, and thermal conductivity for Neopor is 0.031 W/mK. It is clear that the thermal flux will by-pass the insulating material, and with such a disparity of the thermal resistance, the side surfaces and the bottom surface of the masonry blocks with become a large, direct thermal bridges - a case that is unacceptable in modem wall solutions. The author of the solution anticipates use of the insulating material with low insulating properties, i.e. a mixture of EPS beads with cement-lime binder. As a result, the U-value for the masonry block, as per the author, is 0.28 W/m²K. It is significantly lower than required for use in energy efficient houses.

US5209037 discloses a masonry block comprising an interlocking supporting member held in place by an insulating insert generally serpentine in cross-section with T-shaped or W- shaped sections and a multiplicity of curvilinear surfaces. The shape of the insulating insert combined with the supporting member holds both the supporting members in place and allows to form a wall with a continuous structure of the insulating insert. Despite some modifications introduced to the previous solution disclosed in US455I959, the masonry block is susceptible to damage during loading or transport and its thickness cannot be changed since there is not stiff joint between both end walls. Increasing the insulating insert thickness to the point required to provide the insulating properties for energy efficient houses will require additional joints between the concrete layers separated by the insulating insert in form of anchors or meshes applied during masonry works.

PL2I0627 discloses a masonry block including a supporting member comprising an internal wall and an external wall with an openwork concrete grid filling and thermal insulation inserts filling the spaces between the walls and the ribs of the supporting member. The supporting member comprises ribs arranged in a curvilinear fashion between the supportive member walls, whereas at least a single line is formed by the ribs wider than the remaining ribs, and the insulating inserts arranged by the external wall are wider than the insulating inserts arranged by the internal wall. A relatively long path of the thermal flux by-passing the insulating insert is achieved by a relatively high masonry block length and a small number of ribs forming the joints between the longitudinal ribs; for the masonry block to have sufficient stiffness and resistance to forces acting in the horizontal plane, the ribs of the supporting member are shaped to support the end surface of the masonry block, similar to the vault or other curved structures, and the insulating inserts in their horizontal cross-section are convex polygons. It means that the resistance of the masonry blocks to the forces acting in horizontal planes increases, but the path of the thermal flux by -passing the insulating insert through the ribs of the supporting member is reduced, and all the walls of the supporting member are coincident with the general temperature gradient; in accordance with the description, the masonry blocks in accordance with PL361566 must be made of lightweight concrete with low thermal conductivity. Reducing the path of the thermal flux by-passing the insulating insert is compensated by a relatively high length of the entire masonry block which requires use of lightweight concrete in the production processes due to the overall weight of the entire masonry block. A need to compensate the shorter path of the thermal flux by-passing the insulating insert by using lightweight concretes with low thermal conductivity , i.e. relatively low compressive strength will limit the scope of application of these blocks as the construction blocks.

A masonry block is disclosed in PL217077, wherein the connecting members joining the face walls transversely and the longitudinal internal walls of the supporting member of the masonry block form an angle smaller than the right angle (acute angle) with the longitudinal internal walls, and the members joining the longitudinal walls transversely are arranged in the widest points of the insulating core and are perpendicular to the side surfaces of the masonry blocks. The connecting members in the horizontal cross section of the masonry block form areas with significantly lower insulating properties compared to the other areas of the masonry block. In these areas, the thermal conductivity - depending on the materials used - may be several times higher than the thermal conductivity between those areas. It is due to the elongation of the transverse connecting members, which on one hand limits the thermal flux by-passing the insulating core through the supporting member, and on the other hand increases the thermal flux passing through the adjacent insulating insert at the point of its smallest width.

A masonry block disclosed in PL232986 comprises an insulating core forming a part of the side surface of the masonry block and filling the voids between the walls of the continuous supporting member comprising the end walls and at least two longitudinal walls in the shape of a wavy line; wherein at a right angle to the end walls, the side longitudinal walls, internal transverse walls and middle transverse walls are formed between said walls. At least two longitudinal walls of the supporting member in the shape of a wavy line in the sections between the adjoining transverse walls include at least a single section at an angle smaller than the right angle in relation to the face walls and at least one section at an angle larger than the right angle, and the peaks and valleys of the adjoining longitudinal walls can be in the same cross section of the masonry block; and the side transverse walls, internal transverse walls and middle transverse walls join the face walls with the longitudinal walls and the adjacent longitudinal walls at the peaks or the valleys of the longitudinal walls; or the peaks with the valleys when the peak and the valley of the adjacent longitudinal walls are facing each other, and the total length of the transverse walls is at the most equal to the width of the masonry block between the end walls minus the length of the longitudinal walls, and preferably, the length is lower than its width.

