ITUB20155613A1 - BITUMEN-POLYMER MEMBRANE AND SUPPORT FOR SUCH A MEMBRANE - Google Patents

Description

BITUMEN MEMBRANE -POLYMER AND SUPPORT FOR SUCH A MEMBRANE

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a bitumen-polymer membrane.

The invention also relates to a support for making such a bitumepolymer membrane.

Bitumen-polymer sheaths designed to protect building works from rain and non-rainwater are now known and widely used in the building sector.

These bitumen-polymer sheaths generally consist of a reinforcement impregnated with a mixture, or 'compound', which mixture includes bitumen, polymeric resins and so-called 'fillers' or filling substances; bitumen, polymeric resins and fillers are suitably mixed in the due proportions at a temperature of about 200 ° C to form a viscous compound, the mixture, which is essential for the production of sheaths, or membranes, bitumen polymer by virtue of its excellent impermeability.

The reinforcement is responsible for numerous functions and first of all it is indispensable for the production process of the bitumen-polymer sheath, and is suitable for putting its own mechanical and physical characteristics, which the compound does not possess, at the service of the waterproof compound.

The reinforcement is usually made up of a sheet of glass - fiber or a non - woven polyester fabric, where the latter substantially covers the entire market of bitumen - polymer sheaths.

The bitumen-polymer sheaths of the known type, although widespread and appreciated, have limits that the known technology has not been able to solve.

A first aspect is represented by the impregnability limits of the non-woven polyester fabric; in fact, when a project for the use of such a sheath of a known type provides for higher mechanical strengths than the usual applications, it is actually impossible to use sheaths with polyester sheets of over 300 grams per square meter as this polyester sheet is so dense that make it difficult if not impossible to impregnate the compound.

Sheaths with a polyester sheet of 120 grams per square meter are usually used, which cannot provide sufficient mechanical properties for a use that provides higher mechanical strengths than usual applications.

Another drawback of the bitumen-polymer sheaths with a polyester sheet reinforcement is the fact that at an experimental level it has been seen that in a known type of sheath subjected to traction, the polyester sheet inside it, and the whole sheath, stretches exceptionally and just as exceptionally it deforms transversely, shrinking more and more towards the central area.

A further drawback of the known type of bitumepolymer sheaths is given by the fact that the polyester sheet is dimensionally unstable with respect to temperature variations.

This dimensional instability involves variations that affect and seriously stress the entire perimeter of the bitumen-polymer membrane, and to be sure of the seal, the dimensions of the overlaps must necessarily be exceeded, generating an excessive screech during installation.

The dimensional variations of the finished bituminous polymer sheath are therefore due to the dimensional instabilities of the non-woven polyester fabric reinforcement and the risk of deformation due to dimensional instability requires, as a precaution, in fact, during installation, overlapping of joining flaps up to ten centimeters wide laterally and up to thirty centimeters at the extremities in the longitudinal direction, where a technical overlap of two or three centimeters both laterally and at the head could be enough for a stable sheath.

Furthermore, the bitumen-polymer sheaths of the known type also have other limits regarding some mechanical behaviors such as poor resistance to tearing and aggression by rodents, as well as a poor aptitude for mechanical fixing by means of nails, rivets, screws and the like. Composite reinforcements are known today comprising polyester sheets coupled with glass fibers, which are capable of mitigating the problem given by dimensional instability, but not of solving it.

The object of the present invention is to provide a bitumen-polymer membrane capable of obviating the aforementioned limits of sheaths and membranes of known type.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a bitumepolymer membrane having greater mechanical properties than sheaths of the known type.

Another object of the invention is therefore to provide a bitumen-polymer sheath with greater dimensional stability than conventional sheaths.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bitumen-polymer membrane whose sheets, during the laying step, can be superimposed with a great saving of material with respect to the sheaths known today.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bitumen-polymer membrane whose integrity, once laid, extends over time more than known sheaths.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bitumen-polymer membrane which is simple to use in the same way as sheaths of the known type, and better suited to mechanical fixing. Another object of the invention is to provide a support suitable for being integrated into a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the same invention.

