Abstract:
A composite wall, ceiling or floor panel ( 10 ), system and method, including a sheet ( 14 ) having a first face ( 18 ) including at least one first mounting portion ( 16 ), and at least one formwork member ( 20 ) with at least one second mounting portion ( 30 ) arranged to engage with the first mounting portion of the sheet to retain the sheet and said at least one formwork member together. Structural support comes from piers (for a wall) or beams (ceiling or floor) formed in the spacing between adjacent formwork members. The formwork members act as the core of a wall, ceiling or floor panel. An external coating ( 123 ) is applied to the formwork members, such as spray shotcrete or render. Channels ( 28 ) formed by the formwork members defines integrated ducting for services to be run.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a composite wall or floor panel, a panel system and a method of construction of a panel and a wall utilising the same, such as for a building. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Walls for buildings are typically constructed using either concrete panels raised in situ, single leaves of block, double leaves of brick or block, timber frame with cladding, or a modular insulation panel system attached to a light steel frame. Single leaf block walls, and double leaf brick or block walls are constructed relatively slowly and are labour intensive to build. Timber frame and cladding walls are only suitable for certain types of building and locations, and, like modular insulation panel construction, is typically used for rapid construction, semi-permanent or temporary buildings, and are not designed for industrial or commercial uses. 
         [0003]    With economic demands to construct buildings as quickly and cost effectively as possible, tilt up wall panel systems have been developed. These allow sections of precast concrete to be formed, tilted upright and joined together to form a wall of a building. However, such concrete sections are either precast offsite and transported to the construction site for erection, which increases transportation costs and difficulty in handling/maneuvering large, extremely heavy concrete slabs into position with associated risk of injury to personnel and need for heavy lifting equipment, or alternatively, the concrete sections are cast onsite, which can be prone to bad weather delaying the sections drying or damaging the sections as they dry e.g. due to frost or rain. Such sections also need special lifting lugs and heavy lifting equipment to move them into position or tilt them upright. In either case, the solid concrete sections do not provide channels for utilities to pass through or along (vertically or horizontally) and provide little in the way of thermal insulation beyond the normal thermal characteristics of concrete. 
         [0004]    At least one alternative form of wall construction for a building involves cutting and assembling framing, placing insulation, fixing an interior lining, fixing or applying an exterior material, and finishing both the exterior and interior surfaces e.g. for painting. This is a relatively complex and involved form of construction requiring many personnel and/or several different types of tradesman to complete the wall. 
         [0005]    In addition to the above, existing insulated walling products for buildings may not include an interior lining i.e. a finished surface, nor do they allow for variable sized vertical structural columns to allow for different engineering requirements such as soil loading (foundations), multi-level/storey wind loading and earthquake safety. The vertical columns need to be made thicker and/or wider to accommodate more difficult or demanding ground loading situations, such as where the ground may suffer from instability and for extreme weather or earthquake protection purposes. 
         [0006]    With the aforementioned in mind, it is desirable of the present invention to alleviate one or more problems associated with the known art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    An aspect of the present invention provides a composite wall or floor panel including a sheet having a first face and a second face, the first face including at least one first mounting portion, the panel further including at least one formwork member having at least one second mounting portion arranged to engage with the first mounting portion of the sheet to retain the sheet and said at least one formwork member together. 
         [0008]    The sheet may include an insulation layer and a lining layer. The insulation layer may also provide the first face of the sheet. The lining layer may provide the second face of the sheet. Thus, the panel sheet may comprise lamination of insulation and lining layers. 
         [0009]    The formwork member may be elongate to extend along a substantial portion of the length or height of the sheet. Alternatively, the formwork member may be intermediate or short in length relative to the length/height of the sheet. 
         [0010]    Preferably the lining layer forms an interior lining layer with respect to a building for which the panel is being used for wall construction. This advantageously provides a finished interior lining, such as a board finish, for the building without needing an additional interior lining board being installed. The interior lining layer may be plain board or pre-finished board already coated with a finish and/or texture. 
