REINFORCED ARCHITECTURAL PANEL
An architectural panel includes a substantially rectangular prismatic main body cast from lightweight concrete that has first and second major faces which are substantially planar and parallel to one another. First and second reinforcing mesh sheets are disposed substantially parallel to one another, next to the first and second major faces, respectively, and embedded in the main body. Recesses are arrayed in the first major face. Each recess extends through a respective opening in the first mesh sheet.
The present invention relates generally to architectural cladding and lining, and particularly to reinforced concrete panels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONModern large buildings generally consist of a basic load bearing structure supporting the exterior cladding and internal linings of the walls. This wall cladding or lining material should be lightweight, durable, of pleasing appearance and compatible with overall environmental objectives for the interior of the building. The interior or exterior of some buildings are finished in polished natural stone, such as granite or marble or in a decorative concrete finish. This has a pleasing appearance, but these panels are generally large, and in order to have sufficient strength to avoid breakage must be heavy. Mounting such stone and concrete panels can therefore be difficult, and in some cases there has been a tendency for unevenly distributed weight to cause panel joints to fail over time.
Architectural panels have been made from light weight reinforced concrete to address these difficulties. However, while satisfactory strength-to-weight ratios have been attained by some prior panels, their performance has typically been compromised in other respects, such as simplicity and cost of manufacture and thermal performance. It will be understood that there remains a need for an optimised or improved design which suffers less from such compromises. It is an object of the present invention to address this need or, more generally, to provide an improved architectural panel.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an architectural panel comprising:
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- a main body cast from lightweight concrete;
- first and second major faces on the main body which are substantially planar and parallel to one another;
- first and second mesh sheets disposed substantially parallel to one another next to the first and second major faces respectively and embedded in the main body such that edges of each mesh sheet are disposed adjacent a respective edge of the main body, the first mesh sheet defining an array of openings, and
- an array of recesses in the first major face, each recess extending through a respective one of the openings in the first mesh sheet.
It has been found that a panel according to the invention has a high strength-to-weight ratio, and exceptional thermal performance when correctly installed with the second major face disposed outwardly. In hot climates, when provision is made for air flow over the first major face, the panel is effective in reducing solar gains by dissipating heat to the air. In cool climates, when provision is made to prevent air flow over the first major face, the panel is effective in reducing heat loss from the building envelope.
Preferably the main body has a substantially rectangular prismatic form and the mesh sheets are rectangular.
Preferably no undercut is provided in the recesses.
Preferably each recess tapers inwardly from a mouth at the first major face to a base.
Preferably each recess comprises a plurality of intersecting flat faces. Preferably each recess comprises five flat faces.
Preferably the openings in the first mesh are square and the mouth is square.
Preferably four tapered faces of each recess extend from the square mouth to a square face at the base.
Preferably the four tapered faces have rotational symmetry about a central axis of each recess that extends substantially orthogonal to the first face.
Preferably the lightweight concrete may one of: sintered expanded clay as aggregate, expanded polystyrene beads as aggregate, pumice as aggregate, expanded shale as aggregate, bottom ash as aggregate, ceramics as aggregate, aerated concrete and foamed concrete.
Preferably a plurality of fixtures cast into the main body to provide for mounting points, each fixture comprising a plate fixed to a projecting bracket and extending substantially perpendicular to the plate, an aperture in the bracket with an internal screw thread.
Preferably the fixture has generally the same dimension as the thickness of the panel.
Preferably the fixtures are fixed to the mesh sheets.
Preferably substantially the full length of the bracket is embedded in the concrete.
Preferably a backing layer extends over the first major face and keyed into the recesses, formed as by casting the backing layer after the body.
Advantageously, a facing layer may be bonded to the second major face so as to be exposed on installation for aesthetic purposes. The facing layer may comprise lightweight concrete with a decorative finish, such as a patterned finish, or exposed aggregate finish. The facing layer may alternatively comprise stone, such as polished marble or granite. Optionally, a decorative finish may instead be applied directly to the second major face.
This invention provides an architectural panel which is effective and efficient in operational use, which may be economically constructed and has an overall simple design which minimizes manufacturing costs and improves structural and thermal performance.
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
A rectangular array of recesses 13 are disposed in the first major face 11, and may be of like form and regularly spaced, with an uninterrupted margin 14 extending about the perimeter of the array of recesses 13 adjacent to a peripheral edge 15 of the main body 10.
The main body 10 is reinforced with first and second substantially rectangular reinforcing mesh sheets 17, 18 disposed substantially parallel to one another next to the first and second major faces 11, 12 respectively. A corner section of the mesh sheet 17 is illustrated by the dashed lines in
Each recess 13 has a mouth 16 at the first major face 11 and tapers inwardly from the mouth 16 to a base 21. The base 21 is below the level of the mesh sheet 17 such that each recess 13 extends through a respective one of the openings 20 in the first mesh sheet 17, but stops short of the second mesh sheet 18.
Each recess 13 has a concave form without undercut, allowing the recesses to be cast readily. Each recess may have four intersecting planar faces 22a-22d that taper inward as they extend toward the base 16. A face of the base 21 forms a fifth face bounding the recess. In the preferred embodiment the mesh openings 20 and recesses 13 are centred on a transverse axis 24 that extends substantially orthogonal to the first and second major faces 11, 12, the recesses 13 having a symmetrical shape such that the four tapered faces have rotational symmetry about a central axis.
