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Looks like quite interesting solution. Cheap, fast production of strong and durable panels. "Build everlasting civilisation" they say. Im just curious what abou

Looks like quite interesting solution. Cheap, fast production of strong and durable panels. "Build everlasting civilisation" they say. Im just curious what about thermal insulation properties.

h2odragon 5y ago
Stainless steel costs quite a bit more than wood; and even if they pull vacuum in those cells (which i dont think they are) I'd bet this isn't as good a thermal insulator as wood. Looks like an investor fleecing operation. I helped build a place using "foam core" enameled steel panels in the 1980s; its still there but they had to do another layer of siding over the outside after about a decade, as the paint was beginning to chip and bubble. The "foam core" stuff turned to powder within a few years and settled at the bottom of the panels, meaning what insulation value they had is almost completely gone now. The marketing speak for those panels had a very strong resemblance to this stuff.
- pengaru 5y ago
  > even if they pull vacuum in those cells (which i dont think they are) I'd bet this isn't as good a thermal insulator as wood. The B-CORE slab thermal insulation wall is described as being filled with rockwool insulation.
  - amluto 5y ago
    rockwool.com claims a thermal conductivity of 0.033 W/m K. Many stainless steel alloys seem to be around 16 W/m K (and mild steel is quite a bit higher). So, very roughly (and assuming all heat transfer is conductive, etc), if the fraction of the inside that’s steel is well under 0.2%, the overall thermal conductivity through the panel will be comparable to that of rock wool. Otherwise it will be higher. In any case, the thermal conductivity along the sheet (as opposed to through it) will be quite high due to the solid metal face. One could work out the fill factor from the drawings in the OP.
    - labawi 5y ago
      Going by specifications the steel fill fraction is 0.22% for P and 0.09% for Q, which are meant for Insulated exterior (structural/non-structural) wall. The numbers work out, even for a moderately more conductive steel. I wonder if they fill the inside of tubes with rock wool.
  - rafamvc 5y ago
    This can't be a good insulation barrier. It will have a lot of thermal bridging, so might as well not insulate with rockwool inside. Rockwool will mostly help with sound there. The metal will also have another issue with condensation as the two different sides will have different temperature and moisture and it will condensate.
    - pengaru 5y ago
      You're simultaneously arguing it's a thermal bridge yet maintaining a temperature difference. Make up your mind.
vincnetas 5y ago
by the way, as i understand they using it in real(kind of) projects already https://youtu.be/you-BV35B9Y https://youtu.be/you-BV35B9Y

Looks like quite interesting solution. Cheap, fast production of strong and durable panels. "Build everlasting civilisation" they say. Im just curious what about thermal insulation properties.

h2odragon 5y ago

Stainless steel costs quite a bit more than wood; and even if they pull vacuum in those cells (which i dont think they are) I'd bet this isn't as good a thermal insulator as wood. Looks like an investor fleecing operation. I helped build a place using "foam core" enameled steel panels in the 1980s; its still there but they had to do another layer of siding over the outside after about a decade, as the paint was beginning to chip and bubble. The "foam core" stuff turned to powder within a few years and settled at the bottom of the panels, meaning what insulation value they had is almost completely gone now. The marketing speak for those panels had a very strong resemblance to this stuff.

pengaru 5y ago
> even if they pull vacuum in those cells (which i dont think they are) I'd bet this isn't as good a thermal insulator as wood. The B-CORE slab thermal insulation wall is described as being filled with rockwool insulation.
- amluto 5y ago
  rockwool.com claims a thermal conductivity of 0.033 W/m K. Many stainless steel alloys seem to be around 16 W/m K (and mild steel is quite a bit higher). So, very roughly (and assuming all heat transfer is conductive, etc), if the fraction of the inside that’s steel is well under 0.2%, the overall thermal conductivity through the panel will be comparable to that of rock wool. Otherwise it will be higher. In any case, the thermal conductivity along the sheet (as opposed to through it) will be quite high due to the solid metal face. One could work out the fill factor from the drawings in the OP.
  - labawi 5y ago
    Going by specifications the steel fill fraction is 0.22% for P and 0.09% for Q, which are meant for Insulated exterior (structural/non-structural) wall. The numbers work out, even for a moderately more conductive steel. I wonder if they fill the inside of tubes with rock wool.
- rafamvc 5y ago
  This can't be a good insulation barrier. It will have a lot of thermal bridging, so might as well not insulate with rockwool inside. Rockwool will mostly help with sound there. The metal will also have another issue with condensation as the two different sides will have different temperature and moisture and it will condensate.
  - pengaru 5y ago
    You're simultaneously arguing it's a thermal bridge yet maintaining a temperature difference. Make up your mind.

vincnetas 5y ago

by the way, as i understand they using it in real(kind of) projects already https://youtu.be/you-BV35B9Y https://youtu.be/you-BV35B9Y