         [0011]    The first and second mounting portions may include respective projections and recesses arranged such that the projections are received into the recesses. The recesses may be provided in the first face of the panel. Likewise, the projections may be provided on the formwork member. 
         [0012]    This projection and recess arrangement may include a mechanism to attach the formwork member to the sheet. This may be provided by a keyway arrangement whereby the projection(s) and recess(es) have an inter-cooperating keyway projection and keyway channel locking one to the other. 
         [0013]    The formwork member acting as a column section of the panel may have one or more legs projecting from a main body portion. One or more of said legs may include the projection/recess portion for the aforementioned formwork member. Thus, optionally, one or more of the legs may include the corresponding portion of the keyway arrangement of keyway projection and/or channel. 
         [0014]    Preferably the body portion of the formwork member includes an exterior surface profile configured to receive and assist retention of a coating. The coating may be a sprayed concrete coating, such as a shotcrete coating, a render or other applied coating, preferably of a cement based material. The profile may include an angular pattern, have undulations, such as peaks and troughs, or have a textured surface, or combinations thereof. Whilst embodiments of the present invention eliminates the need for a mesh covering as part of the applied sprayed concrete coating (preferably having reinforced fibres mixed in), a mesh covering may optionally be provided before the coating is applied if the technical specification required the use of a mesh. 
         [0015]    According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the composite wall or floor panel may combine the insulation layer with a moisture barrier. For example, the insulation layer may inherently have moisture barrier properties or may provide a further layer to the insulation layer. The panel sheet may be a multi-layer laminate of a combination of insulation and moisture barrier layers. The lining layer may be bonded to the panel sheet. 
         [0016]    The at least one formwork member may include at least one core channel running along a longitudinal direction of the formwork member(s). Such core channel(s) may advantageously provide one or more voids, such as for service conduits. The void/space between adjacent said formwork members forms variable spacing for vertical concrete columns to create a reinforced (structural) wall after the application of an exterior layer of a hard setting coating such as sprayed concrete or ‘shotcrete’. Such an exterior concrete coating is ready for finishing, as is the interior lining. 
         [0017]    The void/spaces between the limbs of a specific formwork member may provide for utilities/services to be run between the members, such as water pipes, electric cables, telecommunication cables etc. 
         [0018]    One or more embodiments of the present invention avoids the need for a “tilt-up” concrete wall section which requires multiple panel sizes and types of wall panel and/or multiple joints requiring sealing/waterproofing to create a complete wall. A wall can be created with relatively lightweight panel sheets and formwork members connected together, with the required number and size of formwork members and reinforcing dictated by structural specifications, and then coated with concrete to form the finish structural wall. In the case of a floor panel, the floor panel may be pre-formed by putting together the sheet and formwork member(s) and then coating with concrete before placing in situ as a floor panel, or the sheet and the formwork member(s) may be put together and placed in situ as a floor panel and subsequently coated. This latter option may include the floor panel and wall panels being coated in one operation, which can add to the overall strength and also the ease of construction of a building. 
         [0019]    A wall may be created by erecting two sets of wall panels with a required or specified space or gap between the formwork sections, creating a void/space into which concrete can be poured/placed to create a reinforced concrete wall which has a lining layer on each side. 
         [0020]    The wall/floor panel according to one or more embodiments of the present invention may provide a composite insulated concrete coated wall/floor panel with one or more integral voids for services and utilities. Cabling and pipe work can be run through the void(s) and the concrete coating applied to make the wall panel structurally sound. 