This task, as well as these and other purposes which will become clearer hereinafter, are achieved by a bitumen-polymer membrane, of the type comprising a support immersed in a mixture of bitumen, polymeric resins and fillers, and surrounded by such a mixture, characterized in that said support comprises a perforated metal support whose holes or openings are designed to be crossed by said mixture in the semi-fluid state, and is such as to retain said mixture in the cooling and consolidation phase during a process of making said bitumen-polymer membrane itself, said compound being attached to said support through said holes or openings.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the description of five preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention, illustrated, by way of non-limiting example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a section of a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention in a first embodiment thereof;

Figure 2 schematically represents a sectional side view of a membrane as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a section of a membrane according to the invention in a second embodiment thereof;

figure 4 schematically represents a sectional side view of a membrane as shown in figure 3;

figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of a support of a membrane according to the invention in a third embodiment thereof;

figure 6 represents a sectional side view of a membrane in its third embodiment;

figure 7 represents a plan view of a support of a membrane according to the invention in a fourth embodiment thereof;

Figure 8 is a sectional side view of a membrane in its fourth embodiment;

Figure 9 represents a sectional side view of a membrane in a fifth realizing form thereof;

Figure 10 is a plan view of a support of a membrane according to the invention in a sixth embodiment thereof;

figure 11 represents a plan view of a support of a membrane according to the invention in a seventh embodiment thereof;

Figure 12 represents a plan view of a support of a membrane according to the invention in an eighth embodiment thereof.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is indicated, in its first embodiment as a whole, with the number 10.

Said bitumen-polymer membrane 10 is of the type comprising a support 11 immersed in a mixture of bitumen, polymeric resins and fillers 12, and surrounded by said mixture 12.

The peculiarity of the invention lies in the fact that the support 11 comprises a perforated metal support whose holes or openings are designed to be crossed by said mixture 12 in the semi-fluid state, and is such as to retain the mixture 12 during the cooling and consolidation phase. during a manufacturing process of said bitumen-polymer membrane itself.

The compound 12 is attached to the support 11 through said holes or openings.

The compound clings to the reinforcement becoming a single body ready to be calendered to give shape to the bitumen-polymer membrane 10.

The support 11 is then covered on both sides by the compound 12.

The support 11 is for example constituted by a woven metal mesh, with dense meshes, the weft of which defines a matrix of micro-openings 15 such that the support 11 is crossed by the mixture in the semi-fluid state, in the forming phase, and such as to retain said compound 12 in the semi-fluid state during the initial state of cooling and consolidation of the manufacturing process, the latter being understood to be of a per se known type.

Such a support 11 has a woven metal mesh whose metal wires 13 and 14 are woven so as to define between them micro-openings 15 having dimensions 16, understood as distances between two side-by-side metal wires, which lie in an interval between a minimum of 0.01 mm and a maximum of 10 mm, depending on the metal wires used and the density of the compound made.

For the examples reported here, the preferred size of each micro-opening lies between a minimum of 0.2 mm and a maximum of 4 mm in conditions of standard compound kept at standard temperature, and preferably between 0.5 mm and 3 mm.

The links can have micro-openings 15 of a square or rectangular shape.

As mentioned above, the known technique provides for the adoption of exclusively impregnable reinforcements with which the compound is absorbed throughout its thickness and must have physical continuity with the compound that remains outside the polyester sheet and which must be transported and accumulated immediately upstream of the calender in a manner and quantity sufficient to allow a predetermined and rigorously constant thickness for the finished product to be present downstream of the calender, which thickness is both homogeneous and compact.

The support 11 according to the invention, on the other hand, cannot be impregnated in the strict sense, but thanks to the micro-openings 15 of the woven metal mesh it is able to retain the mixture 12 giving it physical continuity on both faces of the same reinforcement 11, managing to transport it and to accumulate it as necessary for normal production processes with a calender. A similar support 11 in the manufacturing phase is capable of collecting and retaining the semi-fluid mixture 12, generally at 200 ° C, which passes through it through the holes or openings causing the same mixture to cling to the support 11, and is accumulates on both faces of the same support 11, consisting of a fabric of metal threads, in a much more uniform and stable way than what happens with known reinforcements, resulting in the realization, following the subsequent calendering and cooling operations, of a bitumen-polymer membrane 10 having mechanical properties, and therefore dimensional stability, markedly superior to known sheaths, in which the reinforcement is made of polyester.

A variant of this first embodiment of the membrane 10 according to the invention provides a micro-stretched metal mesh instead of a woven metal mesh, with the intrinsic mechanical properties typical of micro-stretched meshes.

Another variant of this first embodiment of the sheath 10 according to the invention provides a micro-perforated sheet instead of a woven metal mesh, with the intrinsic mechanical properties typical of micro-perforated sheets.

Four embodiments of the invention are described below in which the support 111, 211, 311, 411 comprises a metallic, woven, or electro-welded, or micro-stretched mesh, or a micro-perforated sheet, 117, 217, 317, 417 coupled with one or more flexible elements of impregnable material arranged to involve the entire woven metal mesh or micro-stretched metal mesh or micro-perforated sheet.