A masonry block in accordance with PL233036 comprises an insulating core made of thermal-insulating materials with strength allowing to form a supporting member, for which it is part of a mould in the production process, including the face members joined with the connecting members, side members forming a part of the side masonry block surface and internal members, joined by interlocking and by adhesive forces with the continuous supporting member forming the face surfaces and part of the side surfaces of the masonry block and filling the voids between the core parts, including the longitudinal face walls and the transverse internal walls joined with each other through direct joints or through the transverse walls perpendicular or oblique to the face surfaces of the masonry block. The width of at least two internal members at a point of contact with the connecting member or the transverse wall to its longitudinal surface is lower than the distance between the connecting member or the transverse wall in contact with the longitudinal surface of the member from one side and the connecting member or the transverse wall in contact with the longitudinal surface of the masonry block from the other side, wherein the direct joints between the longitudinal walls and the transverse walls joining a single pair of adjacent longitudinal walls are at a different distance from the centre of the masonry block than the connecting members or the walls joining the next pair of the adjacent longitudinal walls.

In the masonry blocks disclosed in PL232986 and PL233036, the end walls of the masonry blocks are joined with each other by suitably formed internal walls at the entire height of the masonry block. Whatever the shape, in each cross-section of the masonry block, the thermal flux from one end wall may be transferred to another end wall through the internal walls. For the method of shaping the internal walls in both the members in combination with the insulation insert to provide the required thermal insulation, a suitable number of insulation insert layers and a suitable number of the longitudinal wall layers are required. It is due to the fact that the walls of the supporting member are joined at the width of the members and at the entire height of the masonry block forming a relatively large surface for the thermal flux transfer. To meet the conditions included in the specifications and claims for both solutions, five insulation insert layers and six supporting member layers are required, and in accordance with the rules specified, the higher the number of layers, the better the performance. The required number of layers limits the ability to achieve the optimum ratio of the insulation insert volume to the supporting member volume and the available width of the supporting member walls, and thus limits the aggregate fractions that can be used in production of the masonry blocks.

All the discussed masonry blocks including a thermal-insulating material, apart from insufficient sound insulating properties, have a serious disadvantage - the blocks, as well as the walls made of those blocks, show lower thermal insulating properties than the walls made of standard blocks without the insulating inserts and made of the same material as the supporting member of the masonry blocks with the insulating insert and covered with a continuous layer of the same insulating material type and quantity as the insulating material used in the masonry blocks. Each reduction in insulating properties observed when the insulating insert is used inside the masonry block instead of covering the entire masonry block is a loss in respect of the material used. A trend to further reduce the thermal conductivity can be observed. Reducing the thermal conductivity of a partition by even a small fraction of W/m²K is considered a progress, however, in all the solutions using the insulating materials with a relatively high dynamic stiffness including EPS, the sound insulating properties are not allowed for and the internal shapes make it difficult to achieve good sound insulating properties of the wall when the materials used in production show relatively high dynamic stiffness (in particular, standard EPS), which apart from its sound insulating properties is a very advantageous construction material with excellent physical properties, as well as cost-effective and widely available.

