Method of fabricating building wall panels
Wall panels and building walls, comprising inner and outer layers, and spaced reinforcing webs extending between the inner and outer layers. Optionally studs extend inwardly from the inner layer away from the outer layer with one of the stud legs on each stud being aligned with one of the reinforcing webs, or the building load delivered to an underlying footer varies less than 50% per 10 foot length of the wall, or height of the wall varies no more than 0.25 inch over a 40 foot length of the wall. The resulting wall panel can provide tough, water-proof, otherwise weather-proof, building systems and buildings.
1. A structural outer wall in a building, comprising
(a) an uprightly-oriented fiber-reinforced polymeric structural building panel, said building panel overlying a footer, said building panel having a height of at least 8 extending between a top and a bottom of said building panel, a length, and a thickness (T) of a main wall section thereof of at least 3 inches, said structural building panel comprising
(i) first outermost fiber-reinforced structural polymeric layer;
(ii) a second innermost fiber-reinforced structural polymeric layer spaced from said first layer and
(iii) one or more structurally reinforcing webs, spaced from each other, and extending from said first fiber-reinforced polymeric layer to said second fiber-reinforced polymeric layer,
said fiber in said first layer, said second layer, and said reinforcing webs being predominantly uprightly-oriented, continuous fiber strands, in said uprightly-oriented structural building panel, said building panel having a weight of about 25to about 60 pounds per lineal foot,
said polymer in said first layer, said second layer, and said reinforcing webs being reaction cured polymer,
said outer wall being subjected to an overlying building load, and delivering such overlying building load to the footer such that the delivered load generally varies by less than about 50 percent along any one 10foot length of the footer.
2. A structural outer wall in a building as in claim 1 , said first and second layers being spaced from each other by a first distance, said building panel further comprising a plurality of structurally reinforcing studs spaced from each other along the length of said building panel and extending inwardly from said innermost layer, away from said outermost layer, a second distance greater than the first distance.
3. A structural outer wall in a building as in claim 1 wherein, under such building load, said building panel deflects, between the top and bottom of said building panel, toward said outer layer.
4. A structural outer wall in a building as in claim 1 wherein the deflection is limited to no more than
Deflection= H/ 240,
where H is the top-to-bottom height of the building panel, and deflection and “H” are expressed in a common unit of measure.
5. A fiber-reinforced polymeric building panel, said building panel having a height extending between a top and a bottom of said building panel, a length, and a thickness, all defined when said building panel is in an upright use orientation, said building panel comprising:
(a) a first outermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer;
(b) a second innermost fiber-reinforced polymeric layer spaced from said first layer;
(c) a plurality of reinforcing webs, spaced from each other, and extending from said first fiber-reinforced polymeric layer to said second fiber-reinforced polymeric layer, a said reinforcing web having a first thickness extending along the length of said building panel, a first width extending along the thickness of said building panel, and a first length extending between the top and the bottom of said building panel; and
(d) a plurality of fiber-reinforced polymeric studs spaced from each other along the length of said building panel,
a said stud having a leg ( 128 ) which extends away from said innermost and outermost layers, said leg ( 128 ) having a second thickness extending along the length of said building panel, a second width extending along the thickness of said building panel, and a second length extending between the top and the bottom of said building panel, thus extending in a common direction with the length of said reinforcing web, both said stud leg and said reinforcing web extending in a common imaginary plane.
6. A fiber-reinforced polymeric building panel as in claim 5 , deflection of said building panel under rated load being limited to no more than
Deflection = H/ 240,
where H is the top-to-bottom height of the building panel, and deflection and “H” are expressed in a common unit of measure.
7. A fiber-reinforced polymeric structural building panel as in claim 5 , said studs extending inwardly from said innermost layer, and away from said outermost layer, a distance greater than the first distance.
8. A fiber-reinforced polymeric building panel as in claim 5 , said studs being spaced from each other by at least 16 inches, said studs extending from said innermost layer along said legs, distances of about 3.5 inches to end panels of said legs, said stud legs and said end panels each being about 0.09 inch thick, said innermost layer, said outermost layer, and said reinforcing webs each being about 0.09 inch thick, said building panel, when disposed in an upright orientation and subjected to a downwardly-directed load applied at the top of said building panel, and evenly distributed between said outermost layer and said end panels, having a vertical crush strength of at least 5,000 pounds per linear foot of the length of said building panel.
9. A fiber-reinforced polymeric building panel as in claim 5 , said studs being spaced from each other by at least 16 inches, said studs extending from said innermost layer along said legs, distances of about 3.5 inches to end panels of said legs, said stud legs and said end panels each being about 0.09 inch thick, said innermost layer, said outermost layer, and said reinforcing webs each being about 0.09 inch thick, said building panel, when disposed in an upright orientation and subjected to a downwardly-directed load applied at the top of said building panel, and evenly distributed between said outermost layer and said end panels, deflecting between the top and the bottom of the building panel, toward said outer layer.