Large high density foam glass tile

Abstract

A large, high density foam glass tile which can be used as a facade on both exterior and interior building walls. The foam glass tile can also be used with other materials to form a panel or a composite. The present invention may be used on the critical surfaces of buildings at high risk for terrorist attacks, in combination with cement, steel or other high strength building materials. The present invention may also be used in surfaces of typical buildings. The present invention has the advantage of absorbing a substantial portion of a shock wave caused by an explosion. The present invention also has the advantage of being more resistant to earthquakes.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 076,971, which was filed on Feb. 15, 2002 and is scheduled to issue on Nov. 15, 2005 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,809. The contents of the above-referenced parent application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to a building material to be used in building construction. More particularly, the present invention relates to large high density foam glass tiles to be used on both interior and exterior facades of buildings. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to large high density foam glass tiles to be used on interior and exterior facades of buildings which enable such buildings to have a greater resistance to explosions. [0003] The present invention further relates to a composite of panels made from such tiles, and more particularly, to a blast energy absorbing str...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is a high-density foam glass tile that can be used as a facade on both interior and exterior building walls. The foam glass tile has a closed pore outer skin that absorbs a substantial portion of shock waves caused by explosions. It is more resistant to earthquakes and can withstand higher wind loading and other mechanical forces. The foam glass tile has a density between 20-100 lb. / cu. ft. and a closed pore structure. It can be backed by cement or other materials to form a composite building material that can withstand blast shock waves. The ceramic-glass foam composite comprises a foam glass tile and an inorganic cementaceous backing on the foam glass tile, which can absorb a substantial portion of blast energy. The composite has a density between 20-100 lb. / cu. ft. and a closed pore structure. The ceramic-glass foam composite can be used as an exterior or interior facade of a building or other structure."

Problems solved by technology

For example, in 1993, terrorists exploded a car bomb inside the garage of the World Trade Center located in New York City, resulting in loss of life and significant property damage.

Since then, in 1995, other extremists exploded a truck outside of the Federal Building located in Oklahoma City, Okla. also resulting in significant loss of life and property damage.

In 1998, the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam were also subject to terrorists attacks by car bombs, each of which resulted in significant loss of life and property damages.

While the concept of using foam glass as a construction material is well known in the prior art, generally such foam glass has been used as a high temperature insulator and thus seeks to minimize its density and weight and is not suitable for absorbing sufficient energy from a shock wave from unexpected explosions or to resist an earthquake.

Furthermore, since the purpose of this tile is to be used as thermal insulation, it lacks surface strength, and can be dented very easily.

Because the Foam Glas® Insulation Systems tile is of relatively low density, e.g., 9.5 lb. / cu. ft., such tiles will easily break when exerted to forces typically asserted on exterior walls to a building or other structure.

Thus, such tiles are not suitable to be used as tiling for an exterior wall.

Significantly, there is no indication that the strength of the material disclosed is capable of absorbing sufficient energy from an explosion, and indeed the size of the disclosed tiles would not be ideally suitable for absorbing such energy.

While the techniques and methods disclosed were useful to manufacture then-standard size tiles of 4.25 in.×4.25 in.×0.25 in., this disclosure does not teach how to manufacture tiles of a larger size, for example 2 ft.×2 ft.×3 in.

Likewise the tiles manufactured under these methods were relatively light, e.g., less than 10 lbs., and were not manufactured to withstand the effects of an explosion.

To the contrary, these methods sought to optimize the thermal insulation properties of the material, and thus made smaller, lighter and weaker tiles.

While still others have worked on trying to make some large-size porous shaped bodies, these have been smaller in critical dimensions and of lower density than the present invention and not suitable to absorb a substantial amount of a shock wave which impacts the bodies associated with an explosion or earthquake.