PARVATAREDDY, Harl (Tiziano Villas, House #3 Lane1,Xiuyan Road, Shanghai 5, 201315, CN)
RAVISANKER, Loganathan (Room 1402, Building#1Green Town, 99 Jin He Road, Shanghai 5, 201315, CN)
ZHANG, Liang (Room 2903, No.28 Lane59,Pingyang Road, Minghang District, Shanghai 2, 201102, CN)
PARVATAREDDY, Harl (Tiziano Villas, House #3 Lane1,Xiuyan Road, Shanghai 5, 201315, CN)
RAVISANKER, Loganathan (Room 1402, Building#1Green Town, 99 Jin He Road, Shanghai 5, 201315, CN)
| WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. An integrated panel article comprising: a. a polymeric foam insulating layer having a primary surface; b. a flexible waterproofing membrane having a density of less than 1500 kg/m3, selected from polyvinylchloride and thermoplastic polyolefin membranes, adhered to a primary surface of the polymeric foam; and c. a decorative paint coating layer on the flexible waterproofing membrane. 2. The article of Claim 1, further comprising a polyurethane adhesive adhering the flexible water proofing membrane to the polymeric foam core. 3. The article of Claim 1, wherein the flexible waterproofing membrane defines a textured pattern on the surface in contact with the decorative paint coating layer. 4. The article of Claim 3, wherein the textured pattern is selected from a group consisting of tile, stucco, natural stone and geometric shapes. 5. The article of Claim 1 , wherein the polymeric foam insulating layer is selected from extruded polystyrene foam, expanded polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, and phenolic foam. 6. The article of Claim , wherein the decorative paint coating layer comprises one or any combination of more than one component selected from a group consisting of fluorocarbon paints aciylic paints and primers, polyurethane paints and stone-like paint. 7. A method for making the article of Claim 1 , the method comprising: a. providing a polymeric foam core having a surface; b. providing a flexible waterproofing membrane having a density of less than 1300 kg/m3 that is selected from polyvinylchloride and thermoplastic polyolefin membranes; c. providing an adhesive and adhering the flexible waterproofing membrane to the surface of the polymeric foam core with the adhesive between the membrane and foam core; d. applying a decorative paint coating layer on the flexible membrane before or after step (c). 8. The process of Claim 7, further comprising corona treating, flame treating and/or physically coarsening a surface of the flexible waterproofing membrane prior to step (c) followed by adhering the treated surface of the membrane to the foam in step (c). 9. The process of Claim 7, wherein the adhesive is a polyurethane adhesive. 10. The process of Claim 7, wherein the flexible waterproofing membrane defines a textured pattern on the surface that contacts the decorative paint coating layer. |
AND THERMAL INSULATION LAYERS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a prefabricated panel article with a decorative layer on a waterproofing membrane that is adhesively bonded to a foam board and a method for preparing the article. Description of Related Art
Exterior thermal insulation finish systems (EIFS) are becoming popular in the building industry. Under conventional EIFS practice, EIFS construction occurs at a jobsite where fabrication is slow, climate dependent and quality is difficult to control and limited by the skill of workers. An integrated panel that could easily prefabricated in a quality controlled environment and delivered to a jobsite as a single article is desirable for exterior thermal insulation systems. Use of a prefabricated panel integrated with decorative aspects and thermally insulating properties tend to improve quality consistency for exterior thermal insulation systems and tend to improve quality consistency of structure since there is less variation in assembly between construction sites. Additionally, use of such a panel increases speed of on-site construction because many of the construction elements arrive pre- assembled. Such prefabricated panel products are currently available in numerous forms.
Chinese patent (CN) 2828201 Y offers an integrated panel structure system that is a three-layer structure comprising an extruded polystyrene foam insulation panel, a rigid board adhered to the foam panel and a coating layer over the calcium silicate board. The rigid board can be calcium silicate, fiber reinforced cement or rigid polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic. The coating is a spray-on mixture of powder stone and stone-like paint.
