Cellularcrete wall system

Abstract

A cellularcrete wall system (CWS) having a metal track, an aligner, a plurality fo wall tubes, and a lintel beam. The metal track is fastened to a floor. The plurality of wall tubes is fastened, at the bottom, to the metal track and guided, at the top, by the aligner. Each wall tube has tongue-and-grove ends for fastening each wall tube to another wall tube. Some wall tubes are filled with concrete for supporting a load and connecting foundation to lintel beam. The lintel beam is made from two AAC fiber-mesh boards on both sides as part of the lintel beam. The two AAC fiber-mesh boards are secured to the aligner and braced with metal rod and collar at a top of the lintel beam. Concrete is poured between the fiber-mesh boards of the lintel beam.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to aerated concrete, and more particularly to low cost, reinforced autoclave aerated cellular concrete for use in building construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELEVANT ART

The application of autoclave aerated concrete (AAC) in building construction has been in existence in America for quite a while. Companies such as Ytong and Hebel, Flex-Crete and others listed in Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Products Association, www.aacpa.org. have extensive use of the product. The experience of Flex-Crete shown on their web site, www.flex-crete.com, under FEATURES stated Typical compressive strengths of Flex-Crete are 320 pounds per square inch (psi), more than adequate for supporting one and two story residential and commercial construction. It further stated Flexural strengths can be enhanced with the addition of polypropylene fibers. In addition, under SPECIFICATIONS stated Type. I AAC concrete with 320 (psi) at 30 pounds per cubic foot (pcf) density. The above mentioned fibers are normally small fiber chops mixed randomly with the concrete, which does not add much to the mechanical strengths of the structural component other than to increase the shrinkage and cracking strengths.

Building construction technology has improved in the past decades. Construction cost is one of the most important concerns in construction industry today. The cost of building materials increases rapidly, while the shortage of labor for field work is even more critical. Great efforts have been done by researchers and manufacturers to save on the cost of construction.

Walls are a major component of buildings. Some innovative methods such as solid precast concrete wall, insulating concrete forms wall, and AAC wall have been created to replace the traditional concrete block walls in recent years. The application of these methods so far has had limited success because of their high construction costs. In the case of solid concrete walls, the wall panels are normally prefabricated either in the factory or on the job site. The panel is too heavy to be handled manually, instead, a crane must be used to move and install it. Not only is the solid concrete wall panel cost more than concrete block, but the installation costs exceed that of concrete blocks. For the insulating concrete forms walls, it may have an increased insulation value, but the cost to install the forms and the pour concrete solid inside the forms are higher than concrete block wall. AAC walls use solid blocks for the wall system. Even though the product has superior properties on the weight, insulation, fire-proof, sound-proof and moisture absorption as compared to the traditional concrete block, the total costs for the former is still higher than the latter.

Labor cost increases everyday, but it is still difficult, in the foreseeable future, for the heavy machines to replace the labor force in building construction, especially for the housing construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A general object of the invention is to manufacture economical structural components which can save labor and material.

Another object of the invention is to use fiber mesh reinforced high strength AAC tube as wall components which can be installed easily.

An additional object of the invention is to use fiber mesh reinforced AAC lintel beam as wall components which can be manufactured economically.

An additional object is to use the concept of wall tubes to a floor system in multi-story buildings.

According to the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a cellularcrete wall system (CWS) is provided. The CWS includes a metal track, an aligner, a plurality of wall tubes, and a lintel beam. The metal track is fastened to a wall foundation or, equivalently, a floor.

The plurality. of wall tubes is fastened, at the bottom, to the metal track and guided, at the top, by the aligner. Each tube is made from AAC, which is reinforced with fiber mesh. Along the sides, or ends, each tube has tongue-and-grove ends for fastening to another tube. The tube is filled with regular concrete wherever necessary to connect foundation with lintel beam.

