Aluminum foam in architecture and construction
For architecture and construction, Havel metal foam covers four fields of application: façade fixings and façade panels, walk-on balcony slabs, interior fit-out with wall panels, ceiling elements and furniture, and structural protection against blast effects. The material is of interest here because it is very light, can be installed without a substructure and remains fully recyclable. Two things are missing so far, and they are set out further down: a building-regulations classification of its reaction to fire, and a completed building project that we can show.
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Where is aluminum foam used in architecture and construction?
The applications fall into four fields. On the building envelope, these are façade fixings and façade panels. As a walk-on component, the balcony slab. In interior fit-out, wall panels, ceiling elements, and tables and chairs. And as a protective function, shielding against blast effects, fixed to the building or as a mobile protective wall. The common denominator is the ratio of stiffness to weight: the material carries load without burdening the substructure it would otherwise need.
- Façade fixings
- Façade panels
- Balcony slabs
- Wall panels and ceiling elements
- Tables and chairs
- Structural explosion protection and mobile protective walls
What do façade elements made of aluminum foam offer?
The façade panel is very light, can be installed without a substructure, is fully recyclable and does not change color in sunlight. Façade fixings made of aluminum foam also protect the façade against pressure, vibration, blast effects and sound. Installation without a substructure is the commercially interesting point, because it saves an entire set of components.
How is the balcony slab built up?
The balcony slab consists of aluminum foam reinforced at the edges with a steel bar grid and carrying a resin-bound mineral surface coating. The format is 3,000 × 1,500 mm, a practical balcony size. Compared with a conventional SAS sandwich it has clear weight advantages. Its build-up and use resemble reinforced concrete: a load-bearing slab with reinforcement and a mineral surface.
A bending test exists for the balcony slab. No permissible load and no span have been derived from it, and without these two figures a walk-on component cannot be structurally designed. What is documented is the build-up and the format: aluminum foam with a steel bar grid at the edges, a resin-bound mineral surface, 3,000 × 1,500 mm.
What is possible in interior fit-out?
For interior fit-out we produce wall panels, ceiling elements, and tables and chairs, and for the building envelope also panels and elements used in ventilated façades. The elements are pre-assembled and screwed together. They also offer sound insulation and electromagnetic shielding, a choice of alloys and the option of painting. For sound insulation there is so far no measured value and no test standard, so the statement remains qualitative.
What does the material achieve in structural explosion protection?
Havel metal foam has examined the effect on a reinforced concrete wall. The wall shielded with Havel Lite® SAS stayed intact, while the unprotected control wall cracked. For mobile applications there are mobile protective walls for terminals, embassies, control centers and checkpoints: panels of 10 to 50 mm, U-brackets and a plug-in base on castors, for example in the format 1,500 × 2,000 mm. These are test results and product data, not a certification: a protection value against a defined blast load has not been demonstrated for these components.
Does the material have a fire classification for use in buildings?
No, and this question belongs at the start of a building project, not at the end. For construction products, reaction to fire is classified to DIN 4102 or DIN EN 13501-1, and Havel metal foam holds no such classification for this material. What does exist is material testing of AAS and SAS to DIN EN 45545-2, which resulted in classification as HL3. That is the standard for rail vehicle construction and not a building-regulations classification; no certificate was ever applied for. Aluminum is non-combustible, but that does not make the component classified. For a façade or an interior component this classification is a prerequisite: without it, the material cannot be specified there.
Are there completed buildings using this material?
Havel metal foam has not yet completed a building project in architecture and construction. Architecture is a field of application with components, formats and test results, not a list of references. Where buildings with aluminum foam are shown in the industry, they come from other manufacturers. What is documented is the component: build-up, format, weight and the scope of what has been tested.
Evidence and references
Does aluminum foam have a fire classification for use in buildings?
Also asked: Is there a classification to DIN EN 13501-1? · Is testing to DIN EN 45545-2 enough for a façade?
