Structures
Insulated metal panels (IMPs) have been an essential building material for over 50 years. These multi-layered wall and roofing panels provide a barrier against the elements and improve energy efficiency while providing operational and installation cost savings versus conventional materials. Insulated composite panels (ICPs) offer even faster installation, reducing downtime and on-site labor duration, which reduces short and long-term financial setbacks. Some ICPs are offered in an aliphatic- based resin to satisfy halogen-free requirements. And the value of ICPs really shines in highly corrosive environments like food and beverage production buildings, mining, fertilizer, salt, pulp and paper processing, and more. What are ICPs? Insulated composite panels are a nonmetallic alternative to IMPs for use on walls or roofs. ICPs utilize fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) panels for the exterior and interior cladding. Like IMPs, they offer weather-tight structural strength and are prefabricated to allow for quicker installation than traditional framing, insulation, and cladding. They also sandwich their insulation between interior and exterior FRP panels. FRP is an engineered composite material made of reinforcement fibers, polymer resin (the matrix), and additives to create an extremely strong, durable material that meets desired performance specifications. Like Insulated Composite Panels for Challenging Environments By Blake Heger, VP, Marketing & Sales Operations, Enduro Composites, a part of Creative Composites Group
other composites and polymers, FRP is inherently corrosion resistant and tends to have a lower surface energy less prone to strong adhesion with foreign substances. It is also much less thermally conductive than metals. Because of its physical properties, FRP requires much less maintenance over its often-longer service life than metal and is orders of magnitude lighter than metals and thus easier and safer to transport, install, and maintain. ICPs Can Cut Downtime and Elevate Safety Composites offer some distinctive advantages over metals that translate to faster, safer, and fewer installations. The first is weight. Apples to apples, composite building materials are often lighter than their metal equivalents. On average, IMP panels are three feet wide and weigh nominally 75 pounds. Once lifted and on the move, the workers must take care not to strike anything at the building site with the IMPs’ sharp edges, including other workers and themselves. In addition, if scratched or nicked, the metal exterior or interior exterior can remove any coating applied to the exterior. This increases the likelihood of expedited deterioration. ICPs offer speed and safety. ICP panels are a standard four feet wide while nominally weighing 80 pounds. This results in 33 percent fewer panels with negligible weight difference per panel. This means that, whether installing the panels into a new building or retrofitting them into an existing one, the amount of time and bodies needed to move each single panel is reduced by approximately a third. The edges of FRP panels are also typically less sharp than metal plus the FRP
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csengineermag.com
October 2023
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