|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Expansion joints can be said to be among the most critical aspects of design in relation to building performance under geological and weather extremes.
In the wake of the recent earthquake, hurricane
Irene,
and tropical
storm Lee,
those of us on the East Coast are being given repeated reminders
of a universal truth--storms and shakes need to the baseline for
our structural design.
A new line of breakthrough expansion joint products means you can get extreme protection built into a single product installation with solutions for walls, floors, solid and split slabs. Now is a logical time to reflect on design practice as it relates to expansion joint sizing and product selection in relation to earthquakes and storm-force-wind driven rain. Sizing in Relation to Product Capability
Proper sizing of joint gaps in relation to stiffness, height,
geology, and thermal exposure extremes are among the
considerations in sizing the distances needed between structures
and/or structural elements within buildings.
But just
sizing the gap for
anticipated movements is only
half of the equation.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Among the most frequent communication
disconnects in
the design process is the structural engineers responsibility
for sizing the gap and the architects responsibility in
selecting a product to seal it. These must be reconciled
against the movement
capability of the product to seal the gap. Usually
this means the joint-gap needs to be wider than calculated
without consideration of an expansion joint system installed in
to the joint opening to seal it.
What Are You Sealing In or Out? What you desire
to seal against will in part determine a products' movement
capability. A looped membrane or simple rail-and-rubber strip
seal may seal out typical falling rain and would likely handle
even seismic movement.
But, what about wind-driven
rain, or worse, hurricane
or tornado driven rain?
What about air-pressure differentials between the inside and outside of the building? What about thermal insulation in respect to heating and cooling containment? What about sound attenuation?
What about fire
and smoke?
Looped membranes and strip seals will not provide any protection
against any of these.
The Ideal Product
So the ideal product would be one that provides protection
against all
of these performance demands. Sounds too good to be
possible, doesn't it?
Yet after more than 30 years in the business of focusing our
company strictly on the sealing of expansion joints, EMSEAL has
evolved its product line and broken some remarkable paradigms to
bring to market the EMSHIELD family
of products. Not only do these products perform
in all of the conditions mentioned above, they have
been independently
tested to prove it.
Independent Tests Confirm Performance Claims UL 2079 proves the products' ability to handle thermal, sway and seismic cycling frequency. It also proves the products fire resistance in configurations to provide up to 3 hours of fire protection.
ASTM E283, E330, and E331 prove
the products' performance in excess of ABAA guidelines and at
positive and negative pressures to match hurricane force winds
and wind driven rain.
ASTM C518-04 confirm
the products' insulation R-Values.
ASTM E-90 reveals
STC and OITC sound attenuation performance as high as 62 and 52
respectively--in standard depth configuration.
FTIR and DSC analysis
proves the absence of wax in our products and is a cornerstone
of our claims that EMSEAL will
not bleed at
temperatures up to 185-degF while simultaneously compressed to
the minimum of our stated movement ranges.
Oh, and all of these tests were run on the products at the full
extent of their claimed movement ranges. This means
the products were in arguably their most vulnerable
configuration. Which means that the
tests are conservativebut relevant to real life
conditions that could exist at the extent of your design and our
claims.
Specify Quality Base your specifications and
submittals on EMSEAL anddemand in the spec that
all others to provide the same independent
testing to meet the performance standards that suit
field conditions. Some products look the same, some are claimed
to be the same, but unless
the lab results prove it--they are not the same.
Walls, Floors, Decks, and Split Slabs
The EMSHIELD line
is comprehensive and features joint solutions, with built-in
fire ratings for walls, floors, solid-slab decks, and even
split-slab decks.
Local, Regional, National Help
EMSEAL's technical service, problem solving, and specification development assistance is available locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||
|
|
Expansion joints and precompressed joint sealants by EMSEAL
1-800-526-8365 -- 508-836-0280 --
techinfo@emseal.com
-- Fax: 508-836-0281
Last Modified:
April 13, 2012
|
|