Good insulating properties of the wall at an acceptable thickness are at odds with its sound insulating properties. Every single layer of the thermal insulating material, in particular, the most commonly used EPS reduces the sound insulating properties of the wall, and apart from the thermal insulating properties of external walls, sound insulating properties are gaining importance, and in case of internal walls, their thermal insulating properties are treated more and more seriously. The sound insulating properties of the walls are a key factor in multi-unit residential buildings, and in case of the walls between buildings and the walls between heated and unheated rooms or the rooms heated to a different temperature, the thermal insulating properties are also important. Currently, the walls between the rooms heated to a different temperature, in particular, walls between the corridor and the living room must show the thermal insulating properties of <1.0 W/m²K and the sound insulating properties of >50 dB. Meeting both these conditions is very difficult. Currently, there are no masonry blocks available on the market that meet both of the criteria and have an acceptable width. Multilayer structures are usually used to meet the required sound insulating and thermal insulating properties. The most common solutions include: 18 cm noise reducing calcium silicate bricks + 1 cm plaster + 3 cm mineral wool + 2 cm void + 1.2 cm plasterboard. The resulting wall thickness is approximately 25 cm. Another common solution includes: 8 cm gypsum board + 4 cm mineral wool + 2 cm void + 8 cm gypsum board - with the resulting wall thickness of 22 cm. Those solutions are relatively expensive, time-consuming and reduce the living area. In 2021, a new standard for the external wall in Poland will require a U-value of max. 0.20 W/m²K for the external walls. It will force the developers to increase the thickness of the insulating material layer (in most cases - EPS). Increasing the thickness of EPS, mineral wool or polyurethane layer brings many new issues both in regards to construction and operating conditions, but mainly it will affect the sound insulating properties of the walls. The external layer of the insulating material will reduce the sound insulating properties of the wall to a significant degree (by 2 to 5 dB) which can be easily noticed in energy efficient houses and passive houses, as well as in large walls of the multi-unit residential buildings.

This invention relates to a structural masonry block for use in solid walls or allowing to reduce the insulating material thickness in the multi-layered walls, providing the required sound insulating or thermal insulating properties, while maintaining the lowest possible thickness and the most effective use of the thermal insulating properties of the insulating core material without affecting the sound insulating properties of the masonry block and providing quick and easy construction. The structural part of the masonry block and its core should be made of standard and easily available materials including: concrete based on different types of aggregates and binders including gypsum, EPS, Neopor, fibreboards, natural and artificial wools and other foamed plastics and natural materials, especially waste materials.

Those requirements are met by the masonry blocks with the sound insulating and thermal insulating properties in accordance with this invention.

This invention relates to a sound insulating and thermal insulating masonry block comprising a continuous supporting member permanently bonded by interlocking and adhesion to a continuous insulating core made of a thermal insulating material, in it cross section parallel to the base of the masonry block including at least two walls of the supporting member 4 and 5 forming the end surfaces of the masonry block and at least a single insulating material layer 3, dividing the supporting member at the entire length of the masonry block, wherein the insulating material layers in contact with the top surface of the masonry block have a different shape than the insulating material layers in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block, dividing the masonry block into at least two horizontal parts: top part 1, including the insulating material in contact with the top surface of the masonry block and the bottom part 2, including the insulating material in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block, wherein the insulating material in the first horizontal part of the masonry block partially overlaps, at least at one point, a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 80% of the horizontal surface of the insulating material in contact with the second horizontal part of the masonry block; the walls of the supporting member and the insulating material layers are formed along the masonry block cross section perpendicular to the end surfaces of the masonry block, the insulating materials layer covering at least 20% of the length of the masonry block are formed in such a way that when the insulating material layer in contact with the top surface of the masonry block is closer to the first end surface of the masonry block, the insulated material layer in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block is closer to the second end surface of the masonry block, wherein the layers by-pass each other at the width of the masonry block by at least 7 mm and the void 11 between the insulating material layer of the first horizontal part and the insulating material layer of the second horizontal part is a point in which the walls of the supporting member in contact with the horizontal parts are joined together, wherein at least a single wall of the supporting member in the first horizontal part is in contact with two walls of the supporting member of the opposite second horizontal part, preferably, the insulating material layers in contact with the top surface of the masonry block have the same shape as the insulating material layers in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block. If the masonry block, in its top horizontal layer and its bottom horizontal layer, includes a single layer of insulating material, the maximum width of the insulating material layer is 30% of the masonry block width and it is less than 60 mm; in the masonry blocks including at least two insulating materials layers, 13 and 14, at least one of the layers divides the supporting member at the entire length of the masonry block, and between the insulating material layers there is a an internal wall of the supporting member 15 separating the insulating material layers, wherein at least one of the insulating material layers in the top part of the masonry block, as viewed from the top, partially covers at least two layers of the insulating material in the bottom part of the masonry block and each wall of the supporting member of the first horizontal part is in contact with at least two walls of the separating member in contact with the second horizontal part.

