Is the exterior wall insulation material at your home up to standard?
Release Time:
2015-08-14
Source:
Is the exterior wall insulation material at your home up to standard?
Recently, the media exposed a newly built apartment in a certain new development. Exterior wall insulation material Plastic foam, a common insulation material, is highly flammable and poses numerous safety hazards, leading to a situation in which over a hundred homeowners jointly refused to accept their units. According to reports, exterior wall tiles began gaining popularity in the 1980s and 1990s and have since become the preferred choice for cladding many high-rise buildings. However, at times, these tiles and the accompanying exterior insulation materials have turned into hidden dangers hanging over the heads of residents in residential communities. Repeated exposure of housing quality issues has left homeowners not only indignant but also deeply concerned.
Following the “foam wall” incident, major domestic media outlets quickly turned their attention to the issue. According to regulations, the fire performance of external thermal insulation materials used in civil buildings must be no lower than Grade B2; materials rated B2 or higher are inherently difficult to ignite. Shortly after this incident came to light, exterior wall tiles on the east side of a certain plaza’s office tower began to fall off, posing a serious safety threat to pedestrians who pass through the underpass beneath the building each day. Residents living nearby have been walking past the site with trepidation every day, yet for two whole months after the incident occurred, no one seemed to take any action to address it.
According to statistics from relevant media outlets, reports of exterior-wall insulation and cladding tiles falling off occur every year. Incomplete data indicate that more than 50 such incidents were publicly reported just last year. Moreover, since January of this year, fire accidents have occurred frequently across various regions, with some experts attributing these incidents to substandard quality of building exterior-wall materials, particularly insulation materials. Therefore, the only way to fundamentally prevent such occurrences is to select qualified exterior-wall insulation materials.
Earlier, industry media compiled knowledge on exterior wall insulation materials. According to the report, the organic insulation materials most commonly used in Chinese buildings today are polystyrene and rigid polyurethane foam. Their main advantages are light weight and excellent thermal insulation and heat-shielding performance; however, their greatest drawback is poor fire safety. Consequently, the primary cause of fire safety concerns in external insulation systems lies in the inherent risk that these organic insulation materials pose—namely, their propensity to ignite and to accelerate fire spread. As for the phenomenon of exterior wall tiles falling off high-rise buildings, there are numerous potential causes, but the vast majority stem from a combination of uncertain factors, including building materials, construction techniques, and adverse weather conditions. It is understood that, in the interest of energy conservation, most construction projects employ external thermal insulation on the exterior walls. The primary insulation material is typically foam, which is then bonded to the wall surface using a cement-based adhesive before the exterior tiles are applied. As a result, the bond between the tiles and the wall is not permanent; over time, it degrades, and the typical “safe service life” of exterior wall tiles is about ten years. In addition, the quality of the materials used for tile installation and human error during construction can also affect the durability of the tiles. Furthermore, several other factors contribute to tile detachment: for instance, exterior tiles are generally relatively thick and heavy, making them more prone to falling off; moreover, during periods of extreme temperature fluctuations—such as frequent rainfall, sudden drops in temperature, or strong winds—the incidence of tile detachment tends to increase significantly.
The FS permanent composite external formwork cast-in-place concrete thermal insulation structural system uses cement-based, double-surface-layer composite insulation panels as the permanent external formwork; concrete is poured on the inner side, while a crack-resistant mortar protective layer is applied on the outer side. Connection components are used to securely bond the double-surface-layer composite insulation formwork to the concrete, thereby forming a thermal insulation structural system. This system is classified as a cast-in-place reinforced concrete composite thermal insulation structure and is suitable for exterior wall, column, beam, and other cast-in-place concrete structural elements in industrial and civil building frame structures and shear-wall structures. The permanent composite external formwork consists of an insulation panel, an insulation transition layer, bonding reinforcement layers on the inner and outer sides, and reinforcing ribs. The product features light weight, excellent thermal insulation performance, convenient construction, superior fire resistance, absence of safety hazards, and a service life equal to that of the building—among other outstanding characteristics.
