WHAT IS SANDWICH PANEL?

With sustainable environmental awareness increasing day by day, the energy efficiency of buildings has become one of the most critical and important elements in the building sector. Reducing the environmental impact of buildings, using energy resources more efficiently and minimizing the carbon footprint are among the top priority goals in building projects today.

At this point, sandwich panels appear as an effective solution for thermal insulation and security. Sandwich panels, together with their inner core, provide a high degree of thermal insulation to the structure. In this way, it helps stabilize the temperature inside the building regardless of external conditions and offers a comfortable living space indoors. It reduces energy consumption to protect against cold in winter and heat in summer, thus reducing heating and cooling costs.

Sandwich panels make significant contributions to the construction industry on important issues such as energy efficiency and sustainability. These panels, which have superior features in terms of thermal insulation and security, play an indispensable role in the construction of environmentally friendly and cost-effective structures.

What is sandwich panel?

Sandwich panels are a composite modular building material that is structurally rigid but has a relatively low weight and provides insulation on roofs and facades. The insulation basis of this composite system consists of Polyurethane (PUR) and Polyisocyanate (PIR), as well as Polystyrene (EPS), Rockwool and Glasswool. Each panel consists of an inner core and two outer structures carefully attached to either side of the core. The outer structures not only maintain the strength of the panels, they also protect the core, providing both structural integrity and thermal insulation, providing exceptional weather resistance. Sandwich panels are considered curtain materials, not structural materials. That is, the structural forces are transferred to the steel skeleton or other load-bearing frame to which the sandwich panels are attached.

Sandwich panels used as covering material in roofs, facades, interior partitions or cold storages of buildings; It comes to the fore in architectural preferences with its fast installation opportunity, high insulation properties and high carrying capacity. The carrying capacity of sandwich panels depends on the panel thickness, the form of the metal surfaces, the density of the panel filling material and the metal thickness. The choice of panel form and the thickness of the metals to be used are determined in accordance with the area where the panels will be used and the amount of load on them. In determining the panel thickness, the type of internal filling material and the climatic conditions of the region where the panels will be used are taken into account. Sandwich panels create an aesthetic outer shell in buildings by providing water and heat insulation without the need for plaster and paint. Natural aluminum, painted aluminum, painted galvanized sheet or stainless sheet are used in the metal layers of sandwich panels. Color options can be determined from the RAL Catalogue, according to customer request.

Sandwich panel types

We can list the sandwich panel types produced throughout Türkiye as follows.

Roof Panel

• 5 Pitch Roof Panels
• 4 Pitch Roof Panels
• 3 Pitch Roof Panels

Facade Panel

• Hidden Screw Facade Panels
• External Screw Facade Panels

Cold Room Panel

Why should sandwich panels be preferred?

For example, let's compare two popular technologies used in warehouse building construction. In the first case, external partitions consist of double brick walls, in the second case they consist of sandwich panels. Wall construction, thermal insulation installation and finally outer layer installation. By choosing sandwich panels, the construction process is much less complicated and therefore faster and, most importantly, cheaper. Panels are completed components suitable for easy installation, for example into a steel structure.

Considering the current situation in the construction services market, working time plays a key role in the cost optimization process. The sooner the structure is completed, the less we spend on construction service costs, which have increased significantly in recent years. The rapid construction completion process also means an earlier start of occupancy, increasing the return on investment for business projects.

Sectors Using Sandwich Panels

Construction Sector: Sandwich panels are used on interior and exterior facades, roofs and walls in many buildings.

Especially commercial buildings such as industrial buildings, cold storages, workshops and showrooms are preferred for sandwich panel use.

Transportation Sector: The use of sandwich panels is quite common in the transportation sector, especially for cold chain transportation. They are especially used in transportation vehicles such as truck and trailer bodies, containers, train wagons and ship containers.

Energy Sector: Sandwich panels are used in solar power plants, wind turbines and other energy production facilities. They are used on the roofs and walls of such facilities.

