October 29, 2008

Innovation

Thermoplastic technology may replace plywood on worksites

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

A Quebec-based engineering group has developed a machine to manufacture a plastic sandwich panel that has several possible applications for the construction industry.

Thermoplastic is a plastic that will melt when heated at a hot enough temperature, but will become solid again when cooled.

Thermoplastic composites can be shaped or formed into shapes using heat and pressure.

Difficulties in the fabrication of the material has limited its use in the construction industry.

But that could change after A.S. Composite developed a machine in collaboration with the Canadian National Research Council.

It enables the mass production of large-scale thermoplastic composites. It can create a panel, which can be used for concrete formwork, bridge decks or housing.

The panels are used in exactly the same way as plywood.

“When normal plywood is used for concrete formwork it can be reused five or six times,” said Jacques Collet, who is responsible for business development with A.S. Composite.

“Our panels will last up to 200 times and there is no need for lubricant. It is also much more uniform, because no marks or veins show up on concrete.”

It is highly resistant to impact and can be mounted with the same tools that are used for plywood.

The company went from research to production of the panel in 2004 and its use took off in Quebec, said Collet.

The panels can also be used to replace traditional timber deck slabs used on short span bridges.

“Two prototypes were fabricated in 2005 and tested under static and dynamic load at the laboratory of the civil engineering department, University of Sherbrooke,” explained Collet.

“The test results were very encouraging and the slabs were able to resist a combined load representing a 70-ton truck.”

The company maintains that the deck slab is more durable than timber, has less weight per surface area, has excellent fatigue resistance, and is easier to install and replace.

Another application is a building system for structures that can be manufactured, shipped, and erected rapidly for temporary housing or permanent housing.

“We went to Louisiana after hurricane Katrina and were invited by people who wanted to build a quick housing project,” said Collet.

“The panels have been tested and approved for hurricanes.”

The prototype home surpassed the Southern Dade County Standards of 140 mile per hour (224 kilometre per hour) wind forces. They are also mold proof, water proof, vermin proof, termite proof, seismic, flood and hurricane resistant.

A prototype was built on blocks in four days, by a team of four people at the 2005 ThinkTec conference in Charleston, South Carolina.

As emergency housing, the structures can be erected on temporary foundations and outfitted with individual waste disposal, generators and bottled gas.

The buildings can be erected in isolated lots or grouped in parking lots or parks.

They can be retro-fitted with permanent foundations and hook-ups or disassembled and re-erected at a permanent location. It is also possible to store the buildings for future deployment.

The company fabricates and manufactures machines that makes the panels and has developed partnerships to export the machines to Iran and Iraq.

The machine was developed by the companies founder Hossein Borasghi as part of his PhD in mechanical engineering at Montreal University.

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