U.S. patent application number 10/970666 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-21 for hybrid insulating reinforced concrete system.
Invention is credited to Le, Thang, Yland, Carla.
Application Number | 20050081484 10/970666 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34526234 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050081484 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yland, Carla ; et
al. |
April 21, 2005 |
Hybrid insulating reinforced concrete system
Abstract
Hybrid Insulating Reinforced Concrete according to the present
disclosure may be designed to create insulating reinforced concrete
large-scale construction components for use in commercial,
industrial and residential structures. Hybrid Insulating Reinforced
Concrete meets those needs by providing an insulating reinforced
concrete component that can either be: (1) cast-in-place at the job
site, (2) pre-cast at a plant and shipped to the jobsite, or (3) a
combination of the two techniques--utilize pre-cast insulating
element trucked to the construction site and complete fabrication
of the large-scale construction components on-site. It is
emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules
requiring an abstract which will allow a searcher or other reader
to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical
disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not
be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the
claims.
Inventors: |
Yland, Carla; (Irvine,
CA) ; Le, Thang; (San Gabriel, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHAN LAW GROUP LC
1055 W. 7TH ST,
SUITE 1880
LOS ANGELES
CA
90017
US
|
Family ID: |
34526234 |
Appl. No.: |
10/970666 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60487156 |
Oct 20, 2003 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/782.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04C 2/284 20130101;
E04C 2/049 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/782.1 |
International
Class: |
E04C 002/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A hybrid concrete panel comprising: an insulating concrete panel
having pores on a first surface; and a reinforcing concrete panel
forming cement fingers on a first surface, the cement fingers
interlocking the pores of the first surface of the insulation
concrete panel.
2. The hybrid concrete panel of claim 1 wherein the insulating
concrete panel further comprises polystyrene.
3. The hybrid concrete panel of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing
concrete panel further comprises a plurality of reinforcing
elements.
4. The hybrid concrete panel of claim 1 wherein the insulating
concrete panel and the reinforcing concrete panel are generally
planar.
5. A hybrid concrete panel comprising: a first insulating concrete
panel having pores on a first surface; a second insulating concrete
panel having pores on a first surface; and a reinforcing concrete
panel forming cement fingers on a first surface and a second
surface, the cement fingers of the first surface interlocking the
pores of the first surface of the first insulating concrete panel,
and the cement fingers of the second surface interlocking the pores
of the first surface of the second insulating concrete panel.
6. The hybrid concrete panel of claim 5 wherein the first and
second insulating concrete panels and the reinforcing concrete
panel are generally planar.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the priority of U.S. provisional
application Ser. No. 60/487,156 filed Oct. 20, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to reinforced concrete construction
components for use in commercial, industrial and residential
structures and more specifically to large-scale reinforced
insulating concrete construction components such as walls, decks,
floors and roofs.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Reinforced concrete is a happy marriage between two
complimentary materials, concrete and steel. The concrete supplies
resistance to compressive loads, while the steel provides
resistance to tensile loads. This in itself, however, would not
make an effective long-term building material except for the fact
that both concrete and steel have virtually the same coefficient of
expansion. This means that in hot weather or in cold weather they
expand or contract together--otherwise the bond between the two
would be broken as they expanded or contracted at different rates,
and it is the bond between the two materials that in the main makes
reinforced concrete a useful building material.
[0006] In these days of rapidly increasing energy and land costs,
there is a need for an insulating building material and/or system
to provide less expensive means of construction and operation of
the completed facility.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Concretes typically are made from a cementitious material,
coarse and fine aggregates, water, and admixtures. Cement
characteristics vary with regard to the fineness of the
cementitious material, the rate at which they absorb water
(hydrate) and their affinity for different admixtures which may be
used to increase air entrainment, retard setting times and enhance
other desired traits. Cementitious materials used in the formation
of concrete include: Portland cement, fly-ash, silica fume,
bentonite, and pozzolans (volcanic materials).