If the insulating material layer of the first horizontal layer of the masonry block, at the length of the masonry block, changes its position by moving further away from the first end surface of the masonry block and gets closer to the send end surface, and the insulating material layer of the second horizontal layer does the opposite, the insulating material layer of the first horizontal layer of the masonry block is in contact with the insulating material layer of the second horizontal layer in at least one place; the insulating core is shown in the perspective view (Fig. 6) and the top view (Fig. 9). Fig. 7 shows the cross-section A of the insulating material layer of the top part; Fig. 8 shows the cross-section B of the insulating material layer of the bottom part; Fig. 10 shows the horizontal cross-section of the insulation core in front of the contact point between the insulating material layers of the top part and the bottom part; Fig. 11 shows the contact point between the insulating layer material of both parts; Fig. 12 shows the insulation core behind the contact point between the insulating material layers of the top and bottom part. The masonry block comprising the insulating core in accordance with Fig. 6 shows good sound insulating properties, if its length is less than 130% of its width. Fig. 1 shows the perspective view of an example masonry block comprising two horizontal parts, each including two walls of the supporting member, 4 and 5, and the insulating core, 3. Within the masonry block, the insulating material layer of the top part, 1, is in contact with the insulating material layer of the bottom part, 2, at two points adjacent to the side surfaces, 12, of the masonry block and the insulating material layer of the bottom part, 2, along the masonry block is closer to the first end surface, and the insulating material layer of the top part, 1, is closer to the second end surface of the masonry block; Fig. 3 shows the top view of the masonry block; Fig. 4 shows the vertical cross-section (A-A) of the masonry block between the contact points of the insulating material layers of both horizontal parts; Fig. 5 shows the vertical cross-section (B-B) in the connection point of the insulating material layers of both horizontal parts; Fig. 2 shows the perspective view of the entire insulating core, 3, of the masonry block, wherein the masonry block shows a beneficial arrangement of the insulating material layer in regards to its thermal insulating properties, i.e. at the majority of the masonry block length, the insulating material is a flat panel which in turn affects its sound insulating properties, however, the adverse effect is reduced by the insulating material layer being on both sides covered with the walls of the supporting members of significantly different thicknesses, and thus different “masses”, further improving its sound insulating properties.

Fig. 28, 32, 33 and 34 show the top view of the example masonry blocks with a single insulating material layer, for which the sound insulating properties are the priority. In these masonry blocks, at the length of the insulating material layer of the top and bottom part, distinct folds of the vertical insulating material layers can be observed, wherein the shape improves its sound insulating properties; the peaks of the folds in the insulating material layer of the top part are formed opposite the folds in the insulating material layer of the bottom part; preferably, if the broken line formed by the insulating material layer in these masonry block has an angle close to the right angle 90° in the peak area, and said peak area includes a straight section, 19, parallel to the masonry block length, preferably, fold angles between the straight sections of the insulating material layers in the peak areas and the insulating material sections approaching the peak area are at an angle between 45° and 90°. Fig. 34 shows the example masonry block in which the straight sections of the broken line formed by the insulating material layers between the subsequent fold angles are offset eccentrically, 17, preferably with the offset in the middle between the fold angles formed; if the offset is more than 20% of the width of the insulating material layer, the sound insulating properties of the masonry blocks increase by approx. 0.2% compared to the masonry blocks without the offset. Fig. 28 shows the example masonry block with the vertical cross-section perpendicular to its end surface are shown in Fig. 29, 30 and 31 showing the insulating core layers at the length of the masonry block in front of the point in which the insulating material layers of the horizontal part overlap (cross-section A-A), at the point in which the insulating material layers of the horizontal part overlap (cross-section B-B), and behind the point in which the insulating material layers of the horizontal part overlap (cross-section C-C), wherein the masonry block comprises four contact points between the insulating material layers, including two shown in the figures and two adjacent to the side surface of the masonry block. Fig. 13 shows the example masonry block including the insulating core that in both its horizontal parts comprises two insulating material layers 13 and 14 parallel to each other and separated with the internal wall of the supporting member 15; Fig. 14, 15 and 16 show the vertical cross-sections of the masonry block perpendicular to the end surfaces showing the change in position of the insulating material layers along the masonry block. This masonry block is an example of a block showing good sound insulating properties at a relatively low surface density of the wall, and two layers of the insulating material reduce the effect of the wavy shape on its thermal insulating properties.