The main body 10 and facing layer 26 may be cast from lightweight concrete, such as concrete including lightweight aggregates, especially expanded polystyrene beads, pumice, expanded shale, bottom ash and ceramics. Alternatively, the lightweight concrete may be foamed or aerated concrete. The panels are self-supporting but may be non-structural and suitable lightweight concretes may have a density of about 1400-1500 kg/m3 and compressive strength of 25-30 MPa.
Providing recesses 13 allows a further weight saving to be achieved and it is believed that the recessed inner major face 11 contributes to the improved thermal performance in reducing solar gains in hot climates (when provision is made for air flow over the first major face) by improving heat dissipation to the air. In cool climates, when made substantially airtight the recess provide a still air gap effective in reducing heat loss from the building envelope. The recesses 13 also provide suitable locations for fasteners for fixing the panels.
Referring to
As best seen in
A third embodiment of the architectural panel is illustrated in
Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.
Claims
1. An architectural panel comprising:
- a main body cast from lightweight concrete;
- first and second major faces on the main body which are substantially planar and parallel to one another;
- first and second mesh sheets disposed substantially parallel to one another, next to the first and second major faces, respectively, and embedded in the main body, wherein edges of each of the first and second mesh sheets are disposed adjacent respective edges of the main body, and the first mesh sheet includes an array of openings; and
- an array of recesses in the first major face, wherein each recess extends through a respective one of the openings in the first mesh sheet.
2. The architectural panel of claim 1 wherein the main body has a substantially rectangular prismatic form and the mesh sheets are rectangular.
3. The architectural panel of claim 1 wherein no undercut is provided in the recesses.
4. The architectural panel of claim 1 wherein each recess tapers inwardly from a mouth at the first major face to a base.
5. The architectural panel of claim 1 wherein each recess comprises a plurality of intersecting flat faces.
6. The architectural panel of claim 1 wherein each recess comprises five flat faces.
7. The architectural panel of claim 4 wherein the openings in the first mesh are square and each mouth is square.
8. The architectural panel of claim 7 wherein each recess includes four tapered faces that extend from the square mouth to a square face at the base.
9. The architectural panel of claim 8 wherein the four tapered faces have rotational symmetry about a central axis of each recess that extends substantially orthogonal to the first face.
10. The architectural panel of claim 1 wherein the lightweight concrete comprises one of aerated concrete and foamed concrete, and, as aggregate, one chosen from the group consisting of: sintered expanded clay, expanded polystyrene beads, pumice, expanded shale, bottom ash, ceramics.
11. The architectural panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fixtures cast into the main body to provide mounting points, each fixture comprising a plate fixed to a projecting bracket extending substantially perpendicular to the plate, wherein each bracket includes an aperture with an internal screw thread.
12. The architectural panel of claim 11 wherein the panel has a thickness and each fixture has a dimension generally the same as the thickness of the panel.
13. The architectural panel of claim 11 wherein the fixtures are fixed to the first and second mesh sheets.
14. The architectural panel of claim 11 wherein the bracket has a length and substantially all of the length of the bracket is embedded in the concrete.
15. The architectural panel of claim 1, further comprising a backing layer extending over the first major face and keyed into the recesses, the backing layer being formed by casting, after casting the main body.
16. The architectural panel of claim 1 further comprising a facing layer of lightweight concrete bonded to the second major face.
17. An architectural panel of generally rectangular prismatic form comprising:
- a main body cast from lightweight concrete comprising one of aerated concrete and foamed concrete, and, as aggregate, one chosen from the group consisting of: sintered expanded clay, expanded polystyrene beads, pumice, expanded shale, bottom ash, ceramics;
- first and second major faces on the main body which are substantially planar and parallel to one another;
- first and second rectangular sheets or first and second wire reinforcing mesh sheets embedded in the main body and disposed substantially parallel to one another, next to the first and second major faces, respectively, wherein edges of each of the first and second wire reinforcing mesh sheet are disposed adjacent respective edges of the main body, and the first wire reinforcing mesh sheet includes an array of openings; and
- an array of recesses in the first major face, wherein each recess extends through a respective one of the openings in the first wire reinforcing mesh sheet and tapers inwardly from a relatively large mouth at the first major face to a relatively small base.
18. The architectural panel of claim 17, further comprising a plurality of fixtures embedded in the main body to provide mounting points for the panel, each fixture comprising a plate fixed to a projecting bracket, wherein
- each plate is disposed adjacent the second major face,
- each bracket extends substantially perpendicular to the plate,
- an axial end of each bracket is disposed adjacent the first major face, each bracket includes an aperture extending through the axial end, with an internal screw thread in the aperture and the fixtures are fixed to the first and second wire reinforcing mesh sheets.
19. The architectural panel of claim 18, further comprising a backing layer extending over the first major face and keyed into the recesses, the backing layer being formed by casting, after casting the main body.
20. The architectural panel of claim 18 further comprising a facing layer of lightweight concrete bonded to the second major face.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 29, 2013
Publication Date: Mar 6, 2014
Applicant: Archibuild Limited (Kowloon)
Inventors: Albert Kwok Hung Kwan (Hong Kong), Dominic Yiu Wah Lai (Kwun Tong)
Application Number: 14/013,084
International Classification: E04C 2/30 (20060101); E04C 2/06 (20060101); E04C 2/04 (20060101);