In these embodiments of a bitumepolymer membrane according to the invention, the metal mesh, woven or micro-stretched, or the micro-perforated sheet, provides the necessary mechanical and physical characteristics, while the elements of impregnable material give shape and substance to the finished product by retaining the mix.

The flexible elements of impregnable material consist either of single threads, or of groups of collected threads, such as braids, strands or other similar yarns, or strips of fabric or non-woven fabric, or sheets of impregnable material, woven or non-woven fabric. tissue.

Composite reinforcements are known today comprising polyester sheets coupled with glass fibers, which are able to mitigate dimensional instability, but with the supports 111, 211, 311, 411, of high dimensional stability, the drawbacks due to instability are eliminated.

In a second embodiment, exemplified in Figures 3 and 4, a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is indicated with the number 110. In this second embodiment the support 111 comprises a micro-stretched metal mesh 117, or with micro-openings passers-by 115.

In this second embodiment, in order to better retain the mixture 112 in the semi-fluid state during the manufacturing phase, the support 111 comprises, as a flexible element of impregnable material, at least one sheet of impregnable material 118, which is simply pre-coupled side by side. , or glued, to the micro-stretched wire mesh 117.

Said sheet of impregnable material 118 is constituted, for example, by a sheet of polyester, or glass fiber, or other similar and equivalent materials.

The support 111 is therefore capable of ensuring mechanical properties thanks to the micro-stretched mesh 117 which in any case allows for adhesion of the mixture, and improved impregnability thanks to the sheet of impregnable material 118.

A third embodiment of a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is indicated in Figures 5 and 6 with the number 210.

The bitumen-polymer membrane 210 comprises a support 211 in turn constituted by a woven metal mesh with a large mesh 217 coupled with flexible elements of impregnable material which are constituted by strips of impregnable material 219, 220, 221 intertwined with the metal wires 213 or 214 , in a preferential direction, for example the longitudinal direction of the sheath.

The metal wires 213 in a first direction and the metal wires 214 in a substantially orthogonal direction are spaced apart by a minimum distance of 2 millimeters.

The openings 215 determined by the wires between them can have a square or rectangular shape. The strips 219, 220 and 221 are for example made of polyester.

These strips of impregnable material 219, 220 and 221 are of a length corresponding to the length of the metal mesh 217 and of a width such as to entirely involve the openings defined by the metal wires 213 and 214, therefore for example, a strip 219 is as wide as the distance between two side by side metal wires 214.

The section of figure 6 schematically shows a lateral section of the membrane 210 with the compound 212 which amalgamates with the support 211, impregnating the strips 219, 220 and 221 and inserting itself between the metal wires 213 and 214.

The strips 219, 220 and 221 pass alternately above and below the wires of the metal mesh so that the two faces of the support 211 substantially expose the same surface to the impregnation, thus aiming at a balance of the tensions due to the dimensional instability of the strips of polyester which are made of dimensionally unstable material.

A fourth embodiment of a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is exemplified in Figures 7 and 8 and indicated therein with the number 310.

In this fourth embodiment, the support 311 comprises an electrically welded mesh with large meshes of metal wires 317, to which metal wires 313 and 314 are intertwined, as flexible elements of impregnable material, strips, for example 319, 320 and 321, of material impregnable, non-metallic, arranged so as to affect the openings of said net 317.

The support 311 is exemplified in figure 7, while in figure 8 a lateral section of the bitumen-polymer membrane 310 is schematised with the mixture 312 which amalgamates with the support 311, impregnating the strips 319, 32 0 and 321 and insinuating itself between the metal wires 313 and 314, like what happens in the other embodiments mentioned above.

The strips, for example, are made of polyester.

A fifth embodiment of a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is exemplified in the section of figure 9 and indicated there by the number 410.

In this fifth embodiment of membrane 410 according to the invention, the support 411 comprises an electro-welded mesh with large meshes 417, or a woven metal mesh, or a micro-stretched mesh, glued, or sewn, sandwiched between two sheets 418 and 419 of impregnable material.

The compound 412 amalgamates with the support 411, impregnating the sheets 418 and 419 and inserting itself between the metal wires of the electro-welded mesh 417.

Such sheets of impregnable material 418 and 419 are constituted, for example, by sheets of glass fiber, or of polyester, or of other similar and equivalent material.

The presence of the two sheets 418 and 419 positioned on the opposite faces of the electro-welded mesh 417 determines the balancing of the tensions due to the dimensional instability of the same impregnable material.

In a sixth embodiment thereof, a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a support 511, exemplified in Figure 10, in turn comprising a metal fabric 517 comprising groups of collected metal wires, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, as elements of either weft, or warp, or both weft and warp.

