NZ550751A

NZ550751A - Fibre reinforced cement building panel with integral steel channel reinforcing

Info

Publication number: NZ550751A
Application number: NZ550751A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Malcolm Mcclelland
Original assignee: Mcclelland Ind Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2005-10-26
Filing date: 2006-10-25
Publication date: 2009-03-31
Also published as: US20070107345A1

Abstract

A reinforced building panel (1) is disclosed. The panel includes a first substantially planar portion (4), an integrally formed flange (22, 24, 16) and a reinforcing member. The planar portion (1) and flange (22) are formed of fibre reinforced cement material with at least a portion of the reinforcing member passing through the flange. The flange projects from one face (4) of the planar portion. The panel (1) is rectilinear in shape, having a pair of substantially parallel ends, and a pair of substantially parallel sides. The reinforcing member is a steel channel, the channel having a substantially constant cross sectional shape along at least most its length.

Description

1 55 07 5 1 BUILDING PANEL FIELD OF THE INVENTION *10056768972* The present invention relates to a building panel, and more particularly a building wall panel having at least a facing formed from a glass fibre 5 reinforced cement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In this specification unless the contrary is expressly stated, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not to be construed as an admission that the document, act or 10 item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge; or known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.

It has been found that the modular building panels of the prior art lack the 15 desired degrees of strength and rigidity to withstand use in areas prone to high winds in particular.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention therefore, to provide a building panel that overcomes or at least substantially ameliorates the problems associated 20 with the building panels of the prior art.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taking in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received According to the present invention, although this should not be seen as limiting the invention in any way, there is provided a building panel including a first portion of fibre reinforced cement material having a pair of substantially opposing faces, and an integrally formed flange of fibre reinforced cement 5 material extending from one of the faces in a direction substantially normal to the same, and a reinforcing member, at least a portion of which passes through the flange.

Preferably, the panel is rectilinear in shape, having a pair of substantially parallel ends, and a pair of substantially parallel sides.

Preferably, the panel is rectangular in shape.

Preferably, there is a flange extending from each edge of the face, each flange having at least a portion of a reinforcing member passing through it.

Preferably, the reinforcing member is made from steel.

Preferably, the panel includes a reinforcing frame that is fabricated from a 15 plurality of reinforcing members.

Preferably, the or each reinforcing member is a steel rod.

Preferably, the frame fabricated from steel rod is enclosed in the fibre reinforced cement material.

Preferably, in an alternative the or each reinforcing member is a steel channel, 20 said channel having a substantially constant cross sectional shape along at least most its length.

Preferably, the or each frame member has a full length outwardly extending flange extending from an edge thereof, and at least a portion of this outwardly extending flange passes through an integrally formed flange of fibre reinforced cement material. intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received 3 Preferably, the or each frame member is a length of steel channel, each with a substantially constant U-shaped cross-section along its length that includes a base portion and a pair of flanges extending from the base portion.

Preferably, the frame members are arranged and welded to each other so that 5 they define the perimeter edge of the panel, and the flanges of the perimeter forming members are directed inwardly with respect to the frame.

In a further aspect, the disclosure includes a building panel including a first, rectilinear portion of fibre reinforced cement material having a pair of substantially opposing faces, and an integrally formed flange of fibre 10 reinforced cement material extending from each edge of one of the faces in a direction substantially normal to the face, and a framework of reinforcing members, at least a portion of each of which passes through a flange of fibre reinforced cement.

Preferably, a further integral reinforced flange runs between the substantially 15 parallel ends thereof.

Preferably, a further integral reinforced flange runs between the substantially parallel sides thereof.

Preferably, a further sheet of material is secured to either of the integrally formed flanges or the reinforcing framework so as to enclose a back of the 20 panel and define a cavity therebetween.

Preferably, the further sheet of material is a plasterboard sheet.

Preferably, the panel cavity is filled with a heat and/or sound insulating material.

In a further aspect, the disclosure includes a method of making a building 25 panel as disclosed in any one of the preceding claims to a panel, the method tntellectual^hopertv office of n.z. i , 2 8 JAN 2008 I received I including the step of moulding the fibre reinforced cement around the reinforcing member or members.