The lintel beam is made from two AAC fiber-mesh boards on both sides as part of the lintel beam. The two AAC fiber-mesh boards are secured to the aligner at the bottom and braced with metal rod and collar at a top of the lintel beam. Concrete is poured between the AAC fiber-mesh boards of the lintel beam.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part are obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention also may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIG. 1 shows wall elevation;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section B-B of a wall, showing steel bar fill concrete in a cell and a lintel beam;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section C-C of a tube and lintel beam;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section A-A of several tubes, illustrating tongue-and-groove placement;

FIG. 5 shows a cross-section D-D for the lintel beam;

FIG. 6 illustrates wall-base connection details;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section A-A of a typical tube;

FIG. 8 depicts aligner details;

FIG. 9 shows metal rod and collar details for a typical lintel beam, part of cross-section D-D; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a wall brace.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference now is made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views.

The technology for manufacturing AAC block has been well defined and adopted by the construction industry. The high strength concrete also has been widely used in bridges and high rise building structures. The low density AAC generally is not strong enough for use as load bearing walls.

This invention provides biaxial fiber mesh inside the AAC structural component to increase the mechanical strengths of the structure, as studied in THE ELASTIC STABILITY OF FIBERS IN COMPOSITE MATERIALS, January 1969, by Wen Y Chung, et al., for compressive load-bearing applications. This invention also uses high strength concrete to increase the strength of the AAC structural component. Because of the increased strengths, a wall is able to be built in hollow core tubes, denoted herein as wall tubes, rather than solid blocks in common practice today. The weight of the structural component is reduced for easy installation.

The material of fiber mesh inside the AAC structural component can be alkaline-resistant fiberglass, rust-proof coated steel fiber, nylon fiber or other suitable fibers. The sizes of the mesh in each direction can be determined by the strength requirements for any particular application. The fiber size along the load direction is determined by the magnitude of compressive load with the consideration of its stability due to the air bubbles in concrete and the fibers in the lateral direction to enhance its buckling strength. The shrinkage requirement also needs to be considered in a general design. The. fiber mesh can be a single layer or multi-layers.

Fiberglass mesh has been used in the outer faces of cement wallboards, which are primarily for the surface protection rather than for the load carrying purpose, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,486 to Gregg et al., BACKERBOARD SHEET INCLUDING AERATED CONCRETE CORE, which is incorporated herein by reference. Fiber reinforcement mentioned in Pat. No. 6,773,500 to Creamer, et al., August 2004, FIBER REINFORCED AERATED CONCRETE AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME, which is incorporated herein by reference, and others are chopped fibers randomly oriented in concrete to help shrinkage and crack fracture. They are not used for carrying the load. A new wall system was created in U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,710 to Terry, SOLID MONOLITHIC CONCRETE INSULATED SYSTEM, which is incorporated herein by reference, which is quite different from this invention.

In the exemplary arrangement shown in FIGS. 1-9, a CWS is depicted comprising a metal track 41, an aligner 42, a plurality of wall tubes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and a lintel beam 31. The metal track is fastened to a foundation. The foundation typically is a concrete floor.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5, the plurality of wall tubes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 is fastened to the metal track 41 and guided by the aligner 42. The straightness of the wall of the plurality of wall tubes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 is properly aligned by the aligner 42 on the top of the plurality of wall tubes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. The aligner 42 lays on the top of the plurality of wall tubes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and serves at least four purposes: 1). The aligner 42 provides the stiffness of the wall along the wall direction to ensure the straightness of the wall. 2) The aligner 42 covers the tube cells where no vertical steel reinforcement and poured concrete are required. 3) The aligner 42 adds to the strength of the lintel beam 31. 4) The aligner 42 guides the plurality of wall tubes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and lintel beam panels to a proper position prior to pouring concrete by means of diagonal bracing.

In the prior art, metal cavity cap or plastic screens are normally used to cover the cavity for regular concrete blocks, which does not add strength to the wall.

The present invention welds the strap guides on both sides of commercially available metal stud to form the aligner 42. The straps insert underneath to the wall-tube cells and extend above to the lintel beam panels to secure the integrity of wall tubes and lintel beams. The aligner 42 with guides fit into the wall-tube cells and sit on the wall tube webs with no fastener is needed. Once concrete 47 for the lintel beam 31 and tube cell 57 are poured, the aligner 42 becomes a part of the lintel beam 31.