In Figure 10, the exemplified support 511 has strands of metal threads 513 in the weft, and metal threads 514 as the warp.

In a seventh embodiment thereof, a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a support 611, exemplified in figure 11 and indicated therein with the number 611, in turn comprising a metal fabric 617 comprising single threads in plastic material, or groups of collected plastic yarns, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, as elements or weft, or warp, or both weft and warp.

For example, in figure 11, the metal fabric 617 has metal threads 614a and plastic threads 614b, arranged alternately two by two, in the warp, and only metal threads 613 in the weft.

In an eighth embodiment thereof, a bitumen-polymer membrane according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a support 711, exemplified in Figure 12, consisting of a metal mesh or mesh 717 with flexible elements of impregnable material 719, 720 and 721 which consist of single threads in impregnable material or groups of threads in collected impregnable material, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns.

In the illustrated example, the flexible elements of impregnable material consist of impregnable synthetic threads.

The object of the invention is also to be understood as a support l or 111 for a bitumen-polymer membrane as described above, which is characterized in that it comprises a metal support.

Said support 11 or 111 comprises a metal mesh, woven or micro-stretched, or a micro-perforated sheet 17, 117 affected uniformly and diffusely by micro-openings 15, 115, such as micro-holes, micro-slits and the like.

Such a support 11 and 111 is far more dimensionally stable than known reinforcements.

In a further embodiment, the support 211, 311 and 411 for a bitumen-polymer membrane as described above, is characterized in that it comprises a metallic, woven, electro-welded or micro-stretched mesh, or a micro-perforated sheet 217, 317, 417, coupled with one or more flexible platform elements of impregnable material arranged to involve the entire woven, electro-welded metal mesh or micro-stretched metal mesh or micro-perforated sheet.

In this embodiment, the metal mesh, or the micro-perforated sheet, maintains the shape of the membrane dimensionally unchanged with respect to temperature variations.

In another embodiment, a support 511 for a bitumen-polymer membrane as described above, is characterized in that it comprises a metal fabric comprising groups of collected metal threads, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, such as elements or weft, or warp, or both weft and warp, as exemplified in figure 10.

In another further embodiment, a support 611 for a bitumen-polymer membrane as described above, is characterized in that it comprises a metal fabric comprising single threads of plastic material, or groups of collected plastic threads, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, as elements either of weft, or of warp, or of both weft and warp, as exemplified in Figure 11.

The use of metal mesh, woven or micro-stretched, or of micro-perforated sheet metal, as described above, as a support inside a bituminous polymer membrane 10, 110, 210, 310, 410 is also to be understood as a support within a bituminous polymer membrane 10, 110, 210, 310, 410 .

In practice it has been found that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects.

In particular, the invention has developed a bitumen-polymer membrane whose support has properties of retention of the mixture that are not inferior, if not better, than known bitumen-polymer sheaths, thanks to the dense meshes of the metal fabric or of the nets. metal, or thanks to the presence of the sheets or strips of impregnable material, and at the same time having greater mechanical properties than the sheaths of the known type, thanks to the presence of the same perforated metal support, which can be a metal fabric or a metal mesh, stretched , or electrowelded, or a micro-perforated sheet.

Therefore, the invention has provided a membrane with greater dimensional stability with respect to sheaths of the known type, in particular dimensionally stable to variations in temperatures due to the alternation of each season; specific laboratory tests have shown dimensional variations of 0.1 ÷ 0.2% in the glass fiber, 0.2 ÷ 0.4% in the polyester and no variation in all the different samples of the invention as described above in its various embodiments .

Consequently, the invention provides a bitumen-polymer membrane whose sheets, during the laying phase, can be superimposed with a great saving of material compared to currently known sheaths.

Furthermore, the invention provides a bitumen-polymer membrane whose integrity, once installed, lasts longer over time than conventional sheaths.

Furthermore, the invention provides a bitumen-polymer membrane which is simple to use in the same way as sheaths of a known type and more suitable for mechanical fixing with nails, rivets, screws and other similar means.