Preferably, the method includes the further steps of applying some of the fibre reinforced material to a mould, positioning the reinforcing member or frame, 5 continuing with the application of the fibre reinforced material, allowing the fibre reinforced material to solidify, and then removing the building panel from the mould.

Preferably, the fibre reinforced cement material is applied using a spray gun.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in 10 detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawing. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the 15 phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilised as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, to recognise that the claims should be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they 25 do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with respect to the preferred embodiment which shall be described herein with the assistance of drawings wherein; Figures 1 and 2 are front and rear perspective views respectively, of a building 5 panel; Figure 3 is a back plan view of the panel in Figure 1; Figures 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views through the panel in Figure 1, at A-A; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view through the panel in Figure 1, at B-B; Figures 7 and 8 are front and rear perspective views respectively, of a building panel according to a further form of the invention; Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view through the panel in Figure 1, at C-C; Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view through the panel in Figure 1, at D-D; Figure 11 is a perspective view of a building panel according to yet a further form of the invention, illustrating the further sheet of material removed; Figure 13 is a perspective view of the building panel in Figure 11 showing a partial cross-section of the further sheet of material; Figure 14 is a detailed cross-sectional view through a portion of the building panel in Figure 11; Figure 15 is a partial cross-sectional view through a portion of the building panel in Figure 11; intellectual property office of n.2. 2 8 JAN 2008 received 6 Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view through a variation of the panel in Figure 1 ; and Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view through a pair of abutting panels of the type illustrated in Figure 15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to Figures 1 through 6, where there is illustrated a rectangular building panel 1. In this embodiment, the panel is of 2700 mm height, 1200 mm width, and 100mm thickness, although the panels can be produced to size as required.

The building panel 1 is made from fibre reinforced cement material, it has a front face 2 and a rear face 4. The panel includes an integrally formed flange 6 which projects from the rear face 4 of the panel, and which extends along the full length of each of the panels edges.

A 6mm diameter steel rod reinforcing member 8 passes through the integrally 15 formed flange 6, stiffening and strengthening the panel 1. This can be seen most clearly in Figure 5.

The panel has a pair of substantially parallel ends 10, and a pair of substantially parallel sides 12.

A further integral flange 14 extends from the rear face 4, and runs across the 20 panel between the substantially parallel ends 10, passing through the centre of the panel.

Yet a further flange 16 extends from the rear face 4, and runs between the substantially parallel sides 12, passing through the centre of the panel. These two additional flanges provide the panel with additional strength and stiffness, 25 and can be seen most clearly in Figure 2. These two additional flanges can be reinforced using steel rod if required. intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received 7 Extra fibre reinforced cement material is applied in each of the internal corners formed between the flanges on the back of the panel 1, so as to form in each internal corner a wedge 13 that gets progressively thicker as it approaches the rear face 4 of the panel. These wedges 13 eliminate stress risers that would 5 otherwise be created by these internal corners when the panel is under load. In addition to this, these wedges provide additional material and therefore strength in these corners.

The edges defined by the flanges 6 along each of the sides and ends are substantially perpendicular to the front face 2 of the panel. This permits a pair 10 of panels to be positioned adjacent to one another with abutting edges.

One method of forming a building a panel 1 in accordance with the present invention is now described.

First, a building panel mould is constructed so as to define the shape of the back face 4 of the panel. The mould is constructed so that each of the mould's 15 wall members is detachably secured to the other wall members, and these wall members are then removably secured to the mould defining the back of the panel.

A layer of bond breaker is applied to the mould using a spray gun.

A mixture of concrete is then mixed in a concrete mixer using cement, sand 20 and water in the following proportions: Off white cement: 40kg Dried foundry sand: 43 kg Water: litres Optipozz 4 kg Polymer litres P lastici ze r/retard ant To suit Antifoam To suit intellectual property office of n.2. 2 8 JAN 2008 ' received; 8 This slurry is then pumped from the mixer to a spray gun.

