I-Corps: Layered Multi-functional Building Panel for Energy Efficient, Affordable Housing

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一个建筑面板施工平台，以创造节能和经济适用的住房解决方案。该平台使用自动化单步制造方法将不同的材料集成为新的功能材料。通过将多种基础材料和多种围护结构功能整合到一个新的建筑面板产品中，实现了显著的效率，创造了一个更快组装的建筑产品，大大降低了劳动力成本，同时优化了不同的材料属性。多功能平台可以满足广泛的建筑细分市场的需求，包括单户住宅，低层多户，最重要的是，不断增长的中高层市场。同样的平台也可以应用于建筑翻新部分，作为节能立面面板。自动化制造方法在本质上是工业化的，并且可以按比例快速生产大量材料。这个I-Corps项目是基于一种新型建筑面板施工平台的开发。该平台是一个多层多功能轻质结构建筑面板，由不同的材料在连续流动过程中制造而成。分层材料的范围可能包括但不限于木贴面板、木复合板、农业复合基板、木塑复合板、镁水泥板、石膏板、其他矿物骨纤维复合板、金属化薄膜、聚氨酯泡沫、生物基泡沫和其他功能层。该平台可以配置以解决各种气候负载条件。目标是使建筑材料满足现代围护结构的所有性能要求。这导致外墙、结构元素和内部元素通常在现场组装。各种各样的建筑材料往往使施工过程成本高昂、繁琐，而且效率低下。拟议的发展可能会改变目前的建设模式。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a building panel construction platform to create energy-efficient and affordable housing solutions. The platform integrates dissimilar materials into new functional materials using an automated single-step manufacturing method. By collapsing multiple base materials and multiple envelope functions into a new building panel product, significant efficiencies are realized, creating a building product that is faster to assemble, greatly reducing labor costs, while optimizing dissimilar material attributes. The multi-functional platform may meet the needs of a wide range of construction market segments, including single-family residential, low-rise multi-family, and most significantly, the growing mid-rise market. The same platform also may be applied in the building renovation segment as an energy-efficient façade panel. The automated manufacturing method is industrialized in nature and may be scaled to produce high volumes of materials at speed.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a novel building panel construction platform. The platform is a layered multi-functional, lightweight structural building panel manufactured from dissimilar materials in a continuous flow process. The range of layering materials may include — but is not limited to — sheets of wood veneer, wood composite panels, agricultural composite based panels, wood plastic composite panels, magnesium cement panels, gypsum panels, other mineral boned fiber composite panels, metalized films, polyurethane foams, biobased foams, and other functional layers. The platform may be configured to address a wide range of climatic load conditions. The goal is for the building material to meet all the performance requirements of a modern envelope. This results in the exterior facades, structural elements, and interior elements most often being assembled on-site. The array of building materials often makes the construction process costly, cumbersome, and laced with inefficiencies. The proposed development may alter the current construction paradigm.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.