Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02283263 1999-09-02
CONSTRUCT10N ELEMENT AND PROCESS FOR 1TS PREPARAT10N
Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to construction, and more particularly to
production
of decorative finishing construction items of various shapes and sizes for
decorative
external and internal lining of buildings, and for interior finish to satisfy
high aesthetic,
ecological, heat-insulating and thermotechnical requirements. Owing to
ecologically pure
decorative finishing coating, the invention can be widely and successfully
employed both
in monolithic concrete works and laying of face walls, and in interior
finishing works.
to
Background of the Invention
A construction element comprising a decorative finishing layer jointed with a
construction block and disposed on one of the construction block sides is
known in the
prior art (SU, No.837958, Int.Cl. C04B 28/04, 1978).
A problem with the prior art element is its inferior technological
effectiveness and
poor physical and mechanical properties, including compressive strength, cold
endurance,
weather resistance and adhesion strength of the decorative coating, this
substantially
reducing consumption properties of articles.
A conventional method for making a construction finishing coating includes the
steps of applying a leveling undercoat layer and a protection decorative
layer, wherein one
or more of the layers include a composition comprising, taken in parts of
weight:
butadiene styrene latex 100,
5% aqueous solution of sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose 2.0-4.0,
limestone flour 35-40,
liquid polyethyl hydrosiloxane 3.5-4.0,
chemical water purification sludge comprising alkaline-earth metals 25-34,
oxyethylized alkyl phenols 0.34-0.6.
3o The composition can further contain a pigment.
In production, prior to applying a construction finishing coating, the
conventional
method for making a construction finishing coating on articles or
constructions provides
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for producing an article or construction by mixing components of a raw
mixture, shaping
the mixture, heat treatment and preparing a surface (RU Patent No.2055032 C1,
1996).
Most closely approaching the present invention by its principle and the result
achieved is a method for making a construction element including the steps of
preparing
a decorative finishing mixture, pouring the prepared mixture in a mold,
placing an article
base onto the mixture and hardening (SU Inventor's Certificate No.742409,
1980).
Disadvantages of the prior art methods include their inferior technological
effectiveness, labor-consuming operations, expensive accessories used in
production,
unstable qualitative characteristics of the article produced, short service
life of the coating,
poor adhesion, inferior resistance to weather, water, cold and cracks. All
this is caused,
in particular, by the fact that to provide an enhanced adhesion between a
decorative layer
or tile and the article base, additional operations are required to clean a
surface of the
article base, to moisten the surface and to introduce additional adhesive,
binding and
filling agents, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
2o It is an object of the present invention to provide a construction element
exhibiting
reasonably high physical and mechanical properties, including compressive
strength and
cold endurance, which is easy in production and does not require a dedicated
equipment,
and has a high thermal conductivity factor, this enabling to efficiently use
the element in
erected and reconstructed buildings and constructions.
The object of the invention is achieved in a conventional construction element
comprising a construction block and a finishing coating located on at least on
side of the
construction block, wherein in accordance with the invention the construction
block is
made of foam concrete, or gas silicate concrete, or expanded-clay concrete, or
heavy-
3o weight concrete, or of a heat-insulating material selected from the group
consisting of
foam polystyrene, foam polyurethane, gas silicate, foam concrete or other
materials having
similar thermal conductivity properties, or in the form of a ceramic or
silicate brick, the
finishing coating being formed by placing at least one side of the
construction block in a
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mold filled with a decorative finishing mixture which is obtained by mixing
cement with
sand in the ratio ranging from 1:1 to 1:3, using sand with fractions of 0.03-
0.1 mrn, 0.3-1.2
mm and 2-4 mm that are added during the mixing in the amount, by weight
percent, of 20-
25, 25-30 and 55-70, respectively, and adding water and a plasticizer, with a
layer of the
decorative finishing mixture poured in the mold having a thickness in the
range from 3 mm
to 50 mm.
Further, a face surface of the finishing coating can be colored and have a
decorative relief pattern.
A layer of heat and/or water resistant material having good adhesion to the
finishing coating can be positioned between the finishing coating and the
construction
block, a thickness of said layer not exceeding a thickness of the construction
block.
The finishing coating can be further connected to the construction block by
anchor extensions provided in the construction block and/or in the finishing
coating.
