Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a flowable building material
for the production of plaster, coverings, claddings and
shaped articles, and to its use.
Background of the Invention
Rough floor, wall and ceiling surfaces, and also
pillars, columns, arches and cappiny plates, are usually
provided with what may generally be termed a covering, e.g.
a cladding and/or plas~er. The covering removes
unevenness, enhances the appearance of the structure, and
protects the structure and its occupants against the
harmful effects of weather, heat, cold, noise and the like.
The skilled man is familiar with the application of
such coverings, e.g. the laying of panels or the
application of superimposed layers of plaster. Panels may
be of any shape. On a building site, however, shaped
ar~icles such as stairs or window mouldings are used
without covering.
Swiss Patent No. 675874 discloses a process for
producing building materials for coverings, claddings and
plaster, which have a porous structure providing the
ability to breathe. Such porous building materials are
inexpensive, yet the environmental load is positive because
substantially natural starting materials may be used. The
material comprises a finely-particulate base material from
clay tiles fired at below 1000C; the base material is
slurried with water, a hydraulic binder is added, and the
damp mass is charged into a mould or is applied in layers
to a substrate and allowed to dry.
An object of the present invention is to provide
improved heat and sound insulating properties, while still
using a material having a positive environmental load.
Summary of the Invention
A novel flowable material, from which plaster,
coverings, cladding or shaped articles can be obtained,
comprises a mixture of:
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a finely-particulate base material from clay tiles
fired at below 1000C;
a hydraulic binder; and
a particulate inorganic insulating foam material.
Description of the Invention
Depending on the user's requirements, the material may
be supplied in the Eorm of a ready-made mixture, or the
components may be mixed on site. The building material may
therefore be stored and transported in the absence of
water.
Without water, the material is a free-flowing dry
mixture. Water may be added to form a slurry. Depending
on the quantity of water added, the material remains
pourable, becomes pourable and free-flowing or, as the
proportion of water increases, merely free-flowing, without
the formation of a cone.
The user of plaster, coverings or claddings which are
applied in sltu to a rough building structure as a moist
mass may obtain the required building material ready-mixed,
and reduce it to a slurry with the necessary quantity of
water. Alternatively, the individual components are
obtained and charged, in the appropriate proportions, into
a mixer, wherein a slurry can be formed by the addition of
water to the fine-grained base material or to the prepared
mixture.
Coverings can be converted with a suitable article to
panels or plate moc~-ups, in that ~oints are drawn with
this article.
The manuacturer of many and various shaped articles,
from simple plates to individually-moulded panels which are
several square metres in size and complicated window
mouldings, may do so in a production plantO The building
material can be prepared in a large mixer with a programmed
procedure and automated addition of components, wherein the
water for producing the free-~lowing mass can be added to
the base material or to the prepared mixture. This mass is
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charged into moulds and sets by drying. The shaped
articles can also be produced in presses.
It is of considerable importance for the building
material that the base material consists essentially of
clay tiles which have a porous structure and are fired at
a low temperature, i.e. below 1000C. This base material
exists after the tile-firing process, so the building
material is produced without firing, only by setting.
The remains of wall and roof tiles frequently found on
a building site and in the corresponding industrial
processes can be ground to the desired grain size, which is
preferably up to 0.5 mm, with relatively low outlay of
energy and labour. The base material can also be produced
from clay tiles obtained by demolition, without the
jointing material having to be removed. Thus, for example,
old chimneys can be put to an ecologically-useful and
economically-worthwhile use.
Base material is also found as ground waste, cut waste
and/or sawn waste from clay tiles, preferably having a
grain size of less than O.S mm. During the cutting of
plates, for example in accordance with Swiss Patent No.
659102, the contents of which are incorporated by reference
herein, clay tile dust is produced in a large quantity as
a viscous slurry from which the excess water can be removed
after it has been left to stand~
Granular tile scrap, preferably having a grain size of
0.1 to 3 mm, can be added to the building material, in
particular for decorative reasons. The colour of the tile
scrap can match that of the base material but it is
preferable to select at least one other, in particular a
contrasting, colour. By using the tile scrap, it is
possible to produce structures by grinding from surfaces
produced with the building material, these structures
including the grains of tile scrap in addition to the basic
colour imparted by the base material.
The hydraulic binder is preferably cement, in
particular white cement. The water moistened binder
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solidifies automatically and is water-resistant after
setting. In this way, a clay-containing base material
obtained from waste materials can be set without being
refired. The hydraulic binder can be mixed with the other
components in any ratio known to a person skilled in the
art. The ratio of base material to hydraulic binder can
be, for example, 3:1.
White cement is not only the highest quality binder,
it is al50 preferred for ecological reasons. Furthermore,
a lighter-coloured building material, which is usually
desired, is formed when using white cement.
When the building material according to the invention
is applied as a moist plastering composition, lime is
suitable as the only or additional hydraulic binder.
However, the lime content is preferably kept low because it
is heavier than the substituted clay-containing base
material, and more readily leads to shrinkage cracks.
The particulate foam material that is used according
to the invention can absorb a little water, but this is
quickly removed from the base material and any sawn waste
and the like. Owing to its porous structure, the foam
material is capable of providing an unexpectedly high
thermal and acoustic insulating effect which, overall,
considerably improves the corresponding properties of the
plaster, coverings, claddings and shaped articles produced
with the building material.
Experiments have shown tha~ the foam material has a
more advantageous effect, the finer its grains. The grain
size is preferably 0.01 to 8 mm, more preferably 1 to 5 mm.
To apply especially effective sound-absorbing
plasters, for example, a fraction of foamed grains having
a grain size of 6 to 8 mm can be added to a finer-grained
foam material, e.g. 0.01 to 2 mm in size. After
application, the coarse particles can be at least partially
worked out of the plaster by cross-wise sweeping with a
lath or the like: a very rough surface is formed, which has
very good sound-absorption properties.
The foam material is preferably foam glass which is
produced, for example, from old glass by foaming and then
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shattering it. However, porous volcanic rock such as
pumice or tufa, for example, as well as foamed ceramic
material, can be incorporated into the building material
quite generally as a foam material, in addition to or
instead of foam glass.
Suitable optional components for increasing the
porosity of the building material, used individually or
together, include:
sawdust as a waste product of the timber
industry, if a soft cladding which is a good insulator is
to be produced:
shreds of paper, crushed or beaten old paper;
other natural fibres having an organic basis,
such as cotton waste or flax fibres which also act as5 reinforcing fibres; and
rock wool.
Filter dust from glass, wood, textile, fibre cement,
or paper-processing plant is important as a further
additional component, used individually or together, for
the building material. On the one hand, Pilter residues
can be removed with the building material; on the other
hand, waste materials can be put to a worthwhile use.
In summary, a building material according to the
invention makes it possible to produce, in an inexpensive
and simple manner, plaster, coverings, claddings and shaped
articles which offer greatly increased heat and sound
insulation, allow worthwhile utilisation of waste materials
and offer an aesthetically satisfactory variation in
appearance. The utilisation of waste obviously saves
natural resources and prevents rapid filling of pits as
well as vehicles.
The building material which is slurried with water to
a moist free-flowing mass can also be used according to the
invention specifically for the industrial manufacture of
pressed and/or large shaped articles in addition to ~he
above-mentioned use for the production of plaster,
coverings claddings and shaped articles. Large shaped
articles include, for example, kitchen ceilings.
