JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 26

MANUFACTURlNG sandwich

New sandwich skin helps panels to outperform
conventional counterparts by up to 71%

MARK LAVELLE
Global Sale Director
GRIP Metal

RIP Metal™ can be used either as a
bonding point for these materials
within larger structures, or as a mediating layer between different materials,
using its mechanical bonding properties
to overcome the challenge of bonding different materials together. For the moment,
GRIP Metal is available in four different
types of metal: steel, aluminium, copper
and brass.
How it works
The special-design hooks (Fig 1) allow a
simple sheet metal to be pressure bonded
or moulded into weaker substrates. The
impregnated hooks add depth to the shear
line, where normally the adhesive bond and
shear line would be at the mating surfaces.
GRIP Metal™ transfers the shear line deep
within the laminated material, forming an
integrated composite that shares all the
strength and mechanical properties of the
base metal within the integrated composite.
Cladding panel application
Exterior cladding panels are typically used
by the construction industry to provide the
external finish to a building, primarily on
walls and roofs. Often pre-fabricated in pan-

The Canadian company GRIP Metal Limited has developed a patented
stamping process - GRIP Metal™ - to modify a metal surface with
an array of micro-formed hooks that can physically adhere to other
materials without using traditional adhesives. This technology can
be used in many sandwich structure applications. According to its
creators, this solution outperforms conventional systems by up to
71% in the case of architectural cladding panels.

els, they are attached to the structural frame
of the building to serve as the visible external finish. While some cladding is designed
as a non-structural component, many applications require cladding to play a structural
role, transferring wind loads, impact loads
and self-weight back to the structural framework.
Enhanced solution
For applications where cladding is relied
upon to provide structural benefits, the
industry standard panel is made of a sandwich structure comprising two aluminium
facings with a high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) core. The panels are consolidated
utilizing a proprietary technology that relies
on chemicals, heat and pressure to bond
the layers together. These standard panels

Fig. 1: The variable
geometry of
GRIP Metal™ hooks

Fig. 2: Sandwich
structure made
of GRIP Metal™

jec composites magazine / No110 January-February 2017

can withstand an average maximum force
of 0.69 kN before their integrity is compromised. For demanding cases, the industry
requires cladding panels that can withstand
more forces before failing.
In response to this challenge, GRIP Metal™
tested the performance of panels constructed utilizing GRIP Metal™ processed aluminium to eliminate the need for adhesives
and to increase the strength and stiffness for
cladding applications.
Put to the test
In order to compare its solution to common
commercially available aluminium composite panels, Grip Metal™ chose a panel made
by one of the largest suppliers of architectural panels and constructed from a sandwich
composite consisting of two 0.5mm-thick

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017