A substantially continuous strand of alkali resistant (Zarcon coated) glass fibre is run to the spray gun, which is a concentric chopper spray gun, where it is chopped into 32mm lengths and added to the slurry.

The slurry is then sprayed onto the mould so as to fill the cavities defining the flanges 6, 14 and 16, until a desired depth is reached, at which point spraying is paused while the reinforcing rod 6 is positioned in the mould. Spraying then resumes until the mould has been filled.

Before the slurry has cured, it is compacted using a roller so as to create the 10 front face 2 of the panel.

Once the slurry has cured, the panel 1 can be removed from the mould.

Referring now to Figures 7 through 10, where the steel reinforcement members in this case are u-shaped channels 20. Each of these steel reinforcement members is a channel with a substantially constant U-shaped 15 cross-section along its length, which includes a base portion A and a pair of outwardly extending flanges B extending from the edges of the base portion.

These channels 20 are arranged and then welded to each other so that they form a rectangular frame 22, which defines the perimeter edge of the panel, and the flanges B of these perimeter-forming members are directed inwardly. 20 A further channel 24 passes between the ends of the panel, passing through the centre of the panel. This frame 22 is moulded into the fibre reinforced cement material in the same fashion as the steel rod, as discussed above, Referring now to Figure 11, where the building panel 10Ois rectangular in shape and the frame members are again arranged and welded to each other 25 so that four of them define the perimeter edge of the panel, and the flanges B of these perimeter-forming members are directed inwardly. intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received' 9 There are four vertical frame members, or studs 106, which are substantially equi-spaced and running parallel to each other along the length of the panel; the two edge forming studs, and two reinforcing studs. There is a horizontal frame member 108, or noggin, at each end of the frame. The flanges 108B of 5 these noggins 108 overlap the flanges 106A on the studs 106.

A sheet of fibre reinforced cement material 110 is moulded to size so that its height and width match the dimensions of the perimeter of the frame 102. This sheet of fibre reinforced cement material 110 abuts a first side of the frames flanges, and a bead of fibre reinforced cement 112 then overlays the complete length of a second side of the frame flanges, bonding the sheet of fibre reinforced cement material to the framework 102.

There is a further, reinforcing bead 114 of fibre reinforced cement applied to the flange abutting side of the sheet of fibre reinforced cement. This reinforcing bead 114 is much deeper than the beads that bond the sheet of 15 fibre reinforced cement material to the frame, and it runs from a first edge-forming stud, between all four studs, and right across the panel to the other edge-forming stud, forming a rib that stiffens and reinforces the panel.

A further sheet of plasterboard material 120 is cut to size so that its height and width match the dimensions of the perimeter of the frame 102 also. This sheet of plasterboard then abuts the flanges on the other side of the frame, and can be fixed to these using appropriate fasteners or adhesives so as to enclose a cavity in the panel. A10mm thick plasterboard such as that identified by the Trade Mark 'Gyprock', has been found to be ideal for this purpose.

The cavity defined by the panel can then be filled with a heat and/or sound 25 insulating material 122. Polyurethane insulation 1:1 6r PIR 2:1 of 50mm thickness has been found to be ideal for this purpose.

One method of forming a building panel in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention is now described. intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received First, a building panel mould is constructed so as to define the desired panel shape. The mould is constructed so that each of the mould's wall members is detachably secured to the other wall members, and these wall members are then removably secured to a smooth, flat sheet.

A layer of bond breaker is applied to the smooth, flat sheet and to the mould walls themselves, using a spray gun.

The support fame, as described above, is constructed from cold rolled steel channel.

A mixture of concrete is then mixed in a concrete mixer using cement, sand 10 and water in much the same proportions as those discussed above.

This slurry is then pumped from the mixer to a spray gun.

A first layer of the slurry is then sprayed on the smooth sheet defined by the mould walls. Although the thickness of the first layer may be varied, it has been found that a satisfactory thickness for most structural applications is 15mm. It would be understood that the thickness of the slurry could be increased to increase the strength of the panel.

