 Purpose & Benefits of Thermal Improvement |
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Aluminum is an extremely
conductive material. As such the outside climate can easily be
transferred to the inside of a building through the fenestration's
framing. This holds true in both heating and cooling, as it costs as
much to cool a building as it does to heat it. All thermal barriers
act to eliminate this transfer of outside climatic conditions, with
reduced condensation as an added benefit.
When considering structural longevity, wind loads in high rise buildings and in curtain wall applications, composite materials that perform both efficiently and structurally are demanded. Thermal barriers are true structural insulators that maintain an extremely high shear modulus for windloads. Polyurethane's pour and debridge systems are formulated for these exacting applications and offer up to four times more shear strength than that of polyamide. |
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In terms of strength (as
measured by tensile strength, or the maximum load the material can
carry when stretched), aluminum is 3.4 times stronger than vinyl and
43 times stronger than wood. In terms of rigidity (as measured by
elasticity), aluminum is 23.2 times more rigid than vinyl and 7.2
times more rigid than pine wood. That means aluminum is much less
likely to deform, bend, or twist due to building settling, wind
pressure, or from expansion and contraction caused by temperature
extremes. Unlike wood, aluminum cannot absorb moisture, so there is no swelling, shrinking, warping, cracking, or rotting. Unlike vinyl, aluminum will not become brittle at low temperatures or pliable at high temperatures. Unaffected by weather and time, aluminum windows maintain their integrity against air and water leakage, while staying easy to open and close, for many years. |
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