Fig. 17 shows the example masonry block comprising of three horizontal parts: top part 1, middle part 16 and bottom part 2, in which the insulating material layers in the top and bottom part have a thermally beneficial shape of flat panels and divide the supporting member into two parts, wherein the insulating material in the middle part 18 is continuous and is in contact with the insulating material layer in the top part with the insulating material layer in the bottom part, wherein part of the insulating material in the middle layer in contact with the insulating material layer in the top part and part of the insulating material in the middle part in contact with the insulating material layer in the bottom part are in contact in at least two points 30, providing the continuity of the entire insulating core, and between those points or between those points and the side surface of the masonry block an intermediate wall of the supporting member 29 is formed in contact with the end surface of the supporting member, forming the end surface of the masonry block in its top part and with the front face of the supporting member forming the opposite end surface in its bottom part. Fig. 18 shows the perspective view of the insulating core of the masonry block; Fig. 19, 20 and 21 show the horizontal cross- sections of top part A, middle part C and bottom part B; Fig 22 shows the top view of the insulating core; Fig. 23 shows the vertical cross-section at the intermediate wall of the supporting member and Fig. 24 shows the vertical cross-section at the point the insulating core is formed as a whole. The middle part of the masonry block improves its thermal insulating properties by forming an additional labyrinth at the point of connection of the insulating material layers and the walls of the top supporting member with the walls of the bottom supporting member, extending the path of the thermal flux flowing through the supporting member. Due to the thermal insulating properties of the masonry block, it is preferable that the total width of the insulating material in the middle part was less than the width of the insulating material in the top or bottom part. Fig. 25 shows the example insulating core meeting this condition. Fig. 26 shows the top view of the masonry block comprising said core and Fig. 27 shows its vertical cross-section.

Fig. 35 and 36 show the vertical cross-sections of the example masonry blocks, where the bottom surfaces 20 of the insulating material of the top part and the top surfaces 21 of the insulating material of the bottom part are shaped like a triangle in their cross-section, making it easier to apply the supporting member material during masonry block production. In particular, it is advantageous when forming the supporting member in a block making machine, since it increases the contact surface of the walls of the top supporting member with the walls of the bottom supporting member, improving the overall strength of the masonry block.

Fig. 37 and 40 show the example insulating cores including at least a single layer of the insulating material with a recess.

Fig. 37 shows the perspective view of the example insulating core of the masonry block with good thermal and sound insulating properties, including at least a single core layer 25 which, at the entire height, has a recess 23 in form of a broken line, and at the surface oblique to the end surface of the masonry block, the recess is forms a space for the internal wall of the supporting member, separated from the side surface of the masonry block with the insulating core, improving thermal insulation properties of the side surface of the masonry block, improving its thermal uniformity, wherein the length of the masonry block is close to its width; Fig. 38 shows the cross-section A of the top part of the insulating core, and Fig. 39 shows the cross-section B of the bottom part of the insulating core.

Fig. 40 shows the top view of the example insulating core of the masonry block with improved thermal insulating properties; Fig. 41 shows the horizontal cross-section of the insulating material layer in the top part and Fig. 42 shows the horizontal cross-section of the insulating material layer in the bottom part of the masonry block.

Fig. 43 and 44 show the example masonry blocks with improved thermal insulating properties. Fig. 43 shows the top view of the masonry block, wherein the walls of the supporting member of the first horizontal part at the point of contact with the walls of the supporting member of the second horizontal part are wider than in its other points. It reinforces the connection between the walls of the supporting member of the adjoining horizontal parts, and the location of the wider section in places where the insulating material layer has the largest width in the vertical cross-section perpendicular to the end surfaces of the masonry block means that they do not affect the insulating properties of the masonry block when the wider sections of the walls of the supporting member are less than 10% of the insulating material layer width they are part of.

Fig. 44 shows the masonry block, wherein the end surface of the horizontal part has protrusions facing the inside of the masonry block, preferably the protrusions of the first horizontal layer correspond to the internal wall of the supporting member of the second horizontal layer. The protrusions extend the capabilities of forming the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention based on the required parameters. Use of the protrusions at the end surfaces allows to load down the masonry blocks while reducing its effect on thermal insulation properties of the masonry block and improving its sound insulating properties.

