Fire-barrier plywood

Abstract

Abstract A novel method is presented for converting plywood, wall panelling, and laminated sheathing (doorskin, resin-impregnated paper generally termed "Mica", and other combinations of laminated wood and/or wood plastic products) used in construction, into a fire barrier which not only decreases the spread of flame along the surface, but prevents the penetration of flame into the interior of the product and through to the opposite side, and thus enables these products to function as a "fire-barrier" under ordinary fire conditions normally associated with home, apartment, commercial, industrial, ship/boat and aircraft fires. The method consists of substituting a non-combustible, high temperature-resistant coating, which in itself has adequate adhesive properties to substitute for the presently used adhesives in the laminated wood and wood/plastic structures, for one or more of the adhesive layers, herein termed the internal or "submerged" coatings. The coating may be used alone, or in the form of an impregnated sheet of woven or non-woven fabric made from fiberglass, carbon, aramid ("Kevlar"), quartz, polyester, nylon, or other natural or synthetic or inorganic fibers. The impregnated fabric adds tensile strength and flexural modulus to the laminate and may be used as the bonding agent (adhesive) alone or in combination with the currently used adhesives (e.g. phenol-formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde, resorcinol, melamine, melamine urea, urea, etc.). The cited examples consist of a synergistic combination of two and three non-combustible inorganic bonding systems: viz. magnesium "oxychloride" or magnesium "oxysulphate" cements, along with high alumina calcium aluminate cement; and with or without colloidal silica. These non-combustible formulations are compatible with some of the currently used plywood phenolic, urea and resorcinol adhesives, and may be mixed together so that only one application and curing cycle is required and still imparts the fire-barrier properties inherent in the coating and coating laminate.

Inventors

• 👤 Harold Ellis

Bibliographic Details