No. For construction products, reaction to fire is classified to DIN 4102 or DIN EN 13501-1, and Havel metal foam holds no such classification for this material. What does exist is material testing of AAS and SAS to DIN EN 45545-2, which resulted in classification as HL3; that is the standard for rail vehicle construction; no certificate was ever applied for, and the test does not replace a building-regulations classification. Aluminum is non-combustible, but that does not make the component classified. For a façade or an interior component this classification is a prerequisite.
- Sources
- Brand content
Has Havel metal foam completed any buildings using aluminum foam?
Also asked: Which building projects have already been completed? · Is there a reference list for architecture?
No. Havel metal foam has not yet completed a building project in architecture and construction. Architecture is a field of application with components, formats and test results, not a list of references. Where buildings with aluminum foam are shown in the industry, they come from other manufacturers. What is documented is the component itself: build-up, format, weight and the scope of what has been tested.
- Sources
- Brand content
What load can the aluminum foam balcony slab carry?
Also asked: What span does the balcony slab cover? · Is there a bending test for the balcony slab?
A bending test exists for the balcony slab from Havel metal foam; no permissible load, no span and therefore no load-bearing capacity have been derived from it. Without these figures a walk-on component cannot be structurally designed. What is documented is the build-up and the format: aluminum foam with a steel bar grid at the edges, a resin-bound mineral surface, 3,000 × 1,500 mm.
- Sources
- Brand content
Components on the building envelope
What distinguishes a façade panel made of aluminum foam?
Also asked: What properties does the façade panel have? · Does the façade panel need a substructure?
The façade panel from Havel metal foam is very light, can be installed without a substructure, is fully recyclable and does not change color in sunlight. Installation without a substructure is the commercially interesting point, because it saves an entire set of components. Havel metal foam holds no building-regulations classification of reaction to fire for this material, and without one the panel cannot be specified for a façade.
- Sources
- Brand content
What do façade fixings made of aluminum foam protect against?
Also asked: What do façade fixings do? · Does aluminum foam protect the façade against sound?
Façade fixings made of aluminum foam from Havel metal foam protect the façade against pressure, vibration, blast effects and sound. The material works through its deformation behavior: the cell structure absorbs energy instead of passing it on into the substructure. For sound insulation there is so far no measured value and no test standard, so the statement remains qualitative.
- Sources
- Brand content
How is the aluminum foam balcony slab built up?
Also asked: What is the balcony slab made of? · In which format is the balcony slab available?
The balcony slab from Havel metal foam consists of aluminum foam reinforced at the edges with a steel bar grid and carrying a resin-bound mineral surface coating. The format is 3,000 × 1,500 mm, a practical balcony size. Compared with a conventional SAS sandwich it has clear weight advantages, and its build-up and use resemble reinforced concrete: a load-bearing slab with reinforcement and a mineral surface.
- Sources
- Brand content
Interior fit-out and building protection
Which components for interior fit-out does Havel metal foam produce?
Also asked: Are there wall panels and ceiling elements? · Is furniture also made from aluminum foam?
For interior fit-out, Havel metal foam produces wall panels, ceiling elements, and tables and chairs, and for the building envelope also panels and elements used in ventilated façades. The elements are pre-assembled and screwed together. They also offer sound insulation and electromagnetic shielding, a choice of alloys and the option of painting. For sound insulation there is so far no measured value and no test standard, so the statement remains qualitative.
- Sources
- Brand content
What does aluminum foam achieve in structural explosion protection?
Also asked: Does aluminum foam protect a wall against blast effects? · Are there mobile protective walls?
Havel metal foam has examined the effect on a reinforced concrete wall: the wall shielded with Havel Lite® SAS stayed intact, while the unprotected control wall cracked. For mobile applications there are mobile protective walls for terminals, embassies, control centers and checkpoints, with panels of 10 to 50 mm, U-brackets and a plug-in base on castors, for example in the format 1,500 × 2,000 mm. These are test results and product data, not a certification: a protection value against a defined blast load has not been demonstrated for these components.
- Sources
- Brand content
Aluminum foam for your building project
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