CN2937316Y offers a composite panel structure containing a polystyrene foam insulating board, a substrate layer such as weatherable plastic sheet, aluminum composite plate or metal plate adhered to the foam board, and a coating layer. The elements are rigid, making the assembly rigid. CN201024621 Y offers an integrated panel structure that comprises a decorative layer that is stone plate, metal plate or man-made plate. This structure is rigid and comprises heavy components.
CN2895599Y offers a panel with a foam core and a polyester-based decorative layer. Great Britain patent GB2305891 A offers a non-structural panel comprising two face plates sandwiching a lower density core material. The face plates have a density of 1750 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m 3 ) or more, causing the panel to be heavy and rigid.
These existing panels leave some technical issues yet to be solved. For example, cement fiber board suffers from wet expansion upon exposure to water while rigid organic and metallic facing layers suffer from difficulty in jobsite cutting and a mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients between facing layer and foam board resulting in different dimensional changes with temperature.
It is desirable to have an integrated panel that contains an insulating member, waterproofing member and decorative layer and that is light weight, high water resistance, high durability, similar thermal expansion coefficients and can easily be cut at a jobsite. It is also desirable for components to be flexible. Increased flexibility and lower weight both facilitate ease of handling the integrated panel. Flexible components also tend to adhere to one another more securely because they can conform to irregularities in the surfaces of one another, Flexible integrated panels are even more desirable because they are easier to cut and put into position than rigid integrated panels.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a solution to the desire for an integrated panel that contains an insulating member, waterproofing member and decorative layer and that is light weight, water resistant, durable, possesses similar thermal expansion coefficients between layer components and can easily be cut at a jobsite, as well as using a flexible waterproofing member to achieve the advantages of a flexible component. The present invention offers as advantages over known technology a flexible and lighter weight integrated panel article as well as a panel with high water resistance for optimal weather resistance in a construction environment.
In a first aspect, the present invention is an integrated panel article comprising; (a) a polymeric foam insulating layer having a primary surface; (b) a flexible waterproofing membrane having a density of less than 1500 kilograms per cubic meter, selected from polyvinylchloride and thermoplastic polyolefin membranes, adhered to a primar}' surface of the polymeric foam; and (c) a decorative paint coating layer on the flexible waterproofing membrane.
In a section aspect, the present invention is a method for making the article of the first aspect, the method comprising: (a) providing a polymeric foam core having a surface; (b) providing a flexible waterproofing membrane having a density of less than 1300 kilograms per cubic meter that is selected from polyvinylchloride and thermoplastic polyolefin membranes; (c) providing an adhesive and adhering the flexible waterproofing membrane to the surface of the polymeric foam core with the adhesive between the membrane and foam core; and (d) applying a decorative paint coating layer on the flexible membrane before or after step (c).
The process of the present invention is useful for preparing the integrated panel article of the present invention. The integrated panel article of the present invention is useful for constructing buildings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Test methods refer to the most recent test method as of the priority date of this document unless a date is indicated with the test method number. References to test methods contain both a reference to the testing society and the test method number. Test method organizations are referenced by one of the following abbreviations: ASTM refers to American Society for Testing and Materials; EN refers to European Norm; DIN refers to Deutches Institute fur Normung; and ISO refers to International Organization for Standards.
"And/or" means "and, or as an alternative".
The integrated panel of the present invention contains a polymeric foam board that serves as a thermally insulating layer. The polymeric foam is typically a board having a primary surface and a surface opposing the primary surface, a width dimension, a length dimension and a thickness dimension. Length has a magnitude equal to the dimension having the largest magnitude and for extruded foam typically lies in the extrusion direction of the foam. Width has a magnitude equal to or greater than the thickness and can be equal to the length. "Primary surface" corresponds to a surface having the greatest planar surface area of any surface of the foam or foam article. Planar surface area is the surface area of a projection of a surface onto a plane so as to avoid accounting for surface texture (for example, pits, peaks or waves in the surface) in the surface area magnitude. Generally, the length and width define the primary surface of a polymeric foam article. Thickness extends perpendicular to the primaiy surface and extends to an opposing surface, which may also be a primary surface, of the polymeric foam.