         [0021]    Composite insulated concrete wall/floor created according to one or more embodiments of the present invention can simplify the construction of walls and floors for buildings by:
       eliminating skilled tasks (i.e. reducing the need for carpentry or plastering/rendering)   allowing for less skilled labour utility (rural, youth, indigenous)   producing more uniform end product   taking considerably less time for construction than traditional build systems   allowing for site specific structural requirements to be met by variable core sizes—the panels can be assembled or modified on site prior to coating with concrete   integrating the thermal insulation, vapour barrier and interior lining   variable sized core sections that fit into a uniform set of pre-cut recesses (slots) in the panel sheet to create the spaces for reinforced vertical columns, and to create internal voids for services and utilities (i.e. creates conduits for cabling and pipes without the need for separate chiseling or grinding work to ‘chase out’ a channel in a wall)   variable sized horizontal cut-outs to create reinforced beams and sills   panels have application as vertical forms for walls and as horizontal forms for suspended flooring   lining board fixed to the insulation sheet in factory production process   ferrous (e.g. steel) or non-ferrous locking plate to align panels and seal conduit voids (from shotcrete)   extrude a (narrow) EPS panel consisting of the sheet and the core, two of which would then be set side by side and bonded to a lining board to create a full width panel   reversing the wall/floor panel to have the shotcrete applied as an interior surface (thermal mass) and the laminated lining board becoming the exterior surface is envisaged.       
 
         [0035]    The formwork member provides the underlying shape for the concrete coating to take once applied. Thus, the formwork member dictates the form of concrete columns or piers in the erected and concrete coated panel. The formwork member may also provide stiffening to the panel sheet prior to coating with concrete. It will be appreciated that recesses or channels may be provided in or through the formwork member which create voids or spaces adjacent the panel sheet for running utilities therethrough, such as pipe work, electric cables, telecommunications cables etc. 
         [0036]    A further aspect of the present invention provides a method of constructing a structural composite wall or floor, the method including connecting formwork members to a first face of a panel sheet, erecting and supporting the panel sheet and connected formwork members, and spraying the panel sheet and formwork members with concrete, and allowing the concrete to harden. 
         [0037]    The formwork members may act to stiffen the panel sheet, and may be structural or the panel may rely on the concrete to harden to provide structural integrity. 
         [0038]    The formwork members may have projections inserted into respective channels in the first face of the panel. 
         [0039]    A wall or floor of composite panels may be constructed by connecting adjacent erected panels with a locking member spanning adjoining panels. The locking member may be of ferrous or non-ferrous material, such as steel, aluminium, a metal alloy or a plastics material, or combinations thereof. 
         [0040]    One or more reinforcing bars may be placed in at least one space/void formed between two formwork members. 
         [0041]    A floor panel may be constructed by placing the panel horizontally to create a reinforced floor slab using voids/spaces formed between the formwork members to form a vault structure onto which concrete is poured and leveled. 
         [0042]    When the panel is used as formwork to create a suspended floor, that panel becomes the lining of the ceiling of the room below (not the floor), just as in the case of a wall it becomes the wall lining. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0043]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show a section through a wall/floor panel with the panel sheet and formwork member (e.g. column section) connected together according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0044]      FIG. 3  shows a wall/floor panel according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0045]      FIG. 4  shows a number of connected panels according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0046]      FIG. 5  shows a section through a panel where a window or door opening is to be formed, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0047]      FIGS. 6 a  and 6 b    show sectional views of an alternative form of creating openings in a wall under construction, such as window and door openings, using panels and a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0048]      FIG. 7  shows a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention with formwork members defining gaps to create concrete piers, and a separate coating applied. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0049]    One or more embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0050]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show sections through a panel  10 . An interior lining board  12  is bonded, such as by gluing, to a 50 mm thick sheet  14  of insulation material (such as EPS) in a manufacturing facility. The sheet  14  has a uniform series of receiving recesses  16  (such as formwork slots or channels) pre-cut into the first face  18  (forming the exterior face in this embodiment) to receive two core sections  20 , 22  or  24 , 26 . Embodiments of the present invention may utilise one or more core sections. The required number will vary with the technical specification for a wall or wall panel arrangement. For example, one core section may be used, which may have multiple “legs”  30 , or alternatively several narrower core channels may be used having fewer legs. A range of channels  28  in the core sections formed by legs  30  of the core sections allowing the body portion  32  to stand away from the first face  18  of the panel  10  to create “voids” i.e. the channels  28  for services and utilities. These voids also reduce the overall amount of material needed to form the wall panel with minimal or no reduction, if any, in overall strength once coated with concrete. Horizontal channels can be ‘pre-cut’ or pre-formed in the formwork member (core) sections to form (reinforced concrete) head, sill and/or bond beams. The core section may provide no final strength to the concreted panel as the core creates the shape of the concrete which provides the structural element i.e. the panel provides the “formwork” for the concrete wall. 