A height and/or length of the finishing coating can be greater than a height
and/or
length of the construction block, respectively, at least in one direction.
Further, the finishing coating can be C-shaped in a lateral and/or
longitudinal
section, with a width of flanges positioned on side walls of the construction
block being
no less than 3 mm.
The construction block can be further made of several parts connected with
each
other by a binding solution so that to form a bearing plane on which a layer
of a heat-
insulating material with the finishing coating is secured.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for making decorative and
lining articles and construction elements using decorative and lining
construction elements
which are easy to produce and have a reasonably low production cost, with a
decorative
coating having increased durability owing to improved adhesion to the
construction block.
The method also provides an improvement in water, cold and crack resistance.
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The above object is achieved in a conventional method for making a
construction
element, including the steps of preparing a decorative finishing mixture,
pouring the
prepared mixture in a mold, placing a construction block onto the mixture
layer and
hardening, wherein the decorative finishing mixture is prepared by mixing
cement with
sand in the ratio ranging from l: l to 1:3, respectively, using sand with
fractions of 0.03-
0.1 mm, 0.3-1.2 mm and 2-4 mm in the amount, by weight percent, of 20-25, 25-
30 and 55-
70, respectively, adding water and a plasticizer simultaneously with the sand,
the prepared
mixture being poured in the mold in a layer having a thickness in the range
from 3 mm to
50 mm, placing the construction block onto the layer of the prepared mixture
and
1o maintaining long enough for the mixture to harden.
Upon placing the construction block onto the decorative finishing layer, the
element is advantageously maintained for 24-48 hours at a temperature of 20-
23°C.
During the mixing, a pigment can be added to the decorative finishing mixture.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig.l shows a general view of a construction element in accordance with the
invention;
Fig.2 is a cross sectional view ofthe construction element in Fig.l;
Fig.3 is a schematic view of an anchor used in the construction element with a
2s heat/water insulation layer; and
Fig.4 is a schematic view illustrating the relationship among geometric
dimensions in the construction element.
3o Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiment
A method for making a construction element in accordance with the present
invention can be implemented in the following manner.
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A decorative finishing mixture is prepared by mixing and agitating cement with
sand in the ratio from 1:1 to 1:3, the sand being successfully added during
the mixing
depending on its fraction: first, a coarse fraction, followed by a medium one
and finally,
a fine fraction. Specifically, the following sand fractions are used: coarse
fraction of 2-4
mm, medium fraction of 0.3-1.2 mm, and fine fraction of 0.03-0.1 mm, taken in
the amount
of 55-70, 25-30, 20-25 weight percent, respectively. Water and a plasticizer
are added
simultaneously with the sand. Water/cement (W/C) ratio is 0.28-0.30. The
prepared
decorative finishing mixture is then poured in a plain mold exhibiting a high
degree of
adhesion in a layer from 5 mm to 50 mm in thickness. A construction block,
such as a
to brick, is then placed onto the layer of the prepared decorative finishing
mixture. The
construction element is maintained long enough for the mixture to harden. The
best
conditions to be followed are to hold the construction element for 24-48 hours
at a
temperature of 20-23°C.
To impart a definite color to the decorative finishing mixture, a pigment
evenly
mixed with the sand is added to the mixture.
Example of implementing the method. A decorative finishing mixture is prepared
of following components: Portland cement of "400" grade; fine filling agent,
such as
2o quartz sand, with fractions of 2-4 mm, 0.3-1.2 mm, 0.03-0.1 mm, natural
building sand,
a plasticizer such as super plasticizer of C-3 grade, a pigment such as iron
oxide Fez03
giving a red color to the article.
Specific effective activity of natural radioactive nuclides in the raw
materials is
no greater than 370 Bq/kg.
Cement and sand are taken in the proportion of 1 part cement to 2 parts sand,
superplasticizer from 1.0 to 2.0 %, pigment may range from 0.1 to 5%. The
plain mold is
a mold made of a material exhibiting low adhesion to the decorative finishing
layer, this
3o enabling to easily separate the article when hardened. W/C is 0.28-0.30.
Portland cement
is mixed with sand in an agitator, first adding to the agitator the sand of
0.03-0.1 mm
fraction, next 2-4 mm fraction, and finally 0.3-1.2 mm fraction. The pigment,
water and
superplasticizer C-3 are added simultaneously with the sand of 2-4 mm
fraction. The
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mixture is blended to homogeneous state.
