Concrete Sandwich Panels and Foamular

Concrete has many advantageous characteristics as a building material and is all around us. It is considerably sturdy, nearly unbreakable, as well as being easy to work with and has high thermal mass although, concrete alone is an inadequate insulation system.  Austechs Foamular Extruded Polystyrene can be used to bridge the gap, providing superior thermal properties and increasing the overall thermal value all while maintaining construction efficiencies. This is the most effective way to maximise your project and the ideal solution to improve the performance of the walls, as well as meeting the BCA part J construction requirements.

The extruded polystyrene insulation is sandwiched between two concrete layers held together by non-conductive connector ties which minimize the energy-draining effects of thermal bridging. Buildings with high performing thermal mass will not require artificial cooling and heating as a result from a more consistent temperature on the inside. A pleasant inner environment is created through the regulated temperature which is passively created through the superior thermal mass. Many buildings in Australia are insulated from the inside, not being equipped to take advantage of thermal mass, therefore artificial temperature control e.g. air conditioning, exert higher energy levels than it potentially would have to as a result of having to work harder against the conditions.

After separating the individual pieces and make up of a standard concrete wall panel system, it becomes evident that Foamular significantly contributes to the overall insulation values:

•             Just 50mm of Foamular has an R value of R1.78

•             110mm of brickwork achieves R0.18; and a

•             100mm concrete slab achieves just R0.069

Make an enquiry to the experienced team at Austech and find out how you can use Foamular in your next project. You can also learn more about how Foamular has been used in previous precast insulated concrete sandwich wall panel systems.