Agriculture Sector: Sandwich panels are used in animal shelters and storage areas.

These panels are widely used in cold storage for the storage of meat, milk and other products in the agricultural sector.

Sports and Entertainment Sector: Sandwich panels are used in stadiums, indoor sports halls and other entertainment facilities. They are especially used on roofs, stands and other areas of stadiums.

Other Sectors: Sandwich panels can also be used in many other sectors. For example, they can be used in billboards, airports, hospitals, schools, hotels and many other structures.

Usage Areas of Sandwich Panels

Sandwich panels are widely used in various types of structures:

Industrial Buildings: They are widely used in industrial buildings such as factories, warehouses, cold storages and logistics centers. Its high insulation and fire resistance properties make it ideal for these areas.

Commercial Buildings: They provide aesthetics and functionality in commercial buildings such as shopping malls, office buildings and showrooms.

Agricultural and Livestock Structures: Sandwich panels are also used in agricultural and livestock buildings such as farm buildings, barns and greenhouses. They meet the hygienic and insulation standards required for these structures.

Residences: Sandwich panels are also preferred in prefabricated houses and villas. Fast construction time and energy efficiency provide great advantages for residential projects.

Sports and Entertainment Facilities: Sandwich panels are also used in gyms, swimming pools and entertainment centers. Since these structures have wide openings, light and durable building materials are preferred.

Advantages of Sandwich Panels

High Insulation Performance: Sandwich panels, especially those filled with polyurethane and PIR, provide high thermal insulation. This increases the energy efficiency of buildings, reducing heating and cooling costs.

Quick and Easy Installation: Thanks to their lightweight structure and modular design, installation of sandwich panels is quick and easy. This shortens construction time and reduces labor costs.

Fire Resistance: Rock wool filled sandwich panels provide high fire resistance and prevent the spread of fire. This is a great advantage, especially for industrial buildings.

Aesthetic Diversity: Sandwich panels also offer aesthetic advantages with various color and coating options. This provides freedom in your architectural designs.

Durability and Longevity: Thanks to metal surfaces and high-quality filling materials, sandwich panels are long-lasting and resistant to external factors.

Fire performance in sandwich panels

The resistance of the material to fire, which is also explained by its flammability capacity, is called fire performance.

Fire resistance tests are carried out by small-scale modeling of the junction lines of the facade and roof panels where the fire grows the most in the building. All standards and test methods regarding the fire performance of sandwich panels are determined in detail in TS EN 14509.

Materials are classified in six different ways, starting from A1 to F. Other classes of material are also determined according to the amount of smoke and dripping after the fire.

TS EN ISO 11925-2: Ignition Tests (SFI): It is a fire test method that simulates the application of a lighter-sized fire source from the corner or surface of the sample for 15 or 30 seconds.

TS EN 13823: Reaction to fire tests (SBI): With the principles of this test method, the reactions to fire of materials in classes A2, B, C and D are determined. On the other hand, classification is made as d0, d1, d2 according to whether there is dripping within the first 10 minutes and whether the dripping particles burn for more than 10 seconds. Depending on the situation revealed in the first 10 minutes, further classification is made as s1, s2 and s3.

PUR/PIR: The correct chemical formulation offers advantages in terms of fire performance in plastic foams. High isocyanate rates and flame retardant additives are decisive in the fire performance of polyurethanes.

XPS/EPS: Both expanded polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded polystyrene (XPS) are the plastic foams with the lowest fire resistance. It begins to melt at 100 °C and form fire droplets.

ROCKWOOL: Rockwool materials, which are in the inorganic material group, are classified as fireproof. Rockwool filled panels offer the best performance in fire-resistant facade, roof and interior partition wall applications. Fire resistance of rockwool filled sandwich panel is between 30 and 120 minutes depending on rockwool type, thickness and combination details.

It may change.