Types of sandwich panels

Today, sandwich panels are called a whole generation of modern building materials that are intended for civil housing construction and in their structure embody the idea of ​​a sandwich. Sandwich panels allow very quickly and relatively cheaply to erect any house or economic building, as well as insulate the finished cottage. In this article we will consider what kinds of sandwich panels exist and how they differ from each other.

Sandwich panel based on OSB slab

Today, sandwich panels are called special building material, which consists of several interconnected layers: inner and outer facing, as well as a heater, located between them. As an outer and inner layer of a sandwich panel on the basis of OSB plates, an oriented chipboard is used. High strength for bending and compression plate and resistance to mechanical stress, as well as high moisture resistance determine the parameters and purpose of the finished sandwich. The resulting product, although it seems fragile, has a very high tensile strength.

Surprisingly, such sandwich panels can easily withstand 400 kg of horizontal load per m2, and vertical up to 3 tons per running meter. If we compare building materials by the criterion of durability and reliability, then such sandwich panels are inferior only to concrete and brick. They are characterized by a very high degree of fire safety used in capital construction. The erection of houses for permanent residence from sandwich panels based on the OSB plate is now a common thing.

A thermal insulation material acts as filling for a sandwich of oriented particle boards. Most often use expanded polystyrene, which is an organic thermal insulation material, which is produced by slabs. These plates do not absorb moisture at all and have excellent technical characteristics that allow to provide high thermal and sound insulation. It suffices to note that the coefficient of thermal conductivity of expanded polystyrene is 0.039 watt / m2 * kelvin.

The use of mineral wool along with expanded polystyrene in the production of sandwich panels has recently become widespread. The mineral wool has a slightly higher thermal conductivity, which is 0.041 watt / m2 * kelvin. But the main advantage of this material is its absolute incombustibility. The disadvantage of mineral wool boards is the fear of moisture. If it gets into the heater, it can completely lose its properties. Manufacture of sandwich panels from OSB plates is carried out by gluing components on special automatic lines or manually.

Manufacturers produce such sandwich panels in several standard sizes, corresponding to the size of the OSB plate. The width is 1.2 or 2.4 m, and the length is 2.4 - 7.3 m. The thickness of the products is from 10 to 30 cm and depends on the climatic conditions of the construction site and the purpose of the panels. The advantages of this material are also that in comparison with concrete and brick it is very light. For example, 1 m2 weighs only 18 kg. Thermal technical characteristics of walls made of sandwich panels with a thickness of 170 - 180 mm coincide with those of a brick wall having a thickness of one and a half meters. Use this material in very wide temperature ranges from -60 to +50 degrees. Connect sandwich panels of various shapes to each other by means of key fastening or self-tapping screws, which are up to 30 cm long.

Sandwich panels are generally used in the construction of buildings and structures using frame construction technology. Of these, walls are built with internal partitions and roofing. The application of plaster on the sandwich panel is easy. Other building finishing materials are also perfectly combined with sandwich panels, so internal and external surface finish does not cause any problems. Processing sandwich panels from the OSB plate is very simple. Change the shape of the panel can be using a conventional manual electric saw, which allows you to quickly and easily cut them according to the relevant building drawings.

The house, which is built from such panels, has absolutely equal angles and walls and it turns out comfortable for living and warm. Such material weighs very little, so you can build a house from it, attracting only a few people and not using special lifting construction equipment. The plus is that you do not need an expensive, buried foundation to install the house. This technology allows you to save money while building a house.

Sandwich panels from metal

In this type of material, metal sheets are used as outer layers. Most often it is a smooth or profiled galvanized sheet steel, which has a thickness of 1.5 mm and is covered with a decorative polymer coating. It is protected by a 10 micrometre primer layer. The profile on the metal sheet is wavy or trapezoidal. The height of the wave or grooves can be completely different, depending on the type of profile panel. Most often profiled sheeting with a small wave height is used for wall sandwich panels. Roofing materials are often characterized by high ribs. As a heater, mineral wool, polyurethane foam or expanded polystyrene is placed between two sheets of metal. Between each other, the layers are fastened with a two-component polyurethane adhesive.

Such heat-insulating material as polyurethane foam has the lowest coefficient of thermal conductivity from 0.02 to 0.04 W / m C, which depends on the density, and very good waterproofing properties. It has the form of a special foam, which solidifies upon drying and firmly adheres to the insulated surface. This property allows using the material in the production of sandwich panels. Firstly, the foamed polyurethane is foamed onto one sheet of metal, while it foams, swells and polymerizes, it is covered with a second sheet of corrugated board. Connect sandwich panels with metal layers to a monolithic, sturdy construction with a special lock that allows the panels to snugly close to each other and maintain their thermal characteristics.

Metal sandwich panels distinguish between open and closed type of fastening. The best is considered a hidden castle. Its design is such that the protruding part of the lining allows you to close not only the joint itself, but also the fastening elements of the panel. This prevents cold air and atmospheric moisture from penetrating between the joints of the panels, which eliminates the appearance of cold bridges. Panels with an open type of fastening are arranged more simply. Such fastening is a spike joint of the PAZ, differing only in the configuration and depth of the groove.

It is important to note that the connected places are one of the weak points of the construction, since moisture can penetrate through these joints and degrade the insulation qualities of the insulation. A lot of freeze / thaw cycles will sooner or later lead to the destruction not only of the inner insulation layer, but of the entire sandwich as a whole.

Note that metal sandwich panels are used for the erection of prefabricated or mobile buildings that are not intended for permanent residence. Fencing structures of a roof and a wall for them are erected precisely from such material. Sandwich panels made of metal are not used for capital construction, since such a house will not provide adequate comfort for a person in the process of living. However, this material can be successfully used for erection of economic buildings, temporary structures, as well as garages and various hangars.

Thus, a material called a sandwich panel is very convenient, durable and effective not only in private construction, but also in the construction of industrial buildings and structures.