Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Irreversibly reactive component
Statutory Invention Registration
2000-03-13
2003-05-06
Carone, Michael J. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Irreversibly reactive component
C052S309170
Statutory Invention Registration
active
H0002063
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a robust thermal barrier suitable for use as a structural member or as a coating. In particular, a first configuration may be a self-supporting or load-bearing wall of a structure, e.g., a room in a ship. A second configuration may be a surface coating for energy conservation or reducing the infrared (IR) signature of an object.
BACKGROUND
Today's navies are operating with reduced crews that are being asked to respond to emergencies with the same efficiency as the larger crews of the past. This impacts the ability to protect resources, especially given that some of the crew has been replaced with additional high explosive ordnance, increasing the volume susceptible to hostile action or catastrophic accidents. Additionally, new and retrofit shipbuilding is being scrutinized for implementation of cost saving initiatives, to include impact on life cycle costs. A solution that reduces operational risk as well as capital investment and maintenance expense is needed. In the recent past, pumice has been used as part of a technological solution to enhance the U.S. Navy's mission readiness by providing an effective barrier against sympathetic detonation of weapons stored in magazines and transport containers. The natural characteristics of a pumice-based barrier include both shock absorption and thermal insulation as discussed in more detail below. Of course, other materials, natural or man-made, with properties similar to pumice may be substituted.
Pumice used for construction often is mixed with Portland cement, water, and other additives to provide desirable attributes of weatherproofing, appearance, and water and wear resistance. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,260,
Method for Using Lightweight Concrete for Producing a Combination Therefrom and a Combination Produced Thereby,
issued to Groh, Jun. 2, 1998. A common use of lightweight materials, such as pumice, is for production of pre-formed panels or other structures. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,846 (panel with insulated core),
Construction for Building Panels and Other Building Components,
issued to Record, Aug. 15, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,705 (panel for fire protection),
Fire Protection Arrangement and Method for Positioning Same,
issued to Carlson, Feb. 4, 1986; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,824 (panel with some inherent insulative property),
Precast Concrete Modular Building Panel,
issued to Lopez, Apr. 7, 1981. Another use of lightweight materials is for smaller building components such as construction blocks. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,470,
Construction Element,
issued to Baumberger, Feb. 10, 1987 in which a block of lightweight materials, having cavities cast therein, has the cavities filled, in a second step, with insulating materials.
Applying commonly used construction materials in formulation of the material's mixture and the resultant structure assures local availability and an inherent confidence in the product since the builder is familiar with the performance of known materials. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,268,
Light
-
Weight Concrete Door,
issued to McWilliams, Jan. 19, 1999 in which a metal frame, wire mesh, hinges, and wooden molds, all common construction material, are combined with a concrete mix and a novel air entrainment admixture. . See U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,607,
Low
-
Cost Exterior Insulation Process and Structure,
issued to Vohra, Mar. 2, 1999, in which bags of insulating material that may contain pumice as part of the mix, are placed against existing exterior walls, connected to the wall, covered with stucco wire, and stuccoed for a finished surface.
Should one wish to particularly exploit a particular characteristic of material having the properties of pumice as used in a building material, one needs to carefully select a binder, and method of application of the binder, in order to optimize that characteristic. One such desirable characteristic of a pumice-like material is its resistance to conducting heat, in particular, high heat.
When exploiting a number of desirable characteristics of pumice, however, no one characteristic is likely to be optimized. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,884,
Water Retardant Insulation Composition Comprising Treated Low Density Granular Mineral Material and Finely Divided Limestone or Similar Carbonate or Silicate Mineral Particles and Method for Using Same,
issued to Dorius, Nov. 4, 1980. The '884 patent provides an insulative composition that is also a water retardant, a corrosion preventative, and capable of use in building a load-bearing wall. To accomplish all of these objectives, certain additional coatings are provided for the lightweight inorganic material. As well, the physical composition of the mixture is adjusted to accommodate each objective. No one objective is being optimized in the mixture.
Pumice has been used for the fabrication of refractory materials. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,914),
Pumice Containing Composition,
issued to Miceli, Jul. 20, 1993 (a mixture of crushed pumice, calcium aluminate, glass fibers and water for use in ovens, heaters, and other high-temperature applications). For this application, the precise makeup of the mixture must be followed to attain the refractory material, an important ingredient being calcium aluminate.
Pumice, in combination with a binder of cement, such as PORTLAND cement, and water, and other optional ingredients such as volcanic ash, scoria, vermiculite, mineral wool and even kerosene, was used to create an insulative thermal barrier. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,107,
Light Weight Thermal Insulation Material Product and Process,
issued to Knowles, Feb. 7, 1989. Again, the product resultant from the above process was intended to address a number of objectives such as water retardation, the “R-factor” of the product for use in residences, and structural strength. Further, pumice comprised less than twenty percent of the mixture so that objectives other that fire retardation could be addressed by the product.
Aggregates of inorganics have also been an ingredient in coatings that may be applied by spraying, brushing, rolling, troweling, or using generally accepted stuccoing methods. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,578,
Aggregate Containing Hydration Water in Spray Applied Fireproofing,
issued to Bemeburg et al, Sep. 17, 1996 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,160,
Sprayable Fireproofing Composition,
issued to Kindt et al, Jul. 23, 1991. The '578 patent describes a slurry for spraying on structural components, such as steel beams, to provide a flame-retardant surface. The slurry comprises a cementitious binder, such as PORTLAND cement and water, and a hard aggregate having hydration water, such as bauxite, together with optional additives, such as shredded polystyrene aggregate and starches, to aid application. The '160 patent describes a multi-element composition suitable for use as a sprayed-on coating. The composition includes a cementitious binder such as PORTLAND cement and water, a porous aggregate that could include pumice, a fibrous material, an air-entraining agent, and a rheopectic (a fluid mixture that, when subjected to a shear force, increases in viscosity) agent. Both the '578 patent and the '160 patent are directed to a solution of the problem of pumping the mixture over large distances, e.g., the upper floors of high-rise buildings and, as such, are addressing a number of competing objectives.
Optimizing the use of pumice-like material for construction may key on the attributes of strength, cost, appearance, and ease of application with little or no attention paid to thermal conduction. A carefully crafted mixture, optimized for performance as a thermal barrier, may not meet one or more of the above requirements for general construction. In fact, this “carefully crafted” mixture may have been considered and subsequently rejected because it did not meet the builder's more immediate objectives.
As noted above, pumice has been used as an ingredient in construction materials where a lightweight substitute for concrete or adobe has been called
Dixon George P.
Halsey Carl C.
Baugher Jr. Earl H.
Carone Michael J.
Foster Laura R.
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
Thomson M.
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