A method of erecting an insulating building system in a building structure

The present invention relates to a method of erecting an insulating building system in a building structure.

In WO 00/26483 a method and a profile for connecting building blocks is described resulting in a wall in a building system. According to this method, two construction blocks are joined along an edge face of each block abutting each other by a profile having a web and two flanges on each side with a perpendicularly extending flap at the distal ends of these two flanges. These flaps are inserted into a groove in the construction blocks whereby the blocks are held together.

This method is advantageous since prefabricated construction blocks may be provided off site and transported to the building site together with other materials and may be assembled on the building site. However, if the rectangular frame is subjected to a twisting force, the gripping flanges may slide out of the slits in the insulation making the entire building system unstable.

By the present invention it is realised that a building structure may be provided utilising this connecting method for both internal as well as external building structures.

Accordingly, there is provided a method of erecting an insulating building system in a building structure comprising top and/or bottom frame profiles joined by a plurality of joining profiles with insulation panels therebetween, said method comprising the steps of: providing a top frame profile and/or a bottom frame profile, alternately mounting; a joining profile having first and second flange portions which are mutually substantially parallel and spaced apart by a central body portion substantially perpendicular to said first and second flanges, and at least one insulation panel with first and second profile contact sides being provided with a longitudinal slit substantially parallel to the first main surface in a predetermined distance therefrom so that said first and second profile contact sides are provided with a profile abutment portion and a profile covering portion so that once mounted the abutment portion side makes contact with one side of the body portion of the joining profile as the first flange portion of the profile is received in the longitudinal slit of the panel, whereby the frame profile, the joining profile flanges and the longitudinal insulation panel slits are substantially parallel so that the mounting of joining profiles and insulation panels are carried out substantially in the plane of the building system.

The method of erecting an insulating building system may be used for a self-supporting system for an internal or external wall, floor, ceiling or roof in a building structure. In a vertically arranged building structure according to the invention, it is found that by

providing the preformed insulation panels between the joining profiles, the joining profiles are prevented from buckling due to the compression load, since the insulation panels are not only retained at the first set of opposite sides abutting the adjacent joining profiles but are also retained by frame profiles at the other peripheral sides. By a system according to the invention, the form stability in the insulation panel, such as mineral fibrous insulation material, is utilised to prevent displacement in the building structure.

By a system according to the invention, it is realized that a fast installation time on the building site may be achieved. Moreover, it is a cost-effective and simple solution with a high degree of flexibility, as the system according to the invention may be used for different building applications.

The insulation panels are preferably made of a mineral fibre wool material with a density between 30-150 kg/m ³ , preferably 50-125 kg/m ³ , most preferably 60-100 kg/m ³ . Mineral fibre wool, such as stone wool fibre panels, is advantageous since a non-combustible building system is thereby provided. However, it is realised that other materials could be used, such as polystyrene foam or the like.

By the present invention, it is found that the insulation panels may have a total thickness ranging from 75 mm to 500 mm. Hereby also modern insulation requirements for domestic housings can be met by a building system according to the invention. In one embodiment, each insulation panel consists of one insulation slab. However, the invention may in one embodiment be used with an arrangement of double or multiple layers of insulation slabs, e.g. each insulation panel may comprise two or more insulation slabs provided in a stacked and/or layered configuration, whereby the total thickness of the insulation panel becomes roughly the sum of the thicknesses of the provided insulation slabs, which is suitable in particular for large thicknesses of insulation. Further, for large thicknesses of insulation, the profile may comprise fixing means, like claws or clamps, that may be bent out from the body portion of the profile to secure the different insulation layers.

In one embodiment of the invention, the total thickness of the insulation panels is the same or larger than the height of the joining profiles. Further, in a second embodiment, the insulation panel is provided with a dual density structure so that the density of the insulation panel between the profile cover portions of the two contact sides is higher than the density of the insulation panel between the profile abutment portions of the two contact sides.

The insulation panel may have a compression elasticity modulus of at least 500 kPa, preferably when measured parallel to the width of said insulation panel, where the width of an insulation panel typically is roughly equal to the distance between joining profiles.

The compression elasticity modulus, E, is preferably calculated according to the European Standard EN 826: 1996, which concerns thermal insulating products for building applications. According to the standard, section 8.3, the compression elasticity modulus, E, is calculated in kPa using the formula E = sigma*(d0/Xe) with sigma = (10 ^λ 3)*(Fe/A0) where Fe is the force at the end of the conventional elastic zone (distinct straight portion of the force-displacement curve), in newtons; Xe is the displacement at Fe in millimetres; AO is the initial cross-sectional area of the specimen, in square millimetres, and dO is the initial thickness (as measured) of the specimen, in millimetres.