The so-prepared mixture is poured on a plain surface of the mold in a layer
having a thickness in the range from 5 to 50 mm. Next, a construction block,
such as a
brick, is placed onto the decorative finishing mixture. The assembled element
is held for
24-48 hours at a temperature of 20-23° until the mixture fully hardens.
The addition of sand having the aforementioned fineness to the mixture and the
mixing of the mixture components in the given sequence provide close laying,
reduce
1o initial shrinkage stresses in the article structure, improve adhesion of
the decorative
finishing layer to the article base, increase durability of the finishing
layer, owing to
placing the article base directly onto the decorative finishing layer prepared
in accordance
with the procedure above.
The test results are: cold endurance M = 200 cycles; water resistance V = 8;
adhesion greater than 0.6-0.8 MPa.
Application of the invention makes it possible to substantially simplify the
process for making construction elements, to reduce cost per unit of product
and to
2o improve service performance.
A construction element produced using the method disclosed above comprises
a construction block 1 and a finishing coating 2 made of the aforementioned
decorative
finishing mixture. A face surface of the finishing coating 2 may be provided
with a
decorative relief pattern or be plain as defined by the mold relief.
Dependant on the purpose and specification, the construction block may be made
of foam concrete, or gas silicate concrete, or expanded-clay-concrete, or
heavy-weight
concrete, or of a heat-insulating material selected from the group consisting
of foam
3o polystyrene, foam polyurethane, gas silicate, foam concrete or another
material having
similar thermal conductivity.
The construction block may be made in the form of a ceramic or silicate brick,
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either common or heavy, with the brick grade no less than M 100 by strength
and G 25 by
cold resistance. When used as a construction element, a decorative facing
building stone
may be produced from brick.
The decorative coating 2 can have a thickness from 3.0 mm to 50 mm depending
on technical and process conditions. Length "L" and height "H" of the coating
2 (Fig.4)
exceed length "1" and height "h" of the construction block, respectively. As
an example,
blocks 1 made of sand and heavyweight concrete measure 20 x 20 x 40 cm with
minor
deviations to the smaller side mainly. Blocks of a lightweight concrete, such
as foam
1o concrete, or gas silicate concrete, or clay-expanded concrete, are
frequently made of a
greater length.
A heat and/or water resistant layer 3 of a material, e.g. on the basis of foam
polystyrene, exhibiting good adhesion to the finishing coating 2, may be
positioned
between a finishing coating 2 having a C-shaped cross section and a
construction block 1.
To improve bearing properties of the element, anchor extensions 4 may be
provided in the block 1 and/or in the finishing coating 2.
2o Such structures of the decorative finishing construction elements feature
cold
endurance of M 200 cycles, water resistance of B 8 and adhesion of 0.6 MPa.
In one embodiment, at least one additional layer 3 of a heat and/or water-
resistant
material can be provided between the finishing coating 2 and the construction
block 1, a
thickness of the additional layer not exceeding a thickness of the block 1,
while a height
and/or length of the finishing coating 2 exceeds a height and/or length,
respectively, of the
block 1 and the additional layer 3.
A decorative lining construction element for the use as a retained form can be
3o formed by at least one row of the finishing coating 2 connected to a layer
3 of heat-
resistant material secured on parts of the construction block 1 so as to form
a bearing
structure. In this case, the construction element can be made in the form of a
retained form,
with the decorative coating 2 secured on parts of the block 1 by anchors 5
connected
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thereto.
The employment of the invention provides a reduction in the manufacture cost
of decorative and lining articles, increased durability of the finishing
coating, and
enhanced water, cold and crack resistance. Addition of sand of the indicated
fractions in
the listed amounts to a decorative finishing mixture when producing decorative
and facing
construction elements, while observing a given sequence of the mixture
preparation and
process conditions, imparts dense structure to the mixture, reduces initial
shrinkage
stresses, enhances adhesion of the finishing coating both to the construction
block and to
to the heat-insulating layer material, this resulting in reliability and
durability of the
construction element and superior aesthetic, physical and mechanical
properties thereof.
Industrial Applicability
The present invention observes the industrial applicability condition as it
can be
implemented using available production means.
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