         [0051]    Legs  16  of the formwork members may include means for retaining the formwork member to the sheet. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a ‘keyway’ arrangement is used. This includes a cooperating projection and channel arrangement, with a leg  16  incorporating a projection  34  and recess  36  each inter-engaging with a respective recess  38  and projection  40  in the sheet face  18 . The formwork members are inserted e.g. by sliding, into the channels  16  and the inter-engaging projections and recesses act as a locking ‘keyway’ to prevent the formwork members from coming back out. Friction between the materials of the sheet and the formwork members (cores) aids retaining these components together. 
         [0052]    Overall width W of the formwork column members  20 , 22 , 24 , 26  can be varied to suit particular applications. Likewise, their thickness T can be varied to suit as desired application. Thus, overall strength of the wall/floor panels, particularly when the concrete coating is dried, can be varied to suit structural loading specifications. 
         [0053]    The exterior surface of the formwork column members  20 , 22 , 24 , 26  can have a profile or shape to increase surface area in order to improve initial concrete adhesion when spraying the concrete onto the panels. Angular profile sections of peaks  42  and troughs  44 , or undulations, or a textured surface, or other shapes may be utilised. 
         [0054]    Preferably the lining layer  12  may be a finishing layer of cement based board or plasterboard. The cement based board may be a 2.0-10.0 mm thick sheet, preferably between 4.5 and 6.0 mm, and the plasterboard may be 8.0 mm-12 mm thick, preferably around 10 mm thick sheet. 
         [0055]    An alternative form of the panel  60  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The panel  60  has a sheet material  62  providing a substrate to which is attached a formwork column member  64  (all shown in cross section). Other features are as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . However, the ‘keyway’ arrangement has chamfered faces  66  and  68 . The sheet  62  has chamfered faces  66  in the channels  70 . The formwork column member has chamfered faces  68  on the projections  72  projecting into those channels. It will be appreciated that the projections  72  and the recesses or channels  70  could be reversed such that the formwork column members  64  have the recesses or channels and the sheet has the projections. The projections are preferably slid into the channels. The substrate can be a single material or can be a combination or lamination of materials, such as an insulation material/moisture barrier material with a layer of a finishing material, such as in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Preferably the overall width of the panel W p  is a standard trade size, such as 1200 mm or a multiple or fraction thereof, such as 600 mm, 900 mm, 1200 mm, 1500 mm, 2400 mm or 3000 mm etc. The formwork member may preferably be formed of or include expanded polystyrene (EPS) or any material that retains its form as the member. For example, plastic, plant fibre, recycled plastic or rubber waste, metal, plastic coated timber or combinations thereof. 
         [0056]    Construction of the panel(s) and use for constructing a building wall will hereinafter be described. The formwork member core sections  20 , 22 , 24 , 26  slide into the pre-cut slots  16  in the first face of the panel, with the completed panels then placed upright on the perimeter of the concrete floor slab/foundation (not shown). A metal locking member, such as a steel or non-ferrous locking plate (not shown) spans adjoining wall panels  10  for alignment. Once the wall panels  10  have been erected, reinforcing bars are placed between the core sections  20 , 22 , 24 , 26  in accordance with the site engineering specification. Horizontal beams can be formed by the pre-cut channels in the core, with head and sill beams framing window and door openings, and a continuous bond beam or beams formed at the top and/or at a specified height in the wall panels. Shotcrete (sprayed concrete) is applied to the exterior of the panels in a continuous process, thereby forming the vertical columns, the horizontal beams and the exterior finished surface creating a reinforced concrete structure. 