In one embodiment of the insulation panels, at least the profile abutment portions of the contact sides are provided with an adhesive layer for adhering to the profile. In one embodiment, the provided adhesive layer comprises gluing. Providing an adhesive layer may yield extra strength against shearing forces, may prevent bending of the insulation panels or the joining profiles, and may promote internal bracing and stability. Further, the insulation panels may be provided with slits in top and/or bottom side edges for receiving a flange of top and/or bottom frame profiles in the building structure for retention of the insulation panel therein.

In a second embodiment of the insulating building system, a plurality of insulation panels is provided between two adjacent joining profiles, said insulation panels having a width corresponding to the axial distance between said two adjacent joining profiles. Further, in another embodiment, at least one insulation panel is provided between two adjacent joining profiles, said insulation panel having a width corresponding to the axial distance between said two adjacent joining profiles and a length corresponding to the length of said joining profiles. In this embodiment, the axial distance is important, since the width of the profile cover portion should be equal or even slightly higher than the axial distance between the joining profiles to avoid joints.

Preferably, the side surfaces of the joining profiles and the corresponding contact surfaces on the insulation panels are shaped such that an insulation panel retaining is provided. In particular, the joining profiles are advantageously provided with retention profile members at both the first and second side of the partitioning assembly and preferably at least one of the retention profile members of the joining profiles is adapted for subsequent mounting. In a particular embodiment, the joining profiles are generally I- or H-shaped. I-and H-shaped profiles are similar when rotated, although in practice there is distinguished between both due to the proportions of the flanges in relation to the body.

By such suitable shape of the profile, the insulation panels are accommodated in the profile frame structure and prevented from being displaced, e.g. by a twist in the frame structure. By the invention it is realised that other suitable shapes may be used, such as C-shaped, H-shaped or Z-shaped profiles.

The joining profiles may be made of sheet metal, such as galvanised steel, preferably with a thickness of 0.8-2 mm. More preferably the sheet metal of the joining profiles may have a thickness of 0.5-2 mm and yet more preferably 0.7-1.5 mm, in particular 0.6 mm, 0.75 mm, 0.8 mm, 1 mm or 1.2 mm. The sheet metal may be bent or otherwise formed into the predetermined shape. Hereby the thermal conductivity of the joining profiles is kept low. The thermal conductivity may be further reduced by providing holes in the body portion of the profile, which is located between two insulation panels.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the joining profiles are made of wood. Hereby, the thermal conductivity is reduced due to the low thermal conductivity of the material. In another embodiment of the invention, the joining profiles are made of plastic, preferably a reinforced plastic material.

In a preferred embodiment, the joining profiles are parallelly mounted with a mutual distance ranging from 400 mm to 1800 mm, preferably 500-1500 mm, more preferably 900-1200 mm. Hereby, the thermal conductivity of the building structure is significantly reduced. It is found possible to provide this extra wide distance between column profiles in a wall structure (which is usually approx. 600 mm) since the insulation provides for a self-supporting wall structure. If extra load bearing strength is need, it is of course realised that joining profiles may be parallelly mounted with a mutual distance of 400 to 800 mm. This could be advantageous for instance in relation to floor or roof constructions. By the invention it is also realised that the usual smaller distance between the joining profiles, e.g. between 400-700 mm, more preferably 450-600 mm, could be retained and instead thinner joining profiles are provided thereby also reducing the thermal conductivity. This becomes advantageous since the thin joining profiles are supported by the insulation panels.

Preferably, a first cover structure is provided on the first side of the assembly, and a second cover structure on said second side thereof. In one embodiment, the first cover structure is a sheet cover, such as a plywood or gypsum sheet cover structure. In another embodiment, the second cover structure may be a climate shield cover, such as an insulated outer wall system. Hereby, a low energy solution having high thermal insulation properties is provided when using the system according to the invention for an external building structure.

The invention is further explained in the following under reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a partition wall according to prior art; Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a partition wall according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic horizontal cross section view of joining profiles with mounted insulation panels;

Fig. 4-5 are schematic cross section views of joining profiles;

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross section view of another embodiment of a joining profile;

Fig. 7-8 are schematic vertical cross section views of insulating building systems;

Fig. 9-10 are illustrations of bending with and without lateral support;

Fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus for producing an insulation panel, and Fig. 12 is a schematic cross sectional view of an edge detail of an insulation panel.

