GB2554262A

GB2554262A - Curtain wall brick external wall

Info

Publication number: GB2554262A
Application number: GB1717757.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jiang Weiguo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-05-16
Filing date: 2016-03-18
Publication date: 2018-03-28
Also published as: GB201717757D0; CN104727466A; CN104727466B; AU2016240086A1

Abstract

A curtain wall brick external wall, comprising a concrete external wall and an exterior decoration curtain wall brick (1). The concrete external wall is connected to the curtain wall brick (1) by a metal connecting piece, wherein the metal connecting piece is divided into a bolt member and a steel member, the bolt member comprising a bolt (3) and steel parts having hoops (A, B, C) movable along the bolt (3), or other metal pieces. The external wall is easily constructed, and has a reliable connection.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

Weiguo Jiang

Room 501, No. 104, Guhua New Village, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201400, China (72) Inventor(s):

Weiguo Jiang (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Zhuofan Zheng

78, Bedford Road, LONDON, N2 9DA, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Curtain wall brick external wall Abstract Title: Curtain wall brick external wall (57) A curtain wall brick external wall, comprising a concrete external wall and an exterior decoration curtain wall brick (1). The concrete external wall is connected to the curtain wall brick (1) by a metal connecting piece, wherein the metal connecting piece is divided into a bolt member and a steel member, the bolt member comprising a bolt (3) and steel parts having hoops (A, B, C) movable along the bolt (3), or other metal pieces. The external wall is easily constructed, and has a reliable connection.

(51) INT CL:

E04B 1/41 (2006.01) (56) Documents Cited:

CN 204510525 U CN 201024544 Y CN 101858133 A JP 2011038387 A KR1020090061437

E04B2/28 (2006.01)

CN 201507040 U CN 104727466 A CN 002371241 Y (58) Field of Search:

INT CL E04B, E04F

Other: EPODOC, WPI, CNPAT, CNTXT, CNKI

ffli

This international application has entered the National Phase early.

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Drawing 1

213

Drawing 2

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Drawing 3

Description

External Wall With Face Brick Connected In Bolt-type And Steel Bar-type

Field Of Technique [0001] This external wall with face brick connected in bolt-type and steel bar-type pertains to the construction industry, including two parts: civil engineering and external decoration.

Background Techniques [0002] In modern buildings, insulation of external wall has been increasingly emphasized and plays an important role in energy conservation. The traditional single-wall structure cannot meet higher requirements of insulation even if its thickness is increased to 70cm. Most modem buildings do not support such thickness for the weight and material. With the production mineral fiber and glass fiber etc, 10cm thick of these insulation fiber can bring a thermal performance much better than the thick traditional wall. However, the technique for combinations of the insulation layer and double wythes of external wall is far from being perfect, various insulating materials have been installed onto the outer face of external wall in precarious ways, and a protective layer is further added onto the insulation materials, which brings concern to their strength and durability.

[0003] At the same time, those insulation materials put between the double wythes also need the latter to have better connection themselves: the former techniques for combination of the wall with metal connectors need to be stronger. As a typical method of those types of connection, patent US2014/0075856A1 inserts an L-shaped connector's leg of one wythe through the ring of an acceptor from the other wythe, so to connect them. But when the connector is not at the same level with the acceptor, the strength of connection will be greatly reduced. And when the connector is pulled to the upmost position, the strength of connection is nearly none. When building the two wythes, it is always difficult to put the connector and acceptor at the same level if the two wythes are not built at the same time, which results in the long leg of the L-shaped connector. Otherwise, if they are at the same level, a one-body connector will be much stronger than two overlapping parts.

[0004] As other methods of those connections, patent CN103696578A uses ladder-like continuous metal wires to connect the two wythes, patent CN2399466Y uses single bent bars to connect them. These methods either increase the work of construction or make the combination strength far from being maximized.

[0005] On the other hand, modern building's glass, stone, metal etc. facades have formed a unique style. With prevailing use of this style, the traditional brick facades begin to gain consideration again, so as to form a reasonable proportion of various building styles, avoiding monotonous visual effects.

[0006] The face brick is usually hollow and narrower than ordinary brick, but with the same material and appearance. Its main purpose is to bring the real effects of brick and needs to be combined securely to the main wall which can be made of light concrete block. The light concrete block is big and light to save time of construction. Instead of face bricks, if brick-like tiles are stuck to the main wall, they cannot bring real effects and may fall off. Many construction codes have prohibited their use in middle and high-rise buildings.

Technical Problems [0007] To enhance connection strength of the face brick(outer wythe) to the main wall(inner wythe) so as to prevent it from collapsing or falling off, it is necessary to combine the two wythes well enough. With the methods of combination which bury steel bars in the horizontal brick joints of both the wythes, the heights of the combining joints need to be put at the same level, which is not easy to be done, because a normal-size concrete block is much bigger than a face brick, and dimension of the concrete block is not easy to be kept accurate. Moreover, in large-scale construction, laying of concrete blocks is done during the civil engineering phase, laying of face brick is done in a later phase. As they are not done at the same time, pre-embedded connectors need to be installed during the first stage. However, if a small inaccuracy is made with height of the horizontal joints, it will bring great difficulties for aligning the heights to the same level when laying of face bricks is to be done later, which will not be able to guarantee their strength and appearance. These problems need to be solved.