In the broadest scope of the present invention, the polymeric foam can be any type of polymeric foam. Typically, the polymeric foam is selected from a group consisting of extruded polystyrene foam, expanded polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, and phenolic foam. These foams are desirable for use in the present invention because they are durable thermally insulating foams common to building and construction applications. The insulating layer is an extruded thermoplastic polymer foam board in one particularly desirable embodiment. Extruded thermoplastic polymer foams are especially desirable thermally insulating materials because they are easy to manufacture, recyclable and generally are unitaiy foam structures consisting of a single piece of foam. Expanded polymeric bead foam, in contrast, consists of a plurality of individual polymeric foam beads adhered to one another. Each foam bead in the expanded polymeric bead foam has a polymer skin surrounding a plurality of cells and defining a bead. The skins of each bead adhere to one another to form the bulk foam. The resulting three-dimensional skin network throughout the expanded bead foam can serve as a thermal conduit through the foam. There are also often gaps between beads that can collect moisture and diminish the thermal insulating capability of the foam. Extruded thermoplastic foams do not suffer from these drawbacks of expanded polymeric bead foam.
The polymeric foam desirably has a density of 48 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m 3 ) or less in order to optimize thermal insulating properties of the foam and to keep the weight of the integrated panel low. Even more desirably, the polymeric foam has a density of 38 kg/m 3 or less, preferably 36 kg/m 3 or less and more preferably 34 kg/m 3 or less. Generally, the polymeric foam has a density of 18 kg/m 3 or more in order to be mechanically sound. Determine foam density according to EN 1602.
The integrated panel of the present invention further includes a flexible
waterproofing membrane adhered to a surface, typically a primary surface, of the polymeric foam of the thermally insulating layer. The flexible waterproofing membrane serves to provide a moisture barrier to the integrated panel and thereby inhibits moisture from penetrating through the integrated panel. A waterproofing membrane is "flexible" if it has an elongation at breaking point of 50% or more, preferably 100% or more, still more preferably 150% or more, and most preferably 200% or more. Determine elongation at breaking point according to ASTM D638-08.
The flexible waterproofing membrane has a thickness of one millimeter or more, preferably 1.2 millimeters or more and still more preferably 1.5 millimeters or more.
Generally, the waterproofing membrane has a thickness that is less than 3 millimeters, preferably 2 millimeters or less.
The flexible waterproofing membrane has a density that is less than 1500 kg/m 3 , preferably 1300 kg/m 3 or less. The low density and flexibility of the waterproofing membrane offers desirable features of flexibility and low density to the integrated panel that up to now have been absent from integrated systems for building and construction.
The flexible waterproofing membrane is selected from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and thermoplastic polyolefin membranes. The flexibility of the waterproofing membrane adds desirable flexibility to the entire integrated system,
Desirably, the flexible waterproofing membrane is adhered to the polymeric foam using a flexible adhesive. The adhesive desirably is a polyurethane adhesive.
In a desirable embodiment of the present invention the flexible membrane has a textured pattern (for example, a decorative pattern of some type) defined on its surface. The textured pattern comprises raised and/or recessed portions that provide visual interest to the surface of the membrane. Examples of desirable textured patterns include patterns resembling tile, stucco, natural stone and geometric shapes. The textured surface is desirably pronounced enough so that it appears through a decorative paint coating applied over the textured surface.
