Fiber-reinforced vinyl membranes for enhanced impact resistance

冰雹风暴影响了北美的许多地区，对建筑物的屋顶造成了严重的破坏。使屋面膜防冰雹将大大降低潜在的维修成本和降低保险费。在许多用于商业屋顶的材料中，乙烯基因其优越的性能和随着制造技术的进步而降低成本而获得动力。它们通常可以抵抗撕裂和穿刺损害，但不能承受强烈的冰雹冲击。我们正在开发一种新的复合材料，它将纤维融入乙烯基基体中，以增强其抗冲击性。在这个项目中，我们将优化这种材料的成分，以及如何预处理，以获得最佳性能。还将制定一项新的冲击测试协议，模拟现实的冰雹条件，包括不同的环境温度。拟议的工作将导致一种新的抗冰雹乙烯基屋面膜产品，在市场上没有直接竞争。它采用简单的单层结构，可以用大多数乙烯基制造商的现有设施进行生产，只需进行最小的调整。该产品的商业化将使安大略省乙烯基工业在一个相当大的新市场领域领先一步。收入的增加和业务的扩大也将为该行业带来更多的就业机会。

Hail storms impact many parts of North America, causing substantial damages to building roofs. Making roofing membranes hail-resistant will significantly reduce the potential repair cost and lower the insurance premium. Among many materials used for commercial roofing, vinyls are gaining momentum for their superior properties and lowering cost with advances in manufacturing technologies. They are generally resistant to tear and puncture damages but cannot withstand strong hail impact. We are developing a new composite material that incorporates fibers into the vinyl matrix to strengthen its impact resistance. In this project, we will optimize the ingredients of this material, as well as how they are pretreated, for best performance. A new protocol for impact test that simulates realistic hail conditions, including different environmental temperatures, will also be developed. The proposed work will lead to a new hail-resistant vinyl roofing membrane product with no direct competition on the market. It uses a simple single-ply structure and can be produced with existing facilities at most vinyl manufacturers with minimal adaption. Commercialization of the product will give the Ontarian vinyl industry a head start in a sizable new market area. Increased revenues and expanded businesses will also lead to more employment opportunities in this sector.