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Solution Spotlight: FRP As A Thermal Break

Solution Spotlight: FRP As A Thermal Break

A customer of Redco FRP’s manufacturer, Strongwell, in Alaska was fabricating a hospital and was facing a unique challenge. Alaska experiences very dynamic temperature changes throughout the year: from 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to -40 in the winter. With traditional metal building materials “thermal transference” can occur which results in condensation between the internal and external walls of the building. In the case of the Bassett Army Community Hospital, the designer wanted to minimize this thermal transference and was willing to consider alternative materials.

The solution ended up being EXTREN channels but also FIBREBOLT 3/4″ FRP threaded rod and nuts to affix the FRP. The reason for this is that metal-on-metal contact increases thermal transference and thus FIBREBOLT was a necessary component of the solution. The FRP components affixed to the structural steel framing system provided a thermal barrier reducing condensation caused by thermal transference. For more information on this application read about it on the original newsletter here.