Last but not least, the invention has provided a support for bitumen-polymer membranes which is far more dimensionally stable than known reinforcements and capable of maintaining the shape of the membrane dimensionally unchanged with respect to temperature variations.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept; moreover, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the components and materials employed, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

Where the features and techniques mentioned in any claim are followed by reference marks, these marks have been affixed for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and consequently such reference marks have no limiting effect on the interpretation of each element. identified by way of example by these reference signs.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 1) Bitumen-polymer membrane (10), of the type comprising a support (11) immersed in a mixture of bitumen, polymeric resins and fillers (12), and surrounded by this mixture (12}, characterized in that said support (11) } comprises a perforated metal support whose holes or openings are designed to be crossed by said compound (12} in the semi-fluid state, and is such as to retain said compound (12} in the cooling and consolidation phase during a process of making said bitumen-polymer membrane itself, said compound (12} being attached to said support (11} through said holes or openings. 2} Membrane according to claim 1, which is characterized in that said support (11} is a perforated metal support, consisting of a metal fabric or a metal mesh whose weft is such as to be crossed by said mixture (12, 112 , 212, 312, 412} in the semi-fluid state and such as to retain said mixture (12, 112, 212, 312, 412} in the semi-fluid state during a manufacturing process. 3} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to claim 2, which is characterized by the fact that said support (11} has a woven metal mesh whose metal threads (13, 14} are woven so as to define micro-openings (15 } having dimensions (16}, intended as distances between two side-by-side metal wires, which lie in an interval between a minimum of 0.01 mm and a maximum of 10 mm, with a preferred size of each micro-opening between a minimum of 0, 2 mm and a maximum of 4 mm in standard compound conditions held at standard temperature. 4} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that said support (11} is constituted by a micro-stretched metal mesh, or by a micro-perforated sheet. 5} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that said support (111, 211, 311, 411} comprises a metallic, woven, or electro-welded, or micro-stretched mesh, or a sheet micro-perforated (117, 217, 317, 417} coupled with one or more flexible elements of impregnable material arranged to involve the entire woven metal mesh or micro-expanded metal mesh or micro-perforated sheet. 6} Membrane according to the preceding claim, which is characterized by the fact that said flexible elements of impregnable material are constituted either by single threads, or by groups of collected threads, such as braids, strands or other similar yarns, or strips of fabric or non-woven fabric, or sheets of impregnable material, woven or non-woven fabric. 7) Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that it has a support (111) which comprises a micro-stretched metal mesh (117), and at least one sheet of impregnable material (118). which is simply pre-coupled next to, or glued, to the micro-stretched metal mesh (117). 8} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized in that it comprises a support (211} in turn made up of a large mesh metal mesh (217) with flexible elements of impregnable material which are made of strips of impregnable material (219, 220, 221} intertwined with the metal wires (213, 214} in a preferential direction. 9} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized by the fact that said support (311} comprises an electrically welded mesh with large metal wires (317}, to which metal wires (313, 314} are intertwined) non-metallic strips of impregnable material (319, 320, 321}, arranged so as to involve the openings of said net (317}. 10} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized in that said support (411} comprises an electro-welded mesh with large meshes (417}, or a woven metal mesh, or a micro-stretched mesh, glued or sewn, sandwiched between two sheets (418, 419} of impregnable material, 11} Bitumen-polymer membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized in that it comprises a support (711) consisting of a mesh or mesh metal (717) with flexible elements of impregnable material which consist of single threads of impregnable material or of groups of threads of collected impregnable material, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns. 12} Support for a bitumen-polymer membrane as in one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that it comprises a metal mesh, woven or micro-stretched, or a micro-perforated sheet (17, 117} uniformly and diffusely by micro-openings (15, 115}, such as micro-holes, micro-slits and the like. 13} Membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that said support (611} is a perforated metal support, consisting of a metal fabric comprising groups of collected metal threads, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, as elements or weft, or warp, or both weft and warp. 14} Membrane according to one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that said support (611) is a support consisting of a metal fabric comprising single threads of plastic material, or groups of collected plastic threads, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, as elements of either weft, or warp, or both weft and warp. 15} Support for a bitumen-polymer membrane as in one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that it comprises a metal mesh, woven, electro-welded or micro-stretched, or a micro-perforated sheet (217, 317, 417} coupled with one or more flexible platform elements of impregnable material arranged to involve the entire woven, electro-welded metal mesh or micro-stretched metal mesh or micro-perforated sheet. 16} Support (511} for a bitumepolymer membrane as in one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that it comprises a metal fabric comprising groups of collected metal threads, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, such as elements or weft, or warp, or both weft and warp. 17} Support (611} for a bitumepolymer membrane as in one or more of the preceding claims, which is characterized in that it comprises a metal fabric comprising single threads of plastic material, or groups of collected plastic threads, such as braids, strands and other similar yarns, such as elements of either weft, or warp, or both weft and warp. 18} Use of metal mesh, woven or micro-stretched, or micro-perforated sheet metal as a support inside a bitumen-polymer membrane (10, 110, 210, 310, 410}.