         [0057]    The composite panel (lined flat sheet plus sized cores) may be placed horizontally to create a reinforced floor slab using the voids between cores and the pre-cut slots (transverse) to form a “honeycomb” or “vault” structure onto which reinforcing is placed and concrete is poured and leveled. This floor slab can then support another set of wall panels to create an extra storey/level. 
         [0058]      FIG. 4  shows a series of panels  100 A-D of the present invention. 
         [0059]    Adjacent ones of the panels  100 A-D are connected together by respective locking members  102 A-C. Each locking member can be metallic, such as a formed steel, non-ferrous, alloy or plastics fastener shaped or arranged, with or without other components, to connect into the adjacent panel sheets and/or into the formwork members attached to those sheets and thereby hold the panel sheets together until the concrete has been applied and sufficiently set to give structural rigidity and strength. Put simply, the locking members serve the purpose of holding adjacent panels together until the concrete has sufficiently set. Formwork members  104 A-H, the same as or similar to the formwork members shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , are engaged in respective channels  106 A . . . n of the panels as previously described. These engaged formwork members provide stability and some rigidity to the respective panel until the panel is coated with concrete and the concrete is sufficiently set. Thereafter, the concrete provides structural strength to specification for the wall. 
         [0060]    Door openings  111  and window openings  112  can either be formed in the panels after the formwork members are applied but before the concrete is applied (i.e. the openings may be cut through the panel sheet) or, alternatively, the formwork members are applied in shorter sections to suit the specific panel after the openings have been cut in the panel sheet. Door and window openings may be formed on site (i.e. in situ when the panels are erected) or offsite, (such as at a factory producing the blank panel sheet). 
         [0061]    Openings at the top of the formwork(s) at the base of the window opening(s) may be provided with a further locking member  114  that may also block those openings to prevent concrete entering the voids below. This further locking member  114  also connects together adjacent formworks  104 B, 104 C to add strength where the window opening is created. This further locking member may be the same as one of the locking members  102 A . . . n. 
         [0062]    A corner or junction locking member may be provided to connect panels at that are not directly in a straight line. For example, at a corner, which may be 90 degrees, 45 degrees or other angle, or the panels may be joined to form a generally curved wall approximated by multiple flat panels, or the panels may be pre-curved and connected by curved locking members prior to spraying with concrete. 
         [0063]    In use, the required number of panels  100 A . . . n are connected together with locking members  102 A,B,C . . . etc, as required. 
         [0064]    The formwork members provide initial rigidity to the panel but also provide an underlying former such that when the concrete is applied and sets, the concrete forms piers providing structural rigidity and strength to meet a required specification. 
         [0065]    It will be appreciated that both faces of the wall may include the formwork member(s) engaged in respective channels on each face of the panel. The formworks may be directly opposite one another or may be staggered. The finished face of each panel may be faced outwards such that the formwork member mounted face of each panel are towards one another. Thus, a cavity is formed between the first faces of each panel having the respective formwork members mounted thereto. Concrete is applied to the cavity to form a solid structure providing sound and thermal insulation, such as for an internal wall between buildings or rooms. Services, such as utilities can be run through the voids formed by the formwork members connected to the respective panel sheet. 
         [0066]    In  FIG. 5  there is shown a section through a panel under construction. A window opening or doorway is to be formed in the panel. A subsidiary panel  120 , such as a 50 mm thick EPS sheet, is overlaid on selected ones of the formwork members  122 A-D. In this example, the subsidiary panel  120  is applied to the central two formwork members  122 B and  122 C. However, the subsidiary panel, or further subsidiary panel(s), may span further/other formwork members. 