Each wall tube includes autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) which is reinforced with fiber mesh. Each wall tube, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, has tongue-and-grove ends 61, 62 for fastening each wall tube to another wall tube.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, the lintel beam has two AAC fiber-mesh boards 81, 82 on both sides as part of the lintel beam. The two AAC fiber-mesh boards 81, 82 are screwed to the aligner 42 at the bottom and braced with metal rod 71 and a collar 72 at a top of the lintel beam 31.

A metal track, as shown in FIG. 6, is placed along the bottom of the wall on a finished concrete floor and leveled by cement grout underneath. The metal track also is fastened to the concrete floor by Tapcons, or equivalent, to ensure its accurate position and stability during construction. The-wall tubes are fastened to the metal track at the bottom and guided by the aligner on the top. The lintel beam boards are then attached to the guides of the aligner at the bottom and braced by metal rod and collar on the top. The wall tubes and lintel beam boards are braced diagonally to the concrete floor on one side only to an accurate plumb and stable position. For the quickness of construction of this system as compared to regular concrete block wall, it is not only each wall tube covers about five times the concrete block area, but the installation of each wall tube doesn't have to do like each concrete block which has to be adjusted individually for its proper alignment and plumb by the mortar for the joints. This wall system can be installed manually much faster than any other system in the market today.

The lintel beam for a regular, prior art, concrete block wall normally is built with either a formed and poured concrete beam or laying lintel beam blocks and pouring concrete inside the cells. For a regular concrete block wall, the lintel beam construction is time consuming and expensive.

The lintel beam, as shown in FIG. 2, uses two AAC fiber-mesh boards 81, 82 as forms on both sides as a part of the lintel beam. Regular concrete is poured between the fiber-mesh boards 81, 82 to form a lintel beam. The fiber-mesh boards can be manufactured economically by an extruding machine and the installation can be very fast. A regular house building, for example, may use a 1″ thick 16″×12′ fiber-mesh board, which weighs 47 pounds, The fiber-mesh board can be lifted by two people or by a simple lift machine. The fiber-mesh boards, in FIG. 8, are screwed to the aligner at the bottom and braced by metal rod with collar on the top. The metal rod is to take the hydraulic pressure from wet concrete and is positioned to support the top steel reinforcements. The bottom steel bars can be hung from the top bars. This is another advantage as compared to the concrete block lintel beam where the steel 5 reinforcements have nowhere to attach to. Therefore, steel bars at inaccurate locations resulted in lower strengths. Collar is to keep the fiber-mesh boards at a proper space when the metal rod is tied up. Washers on the outside faces of the fiber-mesh boards insure the better stress distribution to AAC boards under 10 hydraulic pressure when the concrete is poured. The collars stay in the lintel beam after the concrete is poured. The metal rods and washers can be removed for reuse once the concrete has cured.

The fiber mesh used for the fiber-mesh boards and the tubes may include any of alkaline-resistant fiberglass, rust-proof coated steel fiber, or nylon fiber. The fiber mesh may be single layer or multilayer mesh.

Vertical steel reinforcements are interconnected to the steel bars for wall foundation and the lintel beam.

The aligner provides stiffness of the plurality of wall tubes, and covers the tubes where no vertical steel reinforcement and poured concrete are required. The aligner adds strength to the lintel beam, and guides the plurality of wall tubes and lintel beam panels to a proper position prior to pouring concrete.

In FIG. 10, two stiffeners are placed vertically to cover the plurality of wall tubes guided by the aligner 42 and the two AAC fiber-mesh boards. An angle fastens to the foundation. A diagonal bracing is connected to the angle at the bottom and the two stiffeners on the top, for adjusting true plumb of the plurality of wall tubes by means of metal angle on the floor for an approximate position and screw adjustment at the middle for its exactness.

Adjacent tubes in the plurality of wall tubes are glued to each other.

It is understood that the higher the density of autoclave aerated cellular (AAC) concrete, the higher the mechanical strengths. The present invention uses 35 pcf AAC concrete, for example, with biaxial fiber mesh and high strength concrete, which provides substantially higher compressive and flexural strengths. The additional strengths enables the structural components to be able to be built in the form of a hollow core tube rather than a solid block. A multi-story building can also be built using this wall system. A conventional residential house with an eight feet wall height for example, with 16″ high lintel beam atop, the tube height is 6′-8″. An 8″×8″×(6′-8″) hollow core tube with 1″ thick faces and webs of the tube weighs 49 pounds which can be easily installed by a crew of two people plus one person to align the wall on the top. The tubes are interconnected, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, by tongue-and-groove to secure their tightness and for fast construction. The straightness of the wall is further ensured by the aligner on the top of the tubes. Glue is applied to the joints for additional strengths and water-proofing. AAC concrete lintel beam panels are placed on the top of wall tubes guided by the aligner and in conjunction with lateral bracing devices to secure the plumb of the wall system.