Forming an internal complex structure of the supporting members of the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention requires pre-forming of the insulating material which is relatively easy using well-known methods with the ability to form even the most complex shape. The pre-formed insulation core is a sacrificial formwork for the formed masonry block and allows to form the supporting member into virtually any shape, however, the minimum compressive strength of the insulating core material must be relatively high - at least CS > (10)60. At this compressibility, the thermal insulating materials, including standard EPS and other foamed plastics, show a relatively high dynamic stiffness, usually significantly higher than 30 MN/m³- the dynamic stiffness of the EPS is approx. 100 MN/m³, and for the insulating material to show sound insulating properties, its dynamic stiffness should be <30 MN/m³. Those materials used in the space dividing elements as thermal insulators will affect their sound insulating properties, and yet are widely used for their cost-effectiveness and simple production processes. The masonry blocks in accordance with the invention use standard EPS and other foamed plastics with relatively high dynamic stiffness, even more than 100 MN/m³, i.e. commonly available and inexpensive.

To prevent the adverse resonance in the plane of the insulating material with high dynamic stiffness, the insulating material must be tightly surrounded by the supporting member which is best achieved by using a block making machine with a delayed removal from the mould. The delayed removal from the mould is advantageous, since a slight compression of the insulating material in the block making machine is maintained until the supporting member material fully cures and sets. Using the mixtures with plastic and liquid consistency in the supporting member moulding process provides high adhesion between the supporting member and the core material.

The masonry blocks in accordance with the invention with U-value <0.8 W/m²K require thermal insulating material, i.e. standard EPS with the width of more than 50 mm; for the insulating material to provide sound insulating properties, it must be divided in its horizontal cross-section into at least two layers separated by the wall of the supporting member, see Fig. 13 and 37. If the masonry blocks are to be used in external walls of energy-efficient and passive buildings with the U-value between 0.15 to 0.1 Wm²K, the insulating material width must be at least 200 - 300 mm. In this case, due to the sound insulating properties of the masonry blocks it is recommended that the insulating material is divided into a larger number of layers, see Fig. 40, 43 and 44. The insulating core in the horizontal cross-sections of the masonry block may not form continuous structures in the masonry blocks with good sound insulating properties and thermal insulating properties that require a thermal insulating material with a width 30% higher than the width of the masonry block.

The shape of the insulating core in the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention limits the heat transfer surface by the supporting member and guarantees the compactness of the supporting member and does not require any additional contact points between the external walls of the supporting member, and despite the continuity of the supporting member, the effect of its material on the thermal insulating properties of the masonry block was reduced and virtually eliminated in the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention with an overlap zone; in this case, the thermal insulation properties of the masonry block as a whole depends on the width of the insulating material layer. Incorporating the insulating material into the masonry block in accordance with the invention minimally affects the thermal insulation properties of the wall compared to thermal insulation properties of the wall covered with the same amount of the insulating material as incorporated into the masonry blocks; the supporting member of the masonry block can be made of any type of concrete and aggregate while maintaining the thermal resistance guaranteed by the insulating core. The insulating core is surrounded by a continuous supporting member forming the end surfaces of the masonry block and protecting the insulating material against external factors.

The shape of the insulating core in accordance with the invention and its interlocking with the supporting member eliminate the adverse effect of the core material on the sound insulating properties of the masonry blocks, and allows to use standard EPS and other materials with a relatively high dynamic stiffness, including: rigid polyurethane foams or foamed waste PET in the masonry blocks with sound insulating properties. The tests of the sound insulating properties of the walls made of the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention showed that the insulating core made of standard EPS and formed in accordance with the invention not only does not affect the sound insulating properties of the wall, but improves it by an average of 2 dB compared to the walls made of concrete masonry block or noise-reducing calcium-silicate brick of the same width. It is an excellent and unexpected result.

As a result, using the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention will produce walls with required thermal insulating properties and improved sound insulating properties while maintaining the same thickness as the previously used solutions, which apart from the sound insulating properties does not meet the thermal insulation requirements. Another significant advantage of the masonry blocks in accordance with invention is their reduced surface density compared to the existing masonry blocks, which combined with the sound insulating properties improved by 2 dB is an impressive result.

