Abstract: Composite framing members for use in building construction include reinforced concrete columns and beams surrounded by a pair of steel shells. A layer of protective material is applied to the interior surface of at least one shell prior to assembly of the shell to provide the final integrated framing member with superior insulating or fire resistance and survivability characteristics. Additionally, the steel shells impart greater structural strength and integrity than the reinforced concrete columns and beams could alone. Furthermore, the concrete cores, aided by the protective coating, function as a heat sink, absorbing heat and allowing the entire framing member a longer structural life that it would have if the steel or concrete were used alone.

Abstract: The present invention provides an integrated, insulated panel for use in the construction industry. The integrated panel includes an integrity reinforcing truss disposed between upper and lower surface panels for enhancing the overall strength of the integrated panel. An adhesive insulating material is preferably disposed between the surface panels to assist in bonding the elements of the integrated panel into one piece. The strength and integrity of an integrated panel may be varied to satisfy the needs of a particular application through varying the dimensions and materials of the structural elements.

Abstract: Composite framing members for use in building construction include reinforced concrete columns and beams surrounded by a pair of steel shells. A layer of protective material is applied to the interior surface of at least one shell prior to assembly of the shell to provide the final integrated framing member with superior insulating or fire resistance and survivability characteristics. Additionally, the steel shells impart greater structural strength and integrity than the reinforced concrete columns and beams could alone. Furthermore, the concrete cores, aided by the protective coating, function as a heat sink, absorbing heat and allowing the entire framing member a longer structural life that it would have if the steel or concrete were used alone.

Abstract: A concrete slab, and a building construction system employing the concrete slab, in which the slab is formed in a casting or extrusion process to include a plurality of longitudinally extending core passages, and a groove extending transversely across one end face thereof. A plurality of invention slabs are stacked side by side to form a continuous wall structure, a plurality of conventional cored floor slabs are arranged with their one ends supported on the upper ends of the invention wall slabs, and concrete slurry is poured into the interface between the wall slabs and the floor slabs to fill at least some of the vertical core passages in the wall slabs and at least portions of the horizontal core passages in the floor slabs to form a continuous reinforcing concrete frame within the wall and floor.

Abstract: A fire resistive and insulating bonded composite structure includes a binder made from a mixture of a weak acid and a powdered base metal oxide wherein the acid and metal fuse as a mixture under an exothermic reaction into the binder. A fibrous cellulose material is encapsulated within the binder and rendered non-flammable thereby. The subject invention further provides a method of making the bonded composite structure including the steps of mixing the weak acid and powdered base metal oxide, encapsulating the fibrous cellulose material within the binder and rendering the fibrous cellulose material non-flammable thereby, forming the slurry mixture into a predetermined form, and setting the formed mixture into a solid.

Abstract: A block used for forming reinforced concrete structures employs a number of thin-wall tubes supported in spaced parallel relationship to one another. The upper and lower ends of the tubes are supported by laterally extending sheet metal frames which leave the tube ends open. The upper frame has an upward opening channel shaped cross-section. A pair of wall panels which form the inner and outer wall surfaces of the completed structure sandwich the tubes and extend between the frames. The volume between the panels, exterior of the tubes, is filled with a lightweight thermal insulation. In the completed structure, the tubes are filled with reinforced concrete to form the columns for the structure and interconnected by horizontal reinforced concrete bond beams poured in the upper frame members.

Abstract: A lightweight, thermally insulated block form for reinforced concrete construction, having voids extending between the top and bottom for the reception of concrete, is formed with a sheath of a non-combustible porous material, and a core of foamed plastic. The concrete receiving voids in the core are lined with circular cardboard tubes. In the finished construction the organically based plastic foam is enclosed in the inorganic non-combustible sheath and the surface of the sheath is sufficiently non-resilient so that when properly coated to seal and protect the surface it may act as a finished building surface. The cardboard tubes contain the concrete slurry so as to isolate the low tensile strength, low modulus of elasticity block against forces which might crack or distort the block.The block is formed by joining four rectangular slabs of the sheath material at their ends to form an open-ended rectangular tube.