After this first layer has been laid, and before the layer has cured, it is compacted using a roller so as to ensure that the slurry has a substantially uniform thickness.

The frame is placed within the mould so that the frame's flanges abut the slurry. Before the first layer of slurry has cured, a second layer is overlayed 25 along at least a portion of the length of the flange abutting the slurry, but preferably it is applied so as to completely overlay the flange along a complete intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 IRFD1= IV E D 11 length of the frame's flange. This bead of overlay should be almost as thick as the first layer of slurry, which is 15mm in this instance.

A build-up of the slurry is then sprayed between the studs about halfway along the panel so as to create a reinforcing rib. A reinforcing rib of 60mm in depth 5 and 100mm in width has been found to significantly improve the strength and stiffness of a panel- After the second layer of slurry has been applied so as create the flange bead and reinforcing rib, the panel is allowed to cure in the mould for a period of approximately twelve hours. The panel is then removed from the mould, and allowed to cure for a period of up to seven days; during this time, the panel is kept moist by intermittently spraying it with water.

Once cured, the panels can be secured to building framework using fasteners such as bolts and rivets that secure the panels through the noggins. Adjacent wall panels may be secured to each other by means of fasteners extending 15 through abutting studs. A layer of caulking compound can be applied between adjacent wall panels to seal the joints and provide a smooth finish.

Referring now to Figures 15 and 16, there is a panel 200 similar to that in Figures 1 through 10, this panel differing in that it includes a recess 202 along the edges extending in the direction of elongation of the panel. When two of these panels 200 are positioned with these edges abutting, as shown in Figure 16, the recesses co-operate to create a pocket 204, through which a hold down rod 206 can be passed. In a typical installation, these hold down rods 206 are fixed into the concrete or timber floor, and they pass between the panels 200 in the pocket 204 and into the edge beam or top plate. These hold down rods 206 counteract shearing forces created by very high winds, and assist to hold down the roof frame in said high winds.

It is considered then that the panel according to the present invention will be of particular use top those wishing to build using a prefabricated panel of intellectual property office of n.z. 2 8 JAN 2008 received 12 improved strength and rigidity.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details described herein but it is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. intellectual property office of n.2 2 8 JAN 2008 received

Claims

13 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A building panel including a first substantially planar portion of fibre reinforced cement material having a pair of substantially opposing faces, and an integrally formed flange of fibre reinforced cement material extending 5 outwardly from one of the faces so as to project therefrom and a reinforcing member, at least a portion of which passes through the flange, further characterised in that the panel is rectilinear in shape, having a pair of substantially parallel ends, and a pair of substantially parallel sides wherein the or each reinforcing member is a steel channel, said channel having a 10 substantially constant cross sectional shape along at least most its length.

2. The panel as in claim 1, further characterised in that the panel is rectangular in shape.

3. The panel as claim 2, further characterised in that there is a flange extending from each edge of the face, each flange having at least a portion of 15 a reinforcing member passing through it.

4. The panel as in any one of the preceding claims, further characterised in that the or each reinforcing member is made from steel.

5. The panel as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panel includes a reinforcing frame that is fabricated from a plurality of reinforcing 20 members.

6. The panel as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each reinforcing member is a steel rod.

7. The panel as in claim 6, wherein the frame fabricated from steel rod is enclosed in the fibre reinforced cement material. received at IPONZ 20/11/2008 14 25

8. The panel as in claim 7, wherein the or each frame member has a full length outwardly extending flange extending from an edge thereof, and at least a portion of this outwardly extending flange passes through an integrally formed flange of fibre reinforced cement material.

9. The panel as in claim 8, wherein the or each frame member is a length of 30 steel channel, each with a substantially constant U-shaped cross-section along its length that includes a base portion and a pair of flanges extending from the base portion.

10.The panel as in either of claims 8 or 9, wherein the frame members are arranged and welded to each other so that they define the perimeter edge of 35 the panel, and the flanges of the perimeter forming members are directed inwardly with respect to the frame. received at IPONZ 20/11/2008