JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #101 - November/December 2015 - 25

graphene

Bio-based pultruded profiles including
graphene for building envelopes
In recent years, there has been a growing trend to replace traditional
brick and mortar construction materials by multilayer façades. These
comprise several layers that provide the insulation and protection
properties required in traditional façades.

By
Sergio Fita, CompoSiteS Department
inma roig, CompoSiteS Department
olivia meneS, materialS Department
aimplaS, plaStiCS teChnology Centre

Compared to traditional construction
materials used in the building industry,
multilayered façades offer several advantages. In addition to climate benefits,
they also provide many building envelope improvements that result in a variety of benefits for consumers, including
lower energy bills, as well as improved
thermal comfort, moisture control and
noise control. From the construction
point of view, the use of a modular panel
structure together with the fact that no
water is required for their assembly allows shorter installation times and easy
maintenance. Additionally, multilayered
façades are lighter than conventional
construction materials, facilitating their

materials such as fibres and bio-derived
polymers offer a sustainable alternative
to traditional polymers and composites.
Biocomposites offer several advantages
over conventional composites, including
low fibre density [4], the recyclability of
natural fibres, lower energy consumption
required for the production of natural
fibres [5] and resins based on renewable materials. Following this line of
work, the AIMPLAS plastics technology
centre in Valencia, Spain, has contributed since 2006 to the development of
biocomposites for different application
sectors, including the building industry. More specifically, new pultruded
bio-composite profiles were developed
as part of the OSIRYS project to replace
typical light gauge steel products. These

Fig. 1: Different types of structures used in the building envelope: conventional construction materials
(left), multilayered structure (right)

No101 November - December 2015 / jec

Feature Building & Construction

ultilayer façades are usually
designed to have a ventilated
façade on the exterior and an
interior part formed by plaster walls.
The inner part of the façade consists of
several panels that provide insulation, as
well as fire and water protection. Figure 1
provides an overview of both the conventional and multilayered structures used
in the building envelope.

transport to the construction site and
reducing fuel consumption. As a result,
CO2 emissions can be reduced significantly with subsequent benefits for the
environment.
An alternative composite answer in the
envelope sector is the fabrication by pultrusion of narrow interlocking panel sections and profiles. These impact-resistant
structural elements have the advantage
of quicker, safer installation, absence of
maintenance, and their modular design
equally answers many identical needs for
buildings and other applications [1].
An additional development in this area
can be to find a sustainable alternative
to current composite profiles. Previous
studies [2,3] have shown that biocomposites manufactured from natural

composites magazine 25

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #101 - November/December 2015