This invention offers a great impact on today's construction technology.

The wall tube can be manufactured by formed and poured method or by the method of extrusion for mass production. Tongue-and-groove ends are provided for fast and accurate connection to one another. The tube itself is light and can be installed easily. For example, a residential building of 8′ ceiling height with 16″ high lintel beam, the tube height is 6′8″. With a 1″ fiber mesh reinforced AAC tube weighs 49 pounds which can be moved around and installed by two people. In comparison with regular concrete block of 6″×8″×16″, weighs an average of 35 pounds picked up by one hand, which can get tired quickly, and a helper preparing the mortar, which has been in practice for hundreds of years without improvement. An AAC tube can cover almost five times of wall area by both hands, which is much easier to handle, with the same two persons. The cost of the tube is no more than that of the regular concrete block because the material expands almost five times in volume with the air bubble inside and its mass production by extruding method can cut the manufacturing cost. It is therefore this product is able to compete with regular concrete blocks. The thickness of the tube can range from 4″ to 24″ and the tube shell wall thickness can be from ¾″ to 4″ depending on the load requirements. The fiber size and the number of layer are also determined by the load condition. The integrity of the wall is secured by interconnecting the wall foundation to the lintel beam above the tube with vertical steel reinforcements and filling the tube cell with concrete according to the load requirements. The tongue-and groove for the tube is made in the shape so that the tube can fit to the tube wall for cutting the tube to any length, FIG. 7, wherever necessary. This wall system can be used for multi-story building construction. It should be noted that this wall system uses metal truck on the bottom of the tubes and aligner on the top is for the simplicity and economical manufacturing of the tubes.

The plumb and stability of the wall during construction is normally braced on both sides. Bracing the wall is time consuming to install and difficult to make accurate for positioning the wall. It is also difficult to place bracing outside for a multistory building.

The present invention braces the walls to the concrete floor on one side only. Two stiffeners are placed vertically to cover the wall tubes guided by the aligner and lintel beam boards on both sides of the wall and tied together. The wall is then braced diagonally to the concrete floor inside the building. A metal angle with pre-drilled holes is fastened to the floor. The bracing is fastened to the angle through an appropriate hole for an approximate position of the wall. The true plumb of the wall is accurately adjusted by the screws near the middle of the bracing.

The present invention includes a method for installing a CWA. The method comprises the steps of fastening a metal track to a foundation, and fastening a plurality of wall tubes to the metal track and guiding the plurality of wall tubes by an aligner. Each wall tube includes AAC reinforced with fiber mesh. Each wall tube has tongue-and-grove ends. The method includes the steps of fastening each wall tube to another wall tube in the plurality of wall tubes, and filling wall tubes with concrete for supporting a load and connecting the foundation at the bottom to the lintel beam on the top. As part of a lintel beam the method secures two AAC fiber-mesh boards at both sides of the lintel beam to the aligner, and braces the lintel beam with metal rod and collar at a top. The method includes the step of pouring concrete between the AAC fiber-mesh boards of the lintel beam.

The method may further include the step of fastening the plurality of wall tubes to the metal track with each wall tube including AAC concrete reinforced with any of alkaline-resistant fiberglass.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the CWS of the instant invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, and it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of the CWS provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cellularcrete wall system comprising:

a metal track fastened to a floor;

an aligner;

a plurality of wall tubes fastened to the metal track and guided by the aligner, each wall tube including AAC reinforced with fiber mesh, with each wall tube having tongue-and-grove ends for fastening each wall tube to another wall tube, with a multiplicity of wall tubes filed with concrete for supporting a load; and

a lintel beam having two AAC fiber-mesh boards on both sides of the lintel beam as part of the lintel beam and secured to the aligner at a bottom and braced with metal rod and collar at a top of the lintel beam, with concrete poured between the AAC fiber-mesh boards of the lintel beam.

2. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with the fiber mesh including any of alkaline-resistant fiberglass, rust-proof coated steel fiber, nylon fiber, or other fibers.

3. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with the fiber mesh including any of single layer or multilayer mesh.

4. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, further including vertical steel reinforcements for interconnecting the wall floor to the lintel beam.

5. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with the aligner for providing stiffness of the plurality of wall tubes, for covering the wall tubes where no vertical steel reinforcement and poured concrete are required, for adding strength to the lintel beam, and for guiding the plurality of wall tubes and lintel beam panels to a proper position prior to pouring concrete.

6. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with the aligner for guiding the plurality of wall tubes and lintel beam panels to a proper position prior to pouring concrete.

7. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with the aligner for adding strength to the lintel beam.

8. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, further including:

two stiffeners placed vertically to cover the plurality of wall tubes and the two AAC fiber-mesh boards;

an angle fastened to the floor; and

a brace diagonally connected to the angle on the floor and the two stiffeners, for adjusting true plumb of the plurality of wall tubes.

9. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with adjacent wall tubes in the plurality of wall tubes glued to each other.

10. A method for making a CWS, comprising the steps of:

fastening a metal track to a floor;

fastening a plurality of wall tubes to the metal track and guided by an aligner, each wall tube including AAC reinforced with fiber mesh, with each wall tube having tongue-and-grove ends;

fastening each wall tube to another wall tube in the plurality of wall tubes;

filling a plurality of wall tubes with concrete for supporting a load and connecting a foundation to a lintel beam;

securing, as part of the lintel beam bean, two AAC fiber-mesh boards on both sides of the lintel beam;

securing the two ACC fiber-mesh boards to the aligner at a botom;

bracing-with metal rod and collar at a top of the lintel beam; and

pouring concrete between the AAC fiber-mesh boards of the lintel beam and vertical tube cell wherever required.

11. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, with the step of fastening the plurality of wall tubes to the metal track including the step of fastening the plurality of wall tubes to the metal track with each wall tube including AAC concrete reinforced with fiber mesh, with the fiber mesh including any of alkaline-resistant fiberglass, rust-proof coated steel fiber, nylon fiber, or other fibers.

12. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, with the step of fastening the plurality of wall tubes to the metal track including the step of fastening the plurality of wall tubes to the metal track with each wall tube including AAC concrete reinforced with fiber mesh, with the fiber mesh including any of single layer or multilayer mesh.

13. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the step of interconnecting with vertical steel reinforcements the wall floor to the lintel beam.

14. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the steps of:

providing, with the aligner, stiffness of the plurality of wall tubes;

covering, with the aligner, the wall tubes where no vertical steel reinforcement and poured concrete are required;

adding, with the aligner, strength to the lintel beam; and

guiding, with the aligner, the plurality of wall tubes and lintel beam panels to a proper position prior to pouring concrete.

15. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the step of providing, with the aligner, stiffness of the plurality of wall tubes.

16. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the step of covering, with the aligner, the wall tubes where no vertical steel reinforcement and poured concrete are required.

17. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the step of adding, with the aligner, strength to the lintel beam.

18. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the step of guiding, with the aligner, the plurality of wall tubes and lintel beam panels to a proper position prior to pouring concrete.

19. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the steps of:

placing two stiffeners vertically to cover the plurality of wall tubes and the two AAC fiber-mesh boards;

fastening an angle to the floor;

connecting a brace diagonally to the angle and the two stiffeners; and

adjusting, with the brace, true plumb of the plurality of wall tubes.

20. The method for making a CWS, as set forth in claim 10, further including the step of gluing adjacent wall tubes in the plurality of wall tubes-to each other.

21. The CWS as set forth in claim 1, with the Cellularcrete uses normal or high strength concrete.

22. The cellularcrete wall system as set forth in claim 1, with the plurality of wall tubes having a thickness ranging from 4 inches to 24 inches, and with the cell thickness of the plurality of wall tubes ranging from ¾ inch to 4 inches.

23. The wall tubes and lintel boards for CWS as set forth in claim 1 can be manufactured by formed and poured or by the method of extrusion and cured at room temperature or autoclaved.