Technical Solutions [0008] As per the solution in drawing 1, steel bar A and C have the same shape and dimension. When the external wall is being built, these two bars can be buried on and under concrete block 2 respectively. The length of bolt 3 shall depend on the height of concrete block 2. In the later stage when face brick 1 is being laid, steel bar B can be moved along bolt 3, and whatever height face brick 1 has, as long as height of concrete block 2 is greater than face brick 1, steel bar B can be pulled to the corresponding height and smoothly buried into the joint of face brick 1. At the bottom of bolt 3 there is a nut to fix bolt 3.

[0009] When the face brick is connected to the main wall through this way of using bolt, the connectors and construction are simplified. They can be pre-embedded and freely adjusted for heights while the connecting strength is maximized(because the face brick is connected by the buried member in its joint, however strong other connecting members are, this weakest link is the strongest for the whole connection). [0010] The above solution can be called the Bolt-type Connection. With this connection bolts are to be used and for each square meter of wall around 2 are needed. Although their cost is much lower than curtain walls, yet if merely steel bars are used for connection, the cost can be further reduced without lowering the strength. As described above, if just steel bars are used for connection, the height of face brick joint need to be put at the same level as the concrete block. But normal-size concrete block is much bigger than face brick. To solve this problem, it's needed to custom-make concrete block for a certain height according to height of face brick, or custom-make face brick according to concrete block, or custom-make both of them. The ultimate purpose is to make the height of a number of face bricks plus their joints be the same as that of a number of concrete blocks plus their joints, which algebraic expression is as follows:

[0011] (a + ml) x = (b + m2) y [0012] In the equation a is height of concrete block, b is height of face brick; ml is thickness of mortar in concrete block joint, m2 is thickness of mortar in face brick joint, x andy are numbers of layer for the concrete block and face brick respectively.

[0013] This way of connection can be called the Steel Bar-type Connection. As one of its cases, in drawing 2 the two layers of face brick 1 plus the two layers of mortar 2 have the same height as the one layer of concrete block 2 plus one layer of mortar 5.

In this manner, provided a number of face brick 1 plus mortar 4 have the same height as another number of concrete block 2 plus mortar 5, the connection can be done.

However, it shall be guaranteed that for every 50cm (reference value) of height in the most, the same height of joints occur in both wythes. In the drawing, steel bars 3 are buried in the joints of same height. It is needed that the steel bars be put as a pair touching each other, as shown in the drawing. This can maximize their compressive 4 resistance and tensile resistance. Thickness of concrete block 2's mortar 5 does not need to be the same as thickness of face brick l's mortar 4, so long as they fit into the formula above.

[0014] The steel bar-type connection needs accurate control of heights to satisfy the above equation, thus the same-height-joints will occur in succession and the steel bars can be buried smoothly. If construction of the concrete blocks is not done simultaneously with that of the face bricks, deviation with heights can easily take place to bring difficulty for later construction. Usually civil engineering and external decoration are not done at the same time. For simultaneous construction, the work of external wall in civil engineering need to be postponed to the time of external decoration.

[0015] With the steel bar-type connection, as in drawing 2, the two semicircle-shaped steel bars 3 are put together to form an X shape (the middle section of both the bars needs to be made straight: if the middle section is bent, the strength will be greatly reduced) and are buried together. The two steel bars can also be bent to the shape of a square bracket and be put back to back forming a I shape for burying (the X-shaped bars are a little stronger than the I-shaped bars). If the above pairs of steel bars are welded together, the strength can be further increased. If a single steel bar is bent to form a square with the ends welded together, and with two opposite sides of the square buried into the joints of face brick and concrete block respectively, the strength can also be kept. Otherwise, if the steel bars are not buried in pairs or symmetry of the above modes, whatever shape a single bar is bent into, the strength will be decreased; and if multiple bars are welded to form such long connectors as a ladder or fence etc, far more work will be needed for fabrication and construction.

[0016] In conclusion, the bolt-type connection is simpler but with a higher cost than the other type. The steel bar-type connection is cheaper but with comparatively more complicated construction than the former. Which option to take shall depend on specific projects.

Beneficial Effects [0017] The above bolt-type and steel bar-type connections can maximize the connection strength of the outer and inner wythes in external wall and simplify the work. Insulation materials can be installed between the wythes to form an external structure much safer or easier to build than with former techniques.

Brief Description Of Drawings [0018] Drawing 1 is bolt-type connection.

[0019] Drawing 2 is steel bar-type connection.

[0020] Drawing 3 is drainage and inspection hole.

Implementation Ways For This Invention [0021] 1) Connection [0022] With both the bolt-type and steel bar-type connections, rustable steel or iron products need to be galvanized. Diameter of steel bars and their distance to each other shall guarantee that in earthquake enough tensile resistance and compressive resistance be provided by them. According to thickness of joints between the bricks, diameter of the steel bars can be as thick as possible with enough mortar above and under them. The horizontal distance between two steel bar connectors can be 50cm(reference value. In practice it shall be based on structural calculations).

