History of Baupanel® System

Obra de 442 viviendas en Tucumán, Argentina, 1980
Obra de 442 viviendas en Tucumán, Argentina, 1980

The construction system Baupanel® System has as direct ancestor a material called ferrocement, whose origin dates from 1848. Later, in 1957, the famous Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi , develop this idea by performing spectacular works with this material.

Previously, in 1925 expanded polystyrene was invented, but it was not until the late 1960s when its use as thermal insulating material began to be generalized.

In the next decade, the first individual experiences of incorporating expanded polystyrene into ferrocement in construction begin in several countries. And it is in the early 80s when the industrial development of the panels begins.

In 1983 we found the first mechanical resistance test, where the panel withstood a load of 30 Tons without suffering any damage (test conducted by M. Zolezzi at the Portland Cement Institute, Argentina).

Evolution of Baupanel® System

The new design of Baupanel® System, has a new shape, where from a new linear ripple that generates isosceles triangles, we achieve that all the longitudinal bars of the steel meshes keep the maximum separation to the surface of the expanded polystyrene core

In this way, the panel design itself ensures an optimum concrete coating around each of the longitudinal steel bars.

This new design leads to a panel with greater resistance compared to everything seen before.

TESTING RESULTS

Comprehension: maximum load 1,255 kN

Flexion: maximum flexor moment 76.29 kN / m

Maximum horizontal cyclic load: 225 kN at 3.38 m height, equivalent to a seismic acceleration of 1.1 to 1.2 g.

Advantages of the new panel

  • Symmetric reinforcement mesh. Use steel mesh with constant pitch.
  • Maximum use of steel. All the elements of the steel mesh are fully active, even those corresponding to the mesh overlaps.
  • Greater useful section. The edge of the composite section is increased with the same thickness of expanded polystyrene.
  • Better balance between materials. The homogeneity of the reinforced concrete composite section is increased.
  • Greater resistance. The value of the final flexor moment of the composite section is increased significantly to more than 55%.
  • Higher quality of the finished product. The precision of the welding of the connector is increased because the clips do not bite the polystyrene core to be more distanced from it. The tweezers bit parts of expanded polystyrene, leaving traces of organic material that hindered the quality of welding.