[0008] Aggregates vary from extremely hard and heavy natural
aggregates; to soft and lightweight synthetic aggregates. For
structural concrete, the main virtues of the resulting concrete is
that its compressive strength can be tailored to the specific needs
of the job, aggregate size and material can be varied dependent
upon the required strength, placement techniques, and location of
placement. For low-density non-structural concretes, the
combination of cementitious materials, aggregates, and admixtures
can be varied to meet the desired criteria for surface
characteristics, surface roughness, and handling. In addition,
aggregates can be selected for the thermal- and sound-resistive
properties they bring to the concrete.
[0009] Initially, there seems to be little difference between the
words "insulating concrete" and "insulated concrete". However,
there is a major difference between the two. Insulating concrete is
concrete which in itself has distinct thermal and sound insulating
properties. Insulated concrete is concrete upon which a layer of
insulating material has been attached--(usually polystyrene or the
like)--either sandwiched inside the component, attached outside on
one side, or attached outside on both sides.
[0010] In a first aspect, Hybrid Insulating Reinforced Concrete
according to the present disclosure is designed to create
insulating reinforced concrete for large-scale construction
components such as walls, floors, decking and roofs, for use in
commercial, industrial and residential structures.
[0011] Hybrid Insulating Reinforced Concrete according to the
present disclosure meets those needs by providing an insulating
reinforced concrete component that can either be: (1) cast-in-place
at the job site, (2) pre-cast at a plant and shipped to the
jobsite, or (3) a combination of the two techniques--utilize
pre-cast insulating element trucked to the construction site and
complete fabrication of the large-scale construction components
on-site. Structurally, large-scale construction components
fabricated according to the present disclosure may be designed
using the same design approach as for conventional reinforced
concrete floor slab, deck, or wall--and the same sections of the
building codes with the structural concrete portion of the
component being designed to handle the required loads. For design
purposes, the insulating concrete is not considered to contribute
structurally. However, use of shaped insulating panels may reduce
the amount of concrete required per component thereby decreasing
the overall weight of a panel with concomitant savings in concrete
and reinforcement while at the same time increasing thermal and
sound insulating capacity.
[0012] A Hybrid Insulating Reinforced Concrete system according to
the present disclosure consists of two main components: insulating
concrete--with specific characteristics--and structural reinforced
concrete. A Hybrid Insulating Reinforced Concrete system may be
made from two different concretes, while other systems use
non-cementitious polystyrene slabs or panels mechanically joined to
the structural concrete. The insulating concrete provides several
solutions for owners and contractors. First, the insulating
concrete is designed to be lightweight in nature; have a four-hour
fire rating as is--without coverings; be vermin, insect, and mold
resistant; provide a readily finishable surface--not require
furring strips; enable installation of electrical service within
the wall surface; and increasing the sound and thermal insulating
capacity to an otherwise typical reinforced concrete building
component.
[0013] In another aspect, the present invention provides insulating
concrete including:
[0014] Low-density and/ or light-weight aggregates
[0015] Admixtures to improve concrete handling characteristics and
to enhance distribution of aggregates within cement matrix
[0016] Fibers and/or other reinforcement including steel wire mesh
or deformed bar which may be used to enhance tensile nature of
insulating concrete throughout the insulating concrete
[0017] Surface characteristics that allow for penetration of cement
paste from wet structural concrete to create a uniform bond between
the two materials.
[0018] and structural concrete including:
[0019] Normal or lightweight aggregate(s)
[0020] Optimized aggregate design
[0021] Admixtures to enhance setting characteristics
[0022] Reinforcement as required for flexure, shear, and
deflection
[0023] In another aspect, Hybrid Insulating Reinforced Concrete
system according to the present disclosure provides engineered
surface characteristics of the insulating concrete. This
low-density concrete is a material with large pore size and surface
roughness. The engineered surface characteristics enables cement
paste from the wet structural concrete to adhere, embed or
otherwise engage the rough surface of the insulating concrete and
form a continuous bond between the two surfaces. Consequently, a
building component constructed according to the present disclosure
does not require use of discrete mechanical connectors between the
two materials. Additionally, as a concrete material itself, the
insulating concrete provides the same thermal expansion as the
structural concrete, and consequently continues to bond well to the
structural concrete. This is another reason why discrete mechanical
connectors between the insulating and structural concretes are not
required.