[0023] With the bolt-type connection, as in drawing 1, if height of concrete block 2 is great, bolt 3 will correspondingly be long. At this time two steel bars B can be put around bolt 3 and be buried to the joints above and under concrete block 1 respectively, each of them being near to the two ends of bolt 3. In this way the whole tensile and compressive strengths will be boosted and distances between the bolts can be increased (but the average distance between steel bars need to be kept the same), thus number of the bolts can be reduced to save material.

[0024] In the two types of connection above, the bolt can have various shapes and may not necessarily have screw on it; the nut can be replaced by a pin or other obstacles that can prevent the steel bars slipping out of the bolt; the X-shaped bars,

I-shaped bars, and square bar can be cast products or other metal products. Whatever 6 shape and material, the principles and modes will be the same.

[0025] 2) Insulation [0026] For buildings with higher insulation requirements, an insulation layer ought to be put between the face brick and concrete block. As there are connectors of bolt or steel bar between the two wythes, loose insulation fiber may be easier to install; If insulation sheets are to be used, slits can be made at positions of the connectors.

[0027] The distance between face brick and concreted block need to be as near as possible to save space and the amount of steel bars and insulation fiber. However, if the concrete and face brick themselves cannot provide enough function of insulation, the distance between them needs be increased, so does the amount of insulation fiber. [0028] 3) Service Life [0029] The appearance of brick wall will not be affected much by time, and may even look more charming with age (the bricks of the Great Wall still do not look old today). If qualified inorganic insulation fiber is used and the steel bars and bolts are hot-galvanized properly, then the above external wall of face brick can last at least 100 years. If the cavity between the face brick and the concrete block is sealed with sealant (but drainage holes ought to be set at the bottom in case water enters the cavity), at the same time, a suitable amount of calcined lime is put in the cavity (which can absorb excessive moisture in the air left in the early stage), and moisture filtering materials are put at the drainage and air-flowing holes (which can prevent moisture but allow an amount of air to flow due to change of temperature), then all the functions of the external wall can be protected better and the service life can be prolonged. If conditions are ready for using stainless steel instead of the above galvanized steel bar and bolt, the service life may be regarded as permanent.

[0030] 4) Safety Inspection [0031] During the process of laying concrete blocks, at the bottom of each wall a gap can be reserved for installation of the drainage and inspection hole (which can have a third function of air-flowing). As drawing 3 shows, drainage and inspection hole 1 is reserved at the lowest layer of block 2 and has the same height as it; when the drainage pipe (or drainage channel etc.) is installed, the rest of the hole will to be blocked. The blocking material needs to be removable. When inspection is to be done, the blocking material will be removed and inspecting devices can be put into the cavity. Size of the inspection hole needs to allow passage of a inspecting mirror or other devices.

[0032] Conditions of the steel bars, bolts, insulation fiber, etc. need to learnt periodically, so that an accurate assessment can be made on the whole external wall's conditions.

Industrial Applicability [0033] The external wall with these connections can be widely used in mid-rise and lower buildings providing maximized safety with its connecting strength and durability, realizing ideal insulation functions through the adjustable cavity and insulation layer for different thicknesses. It can also add variety to all types of curtain walls for appearance, with much lower construction cost.

Claims

1. An external wall including concrete block main wall and face bricks combined to it through metal connectors; its features lie in the two connecting methods of bolt-type and steel bar-type: In the bolt type connection, two steel bars with loop are respectively pre-embedded above and under the concrete block; then a bolt is put through the loops of the two steel bars while a third steel bar with loop is put on the bolt and between the other two bars; then at the bottom of the bolt a nut is put; later when the face bricks are to be laid, as long as the height of concrete block is greater than face brick, the third steel bar on the bolt can be pulled to the corresponding height and smoothly buried into the joint of face brick, combining the inner and out wythes firmly;

In the steel bar-type connection, the inner and outer wythes are constructed simultaneously, then at the successive levels where joints of both the wythes have the same height pairs of steel bars are bent to semi-circle shape whose middle section is kept straight rather than bent to enhance the strength, and are put together to form shapes of X before being buried together; alternatively the pairs of steel bars are bent to the shape of a square bracket and put back to back forming a I shape for burying; also a single steel bar can be bent to form a square with the ends welded together, and with two opposite sides of the square buried into the joints of face brick and concrete block respectively; thus the inner and out wythes are combined firmly.

2. With the external wall stated in claim 1, in its bolt-type connection, the bolt and looped steel bars can be replaced by other metal products of same structure; the bolt does not necessarily need to have screw on it; the nut can be replaced by a pin or other obstacles that can prevent the steel bars slipping out of the bolt.

3. With the external wall stated in claim 1, in its steel bar-type connection, the two bars of X-shape or I-shape can be welded to enhance strength.

4. With the external wall stated in claim 1, in its steel bar-type connection, the X-shaped bars, I-shaped bars, and square bar can be cast products.

5. With the external wall stated in claim 1, in its steel bar-type connection, the X-shaped bars, I-shaped bars, and square bar can be other metal products with same structure.