         [0067]    Alternatively, the subsidiary panel may be integral with the formwork member(s) e.g. one piece of EPS foam that, optionally has no internal voids, but retains the projections for inter-engaging with the channels/slots in the panel sheet. Looking at the drawing  FIG. 5 , this would entail the subsidiary panel  120 , and formwork panels  122 B and  122 C being manufactured or formed as one piece or being single thicker pieces having the same thickness of the subsidiary panel and formwork panel, as shown in  FIGS. 6 a  and 6 b   . Such a one-piece component may simplify constructing the panel prior to coating with concrete and avoid potential positioning errors in placing a separate subsidiary panel over separate formwork member(s). 
         [0068]    When the concrete coating  123  is applied to the first face  124 , the subsidiary panel  120  prevents concrete from coating the covered formwork members, but also provides an edge to coat up to, thereby giving a straight edge and clean window/door reveal  126 . The, subsidiary panel, the overlaid formwork members, and the section of panel sheet(s)  127 , 128  between the formed reveal(s)  126  may be cut away once the concrete has sufficiently set to create the opening. The panel sheets may include a finishing layer  129  on an outer face of each panel, and an inner facing sheet of material  130 , such as EPS, to which the formwork members are attached via an interlocking arrangement as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         [0069]    Each formwork member may be an elongate member (e.g.  104 A,  104 D,  104 H) or may be a relatively short member compared to its width (e.g.  110 A,  110 B,  110 C . . . ), or may be an intermediate length member (e.g.  104 B,  104 C), or may be formed of multiple shorter member sections connected to form an elongate formwork member. These sections may be bonded together, such as by an adhesive, or may be mechanically joined by one or more connectors or fasteners. 
         [0070]      FIGS. 6 a  and 6 b    show a sectional view of two stages of an alternative form of the invention for creating a window or door opening compared to that shown in  FIG. 5 . Essentially, the formwork members  122 B, 122 C and the subsidiary panel  120  of  FIG. 5  are combined into one or more thick formwork members  132 A, 132 B, 132 C. It will be appreciated that a single formwork member  132  of suitable dimensions to define the required opening measurements (width and height) could be used. As previously described, the formwork panel(s) ‘keys’ into the inner facing material or other facing sheet or coating, and a final finishing layer  129  may be applied.  FIG. 6 a    shows three formwork members keyed into the inner first face  124  of the inner facing material. These formwork members are 150 mm thick (compares with 100 mm thickness of the formwork members  122 A-D). The additional thickness helps to support the edges of a coating when applied to the formwork members  122   a , 122 D adjacent to the opening to be formed, and makes the door or window reveal the same thickness as the adjacent formwork members plus their coating. These thicker formwork members can thereafter be readily removed with the unneeded out facing over the window or door section to form the opening.  FIG. 6 b    shows a concrete coating (such as shotcrete) covering the formwork members  122 A and  122 D and forming the 150 mm reveal  136  of the window opening. The thicker formwork members  132 A, 132 B and  132 C have been removed along with the unneeded facing section  134 . Window frame members  138  are shown against the reveal  136  to finish the opening. 
         [0071]    In  FIG. 7 , formwork members  122 A-D are keyed into a first face  124  of a facing material, such as by a tongue and groove arrangement previously described. The formwork members are laterally spaced relative to one another and thereby define gaps,  140 A, 140   b ,  140 C and so on. Those gaps provide spaces to form supporting piers  142 , such as by using concrete.  FIG. 7  makes clear that the coating material  144  is separate to the piers. The coating material can be an applied concrete mixture (such as shotcrete), a render coating with or without a pre applied support mesh, metal or plastic sheeting (such as corrugated sheeting), or a series of panel (e.g. gypsum, cement or wood based sheets) which may be fastened directly or indirectly to the formwork members and/or to the concrete piers, or combinations thereof.