[0024] In still another aspect, insulating concrete according to
the present disclosure may be fabricated to provide the thickness
desired for thermal or sound conditions. It may be precast into
elements that may be Planar or Shaped 3 dimensional elements and
subsequently transported to the construction site, or, the
insulating concrete and the structural concrete may be
cast-in-place at the construction site.
[0025] In still another aspect of the present disclosure, Planar
and Shaped insulating elements, typically are rectangular, but may
be molded or cut into other shapes as required. Shaped elements are
designed to have one or both surfaces with cavities running in both
length-wise and cross-wise directions. The cavities may be
semi-circular or equivalently shaped. These elements are placed
into formwork located upon a flat floor slab or the like with
cavities aligned side-to-side and/or end-to-end to create large
scale insulating panels upon with reinforcement may be laid and
structural concrete is poured. large-scale building components can
be fabricated in several ways:
[0026] 1. Cast the insulating concrete elements (Planar or Shaped)
off-site, transport to construction area, lay said elements into
pre-constructed formwork located on slab on grade or the like
(coated with adequate releasing agent), bond or connect elements
together to create a large-scale insulating panel, lay
reinforcement, and pour structural concrete on top. Vibrate to
ensure deposition of cement paste from wet structural concrete into
pores of insulating concrete, and finish top surface.
[0027] 2. Cast the insulating concrete elements (Planar or Shaped)
off-site, transport to construction area. Lay reinforcement in
formwork, pour structural concrete, and set insulating concrete
elements upon top surface of wet structural concrete and vibrate to
ensure embedment of insulating concrete elements into upper surface
of wet structural concrete. Strong-backs or the like may be used to
position and hold insulating concrete elements in place. No
mechanical connectors are required.
[0028] 3. Place wet insulating concrete into formwork to desired
depth, let cure. Lay reinforcement on top, pour structural concrete
and vibrate to ensure deposition of cement paste from wet
structural concrete into pores of insulating concrete.
[0029] 4. Place wet insulating concrete into formwork to desired
depth, let cure. Lay reinforcement on top, pour structural
concrete, set a layer of pre-cast insulating concrete elements upon
top surface of wet structural concrete and vibrate to ensure: (1)
embedment of insulating concrete elements into upper surface of wet
structural concrete and to ensure deposition of cement paste from
wet structural concrete into bottom and top layers of insulating
concrete.
[0030] 5. Place wet insulating concrete into formwork to desired
depth, let cure. Lay reinforcement on top, pour structural concrete
to desired depth and vibrate to ensure penetration of cement paste
from wet structural concrete into bottom layer of insulating
concrete. Upon still-wet structural concrete, pour a layer of
insulating concrete, and let cure.
[0031] Lift points may be inserted into wet structural concrete as
per conventional tilt-up or pre-cast construction methods and cured
large-scale construction components lifted into place for floors,
decks, walls, and/or roofs.
[0032] These and other features and advantages of this invention
will become further apparent from the detailed description and
accompanying figures that follow. In the figures and description,
numerals indicate the various features of the invention, like
numerals referring to like features throughout both the drawings
and the description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hybrid structural panel
according to the present disclosure with one layer each of
insulating and structural concrete.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the device of FIG.
1.
[0035] FIG. 3, is an perspective view of Shaped hybrid panel
according to the present disclosure.
[0036] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-section of the device of FIG.
3.
[0037] FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-section of the device of FIG.
3.
[0038] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment
hybrid structural panel according to the present disclosure with
one interior layer of structural concrete and an exterior layer of
insulating concrete on two opposing sides of the structural
concrete layer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0039] For the purposes of the present disclosure, several
definitions are necessary:
[0040] Element--the pre-cast insulating concrete shape.
[0041] Panel--when a number of the Elements are bonded or otherwise
connected together they form a large-scale insulating concrete
Panel--either Planar or Shaped.
[0042] Component--when the Panel and the reinforcement and
structural concrete are all assembled together the result is a
large-scale construction Component.