A decorative paint coating layer resides on the flexible waterproofing membrane, desirably so as to be visually apparent on a surface of the integrated panel of the present invention. Desirably, the decorative paint coating comprises, or even consists of one or any combination of more than one component selected from a group consisting of fluorocarbon paints, acrylic paints and primers, polyurethane paints and stone-like paints. In a preferred embodiment the decorative paint coating comprises, or even consists of a layer of acrylic primer in contact with the flexible membrane and fluorocarbon paint in contact with the acrylic primer. The integrated panel article of the present invention is advantageously lighter weight than current panels that typically have cement fiber board as as a facing layer. It is common to refer to the weight of the integrated panel article in terms of mass per square area of primary surface area. The weight, then, is a function of thickness. Integrated panel articles of the present invention typically have a weight of 8 kg/m 2 or less, preferably 6 kg/m 2 or less and most preferably a weight of 3 kg/m 2 or less while having a thickness of 10 centimeters. For thicknesses other than 10 centimeters weight will remain nearly proportional to thickness unless the total thickness is of the same order of magnitude of the waterproofing membrane, which has a higher density than the insulating member. For example, a 4 centimeter thick panel will typically have a weight of 4 kg/m " or less, preferably 3 kg/m or less. In contrast, a typical panel with cement fiber board as a facing layer has a weight of approximately 16-30 kg/m 2 at a thickness of 5 centimeters.
Prepare the integrated panel of the present invention by providing a polymeric foam having a surface as described above, providing a flexible waterproofing membrane as described above, providing an adhesive as described above, providing a decorative paint coating as described above, adhering the waterproofing membrane to the surface of the polymeric foam using the adhesive between the foam and membrane, and applying the decorative paint coating onto the flexible membrane before or after adhering the membrane to the foam.
It is desirable to corona treat a surface of the flexible waterproofing membrane prior to step (c) and then adhering the corona treated surface of the membrane to the foam in step (c). Corona treating the membrane surface tends to increase the strength of adhesion between the membrane and foam. Alternatively, or in addition to corona treatment, the surface of a membrane that becomes adhered to the foam can be flame treated, physically roughened or both prior to adhering to the foam in step (c).
Example
The following examples illustrate embodiments of the present invention.
Example J
Prepare an integrated panel article of the present invention using:
• a flexible P VC sheet (G410- 15L from Sika Sarnafil Inc., density approximately 1220 kg/m 3 ) as a waterproofing membrane; • an extruded polystyrene thermal insulating foam board (STYROFOAM® LB Brand foam board from The Dow Chemical Company, STYROFOAM is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company), the foam being 32 centimeters (cm) long, 32 cm wide, four cm thick and having a density of 30 kg/m 3 ;
• a two-component polyurethane adhesive (Bondmaster ® 3436G brand and Hardener 3131 brand components from Henkel China, Bondmaster is a trademark of National Starch and Chemical Investment Holding
Corporation); and
• a fluorocarbon paint (ZEFFLE 4F from Daikin Fluoro Coatings Co., Ltd.), a Daikin coating system that includes primer, mid coating and finish coating.
Mix the two components of the adhesive together at a mass ratio of 4: 1
(Bondmaster:Hardener) and apply to the 32 cm x32 cm surface of the foam board at a coating weight of approximately 300 grams per square meter. Place the flexible PVC sheet over the surface of the foam and in contact with the adhesive. Apply pressure to compress the flexible PVC sheet and foam board together until the adhesive is fully cured
(approximately seven hours). Apply a decorative coating to the exposed surface of the flexible membrane by first spraying on a primer and then spraying on over the primer fluorocarbon paint. The resulting structure is Example 1 , an integrated panel article of the present invention. Example 1 has a thickness of 4.15 centimeters and weight of
approximately three kg/m 2 .
Example 2
Prepare Example 2 just like Example 1 , except use an isocyanurate foam board (THERMAX™ brand core foam, THERMAX is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company) having a thickness of two centimeters and a density of 32 kg/m 3 as the thermally insulating layer. Example 2 has a thickness of 2.15 centimeters and weight of
approximately two kg/m .