The fire tests shown that the fire resistance of the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention is excellent, even for the masonry blocks including the insulating core made of standard EPS. An 18 cm wide wall tested under load showed 180 min fire resistance. The tests were carried out under load for the masonry blocks with 20 MPa compressive strength.

The table shows the comparison of basic properties of the masonry block in accordance with the invention with the most commonly used noise-reducing blocks. The masonry blocks in accordance with the invention are the first solution, in which standard EPS used as a thermal insulating material in the wall not only does not affect, but improves its sound insulating properties. Also, the EPS in the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention does not affect the fire rating of the wall and does not affect fire spread.

Else of EPS is significant due to its relatively low price (it is virtually the cheapest insulating material available), availability, ability to use waste regranulate and low susceptibility to moisture. The design of the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention highlights the advantages of EPS, i.e. its high thermal insulating properties, low susceptibility to moisture and eliminates its disadvantages, i.e. susceptibility to fire, the effect on sound insulating properties of the wall and very low mechanical strength. Apart from eliminating the disadvantages of EPS and highlighting its advantages, the masonry block design also eliminates the disadvantages of concrete, i.e. low thermal insulating properties significantly decreasing with an increase in wall moisture content and highlights its advantages, i.e. high strength, durability, fire resistance and sound insulating properties. EPS seems to be the optimum solution, not only due to its relatively low price, but also a large number of waste in the construction and packaging industry and easy processing of waste in the EPS manufacturing.

Apart from EPS, preferred for its cost-effectiveness, the insulating core can be made of materials including Neopor, polyurethane foam and other foamed polymers or waste materials, including waste PET bottles (foamed PET) and different types of felt and cellulose materials (biomass). The test of the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention showed that the thermal insulation core can be made of materials showing relatively high dynamic stiffness - a property affecting its sound insulating properties. Since the insulating core provides a required thermal insulating properties of the masonry block, the supporting member can be made of different materials, depending on the required properties. It allows to easily adjust the parameters of the masonry block and virtually unlimited use of any available aggregate or binder, in particular made of waste materials. The compressive strength of the supporting member can be adjusted in a wide range.

The masonry blocks in accordance with the invention are intended for partition walls and, if used in the external walls, will not affect the construction methods in accordance with the relevant standards. The contractors can use previous, reliable construction methods and do not need to increase the thickness of the EPS layer, since it is already incorporated in the masonry blocks. Another effect of using the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention is the significant improvement in sound insulating properties of the external walls while using standard thickness insulating material layers. A direct economical effect of increased living area of the building is also important. The external wall made of the masonry blocks in accordance with the invention is at least 4 cm narrower than the narrowest possible wall made of calcium-silicate brick insulated with a similarly performing EPS layer.

The masonry blocks in accordance with the invention can be used as structural, thermal insulating and sound insulating components in construction of load bearing and non-load bearing walls in any type of building.

Claims

Claims.

1. A sound insulating and thermal insulating masonry block comprising a continuous supporting member permanently bonded by interlocking and adhesion with a continuous insulating core made of a thermal insulating material, in its cross- section parallel to the base of the masonry block comprising at least two walls of the supporting member (4) and (5) forming the end surfaces of the masonry block, and at least a single insulating material layer (3) separating the supporting member at the entire length of the masonry block, wherein the insulating material layers in contact with the top surface of the masonry block are formed differently than the insulating material layers in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block, separating the masonry block into at least two horizontal parts: a top part (1), including the insulating material in contact with the surface of the top part of the masonry block and a bottom part (2) including the insulating material in contact with the surface of the bottom part of the masonry block, wherein the insulating material in the first horizontal part of the masonry block partially overlaps at one point a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 80% of the horizontal surface of the insulating material in contact with the second horizontal part of the masonry block, wherein the walls of the supporting member and the insulating material layers run along the masonry block, characterized in that in its cross-sections perpendicular to the end surface of the masonry block, the insulating material layers at a minimum of 20% of the masonry block length are formed in a way that when the insulating material layer in contact with the top surface of the masonry block is closer to the first end surface of the masonry block, the insulating material layer in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block is closer to the second end surface of the masonry block, wherein said layers bypass each other at the width of the masonry block by at least 7 mm, and a void (11) between the insulating material layer of the first horizontal part and the insulating material layer of the second horizontal part is the point of contact between the walls of the supporting member of adjacent horizontal parts, wherein at least a single wall of the supporting member of the first horizontal part is in contact with at least two walls of the supporting member in the adjacent second horizontal part; preferably, the insulating material layer in contact with the top surface of the masonry block have the same shape as the insulating material layers in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block; if the masonry block in its top and bottom part includes a single insulating material layer, the maximum width of the insulating material layer is less than 60 mm, and if the masonry blocks includes at least two insulating material layers (13 and 14), at least one said layer separates the supporting member along the entire length of the masonry block, and an internal wall of the supporting member (15) is formed between the insulating material layers, wherein at least one of the insulating material layers in the top part of the masonry block, as viewed from the top, partially overlaps at least two layers of the insulating material at the bottom part of the masonry block, and each wall of the supporting member of the first horizontal part is in contact with at least two walls of the supporting member adjoining the second horizontal part.

2. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that the insulating material layer in contact with the top surface of the masonry block partially overlaps the insulating material layer in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block at two points adjacent to the side surfaces of the masonry block, and the points at which the insulating material layers overlap are parallel to the end surfaces of the masonry block.

3. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that the insulating material layers in the horizontal parts of the masonry block form a broken line, and a peak of the broken line formed by the insulating material in contact with the top surface lays opposite to a peak of the broken line formed by the insulating material in contact with the bottom surface.

4. The masonry block according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that the insulating material layers in the horizontal parts of the masonry block form a broken line which at the peaks has an angle between 30° and 170°, preferably close to 90°.

5. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that the insulating material layers in the horizontal parts of the masonry block form a broken line which at the peaks include a straight section (19) parallel to the length of the masonry block.

6. The masonry block according to claims 1 and 5, characterized in that the angles between the straight sections of the insulating material layer at the peaks of the broken line and the insulating material layer sections approaching the insulating material are between 60° and 140°, preferably close to 90°.

7. The masonry block according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that the straight sections of the broken line formed by the insulating material layers between the broken line angles are eccentrically offset (17) at up to 50% of their width, preferably, the offset is in the middle of the distance between the broken line angles.

8. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical cross- section of the bottom surface of the insulating material layers (20) in contact with the top surface of the masonry block or the top surface of the insulating material layers (21) in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block is similar in shape to a triangle, a cone, a trapezoid or a circular sector.

9. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises three horizontal parts: top part (1), bottom part (2) and middle part (16), wherein in the top view, the insulating material of the top part, at least partially overlaps the insulating material (18) of the middle part and the insulating material of the middle part at least partially overlaps the insulating material of the bottom part, wherein in the middle part, at least a single intermediate wall of the supporting member (29) is formed and adjoins the wall of the supporting member in the top part closer to the first end surface and the wall of the supporting member of the bottom part closer to the opposite end surface.

10. The masonry block according to claims 1 and 9, characterized in that the insulating material layer in contact with the top surface of the masonry block and the insulating material layer in contact with the bottom surface of the masonry block form straight lines and by-pass each other along the width of the masonry block by at least 15 mm, and each one is in contact with the insulating material of the middle part (16), wherein the insulating material of the middle part is continuous.

11. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that in the horizontal part it includes at least two parallel layers of the insulating material (13) and (14), separated by an internal wall of the supporting member (15), each said layer dividing the supporting member at the entire length of the masonry block.

12. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that the internal walls of the supporting member of the first horizontal part of the masonry block at the point (26) of contact with the internal walls of the supporting member of the second horizontal part of the masonry block are wider than at their remaining width.

13. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that in the horizontal parts of the masonry block, at least one internal wall of the supporting member is formed and in the horizontal layer of the masonry block is in contact with the end wall of the masonry block and forms a side wall of the supporting member (27).

14. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that at least in one horizontal part of the masonry block, at least a single layer (25) of the core has a recess (23) in form of a broken line or oblique line in relation to the end surface of the masonry block at the entire height of the core.

15. The masonry block according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one end surface of the masonry block in at least one horizontal part has protrusions (28) in shape of a letter V, Y, T, L or C facing the inside of the masonry block.