[0043] Insulating Concrete--an engineered low-density concrete with
the same characteristics of expansion/contraction as structural
concrete, with a sufficiently large pore size which enables cement
paste from the wet structural concrete to become embedded within
the surface of the insulating concrete thus forming a continuous
bond between the two surfaces. Insulating Concrete resists heat and
sound transmissions in particular.
[0044] Insulated Concrete--a structural or other type of concrete
to which an insulating layer of polystyrene or the like has been
affixed by means of extra mechanical and/or chemical (adhesive)
connections.
[0045] Structural Concrete--as the name implies, the concrete that
does the structural work resisting loads, flex, shear,
deflection.
[0046] Referring now to FIG. 1, construction panel 2 includes
structural concrete 6 bonded to insulating concrete 4. Insulating
concrete 4 may include aggregate 4A which may be Low-density and/or
light-weight materials such as expanded polystyrene, styrene beads,
vermiculite, pumice, perlite, expanded shale, glass beads and/or
other natural or man-made aggregates, and one or more admixtures 4B
to improve concrete handling and strength characteristics and to
enhance distribution of aggregate 4A within cement matrix 4M.
Reinforcement 4F may include fibers, steel wire mesh or deformed
bar or other suitable material may also be included to enhance
tensile nature of insulating concrete 4 throughout construction
panel 2.
[0047] Referring now to FIG. 2, in a longitudinal cross-section of
construction panel 2, interface 10 may be examined in closer
detail. Surface 12 of insulating concrete 4 has a surface roughness
here identified as pores 14 to facilitate adhesion between
insulating concrete 4 and structural concrete 6. Structural
concrete 6 may also include reinforcing elements 8. In a currently
preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, pores 14 may range
in size up to 1/2".
[0048] Mechanical interlocking of two concretes such as insulating
concrete 4 and structural concrete 6 is due to the roughness or
pores 14 of insulating concrete surface layer 5 of insulating
concrete 4 and adsorption of cement paste from surface layer 13 of
structural concrete 6 forming cement fingers 30.
[0049] Interlocking of surfaces such as insulating concrete surface
layer 5 and structural concrete surface layer 13 can occur
when:
[0050] the surface of the adherend is rough such as insulating
concrete surface layer 5--this increases the area of physical
contact; or
[0051] the interface between the two surfaces may contain "lock
& key" sites such as pores 14 and cement fingers 30
respectively, or
[0052] penetration of cement paste from wet structural concrete 6
forms cement fingers 30 interlocking with pores 14 of insulating
concrete 4.
[0053] Interface 10 is a suitable interlock between insulating
concrete 4 and structural concrete 6 because Reduced stress
concentration in interface 10 because adhesive properties of
surface layer 13 and adherend insulating concrete surface layer 5
have similar physical parameters and little discontinuity exists in
the physical properties. Similarly, adhesive surface layer 13 has a
suitable viscosity/cure relationship.
[0054] Referring now to FIG. 3, in another embodiment of the
present disclosure, construction panel 20 includes insulating
concrete 22 and structural concrete 24. Insulating concrete 22 is
formed to include horizontal cavities 26 and vertical cavities 27,
although other suitable orientations of the cavities may be used.
The combination of horizontal cavities 26 and vertical cavities 27
results in the formation of shaped elements 28. The shape of
insulating concrete 22 provides greater surface area for better
adhesion to structural concrete 24 and the inclusion of shaped
elements 28 displaces concrete from structural concrete 24 thus
lowering the weight of construction panel 20 and thus the installed
cost.
[0055] Horizontal cavities 26 and vertical cavities 27 also provide
structure for arranging reinforcing elements 8 as shown.
[0056] Referring now to FIG. 6, in an alternate embodiment of a
hybrid insulating and reinforcing concrete panel according to the
present disclosure, sandwich panel 2A includes structural concrete
6 between first insulating concrete 4A and second insulating
concrete 4B.
[0057] Having now described the invention in accordance with the
requirements of the patent statutes, those skilled in the art will
understand how to make changes and modifications in the present
invention to meet their specific requirements or conditions. Such
changes and modifications may be made without departing from the
scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the following
claims.
* * * * *