With reference to figures 1 and 2, the internal portioning structure 4 of an insulating building partitioning wall may be made by assembling a number of insulation panels 1 with joining profiles 2 and framing the assembled panels 1 in top and bottom frame profiles 3. The joining profiles 2 are provided with a distance d apart. In figure 1, this distance is approx. 600 mm whereas in fig. 2, the distance d may be 900 to 1200 mm. The frame profiles 3 are preferably U- or C-shaped profiles with a cavity for receiving the insulation therein. In one embodiment, the frame profiles comprise a U- or C-shaped bottom profile and a reverse U- or C-shaped top profile.

With reference to figure 3, joining profiles 2 are mounted with insulation panels 1. The insulation panels 1 have flex zones 5 by which tight panel-panel junctions are achieved next to the joining profiles 2. A tight panel-panel junction may reduce thermal bridging and acoustic bridging. Reduction of thermal bridging may reduce heat dissipation and may protect the profiles in case of fires or the like. In addition, a tight junction may support a stiffening external cladding or bracing. In the embodiment shown, the total thickness t of the insulation panels is larger than the height of the joining profiles.

With reference to figures 4-6, joining profiles with height h are shown in three embodiments. In one embodiment, see figure 4, the joining profile is bent in one piece from sheet metal. In another embodiment, see figure 5, the joining profiles are constructed from three elements of bended sheet metal, which are connected by welds 8.

The joining profiles have a central body portion 6 and first and second flange portions 7.

In a preferred embodiment, see figure 6, the joining profile comprises at least one stabilizing portion 9 extending from the flange portions 7, preferably substantially parallel

to the central body portion 6. Preferably, the profile is bent in one piece from sheet metal and the bended flange portions 7 are bent once more so that they comprise stabilizing portions 9 which extend partly beyond the common corner of the flange and body portion of the profiles. This specific design results in an extremely high resistance against vertical loads and enables utilization of a small thickness in the central/main part of the body portion 6. The provided bended joining profiles are distinguished from known steel profiles that are normally extrusion moulded and which may comprise flange thicknesses that are almost double as thick as the corresponding body portion.

With reference to figures 7 and 8, joining profiles 2 mounted with insulation panels, subjected to a top-down force represented in the figures by vertical arrows, are shown in a vertical cross section view. A building system having low wool density insulation panels 10 is shown in figure 7. Since the wool density is low, the joining profiles are susceptible to bending. In figure 8 is shown a building system having high wool density insulation panels 11. Because of the high wool density, stronger lateral forces support the joining profiles 2 such that the joining profiles 2 are less susceptible to bending.

With reference to figures 9 and 10, bending of a joining profile caused by a top-down force is shown in conceptual illustrations. The bending amplitude u2 of the joining profile in figure 10 is smaller than the bending amplitude ul of the joining profile in figure 9 because the joining profile in figure 10 is stabilized by lateral forces. In addition, the buckling length is smaller when a joining profile is stabilized by lateral forces.

With reference to figures 11 and 12, there are shown schematic views of an embodiment of an apparatus for producing insulation panels and an edge detail of an insulation panel produced by such an apparatus. The apparatus, see figure 11, has a planar work surface 12 and a guiding flange 13 for receiving an insulation panel, which is slideable on the surface 12 along the guiding flange 13. The apparatus is provided with a first cutting means 14, such as a rotating cutting blade or a circular saw, for providing a slit 15 in the side of the insulation panel, which slit may fit with a portion of a flange of a joining profile. Further, there is provided a second cutting means 16, such as a grinding tool for removing material 17 of from the insulation panel. For instance, insulation material may be removed from the abutment portion of the contact side of the insulation panel. Furthermore, there is provided a manipulation means 18, such as a compression roller or a knife drum, for compressing or extending a profile covering portion to provide a flex zone 5 in said portion. In one embodiment, the apparatus is adapted for modification of standard sized insulation panels in order to fabricate modified insulation panels having specific dimensions so that the modified insulation panels may fit into specific building structures. This may prove advantageous at the construction site whereto standard sized insulation panels are easily delivered.

Above, some embodiments currently considered advantageous are described. For instance, the invention is described with reference to a building system in a building structure, such as a vertical building system, for instance a wall or the like. However, it is realised that variants to these embodiments may be provided without departing from the inventive principles illustrated above. Further, by the invention it is realised that other advantageous embodiments may be provided without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims. For instance, any of the structures shown in the embodiments above may be used with different orientations, vertically, horizontally or inclined, and may also be used for either internal or external partitioning building structures in a building.