Panacor vesp vitreous enamel steel panel for cladding in tunnels

PANACOR PPP: PASSIVE PROTECTIVE PANEL PANACOR WITH VITREOUS ENAMEL STEEL

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

PANACOR PPP is a prefabricated steel cassette panel system featuring a vitreous enamel finish which is applied using a special static powder enamelling process including baking at 800 degrees. PANACOR PPP vitreous enamelled steel panels have steel as their base element covered with vitrified enamel on both sides. The enamel creates a virtually indestructible vitreous coating fused with the metal surface at very high temperatures.

This process produces a virtually indestructible finish and is one of the most durable exterior coatings in the world; meaning that it is highly resistant to graffiti, abrasion and impact damage. It is an ideal product for high traffic areas such as train stations and ground level cladding.

The steel sheet used to produce our panels is heavy gauge in accordance the UNE‐EN 14431 norm. The thickness of the steel complies with the specifica‐tions established in this norm depending on panel application. The steel sheet used is especially cold rolled, decarbon‐ised steel according to the EN 10209 norm, coated with vitreous enamel fused to the metal at temperatures higher than 800ºC. It is initially con‐formed and then coated either individu‐ally or in batches. At least two layers of coating are applied to the exterior sur‐face of the panels and one to the inte‐rior surface.

PANACOR PPP comprises a steel skin that is prefabricated into a cassette panel and can be manufactured in a wide range of shapes (including curves in certain applications) and finished in a wide range of colours. This enables extremely flexible design possibilities along with the added benefit of low maintenance and excellent durability.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

The performance characteristics of our vitreous enameled steel panels result in a ma‐terial that will not rust, is resistant to chemical attack, abrasion and fire as well as being more durable than any other architectural cladding material. In addition its versatility enables custom designs of all shapes and dimensions, the use of graphics and logos as well of virtually unlimited colour range. Vitreous enamelled steel panels are extremely durable and need very little maintenance and cleaning. They will retain their original colour throughout the normal expected life of a building. Exposure to extreme weather conditions and coastal environments does not affect their perform‐ance or appearance.

HIGH REFLECTANCE AND LUMINOSITY – ENERGY EFFICIENCY

PANACOR PPP vitreous enamelled panels have a very high reflectance unalterable with time because the vitrified surface dos not suffer discoloration or brightness loss. This is especially important in the energy efficiency of road tunnels where the cost of lighting them is greatly reduced, making savings very important.

NON-COMBUSTIBLE

Vitreous enamelled steel is totally incombusti‐ble, will neither ignite nor burn and will with‐stand temperatures of up to +400C. Architectural PANACOR PPP panels will, depending on the design and the nature of the backing materials, provide fire ratings of a minimum of two hours. Gases do not attack the product and due o their inorganic nature they do not produce toxic gases.

HIGH DURABILITY

PANACOR PPP panels are extremely durable. The vitreous enamel coating has excellent scratch, graffiti and impact resistance making it ideal for areas of heavy traffic or extreme wear.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Being non-combustible and virtually indestructible makes PANACOR PPP one of the most durable cladding products available for infrastructure projects.

VERSATILE

PANACOR PPP can be custom designed into a wide range of shapes and dimensions as well as able to be perforated or curved in some applications making it a versatile design choice.

The performance characteristics of vitreous enamel result in a versatility enables custom de‐signs of all shapes and dimensions such as col‐umns, doors, benches and special shapes for all kinds of architectural purposes.

PAINT SYSTEM

PANACOR PPP Vitreous enamelled panels guarantee protection against corrosion and are completely resistant to premature aging due to ultra violet light exposure. The original colours and surface finish will not deteriorate under continuos exposure to sunlight, rain, frost etc. which makes them ideal for either exterior or interior applications.

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT AND ATMOSPHERIC AGENT RESISTANCE

APPEARANCE AND HYGIENE

PANACOR PPP Vitreous enamelled steel panels are sterile, germ free, odorless and easy to clean. Combined with its other characteristics and a smooth colour fast sur‐face, they provide unmatched visual appearance.

PANACOR PPP has a completely non-porous surface that does not absorb any bacteria. The non-stick surface allows intense cleaning with hospital grade cleaning agents.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND CAN BE RECYCLED

Production of PANACOR PPP uses environmentally friendly processes. No intrinsically harmful substances are used, and no burden is placed on either man or the environment. Enamel products can be recycled and introduced into waste recycling without polluting the environment.

DIRT-REPELLENT AND GRAFFITI-PROOF

As no static charge develops in enamel, it never, or only rarely, attracts wind-borne particles or brake dust. Adhesives and other chemical substances such as graffiti residue are easily removed from the enamel surfaces which are as smooth as glass.

DURABILITY AND MAINTENANCE

To guarantee the highest durability, the accumulation of moisture and dirt is something to avoid because those are points of preferential corrosivity.

We developed several models of panels trying to improve the solution to get durability hihger than 50 years, those models were tested in saline chamber test until 1000 hours.

Standard panels: Corrosión on steel sheets cut edges after 250 hours

PANACOR PPP: Only small spot on steel sheet after 1000 hours

About the maintenance, our panels design hide all the edges of the cut steel sheets inside the panel to avoid corrosión. Besides to avoid accumulation of moisture and dirt to prevent the early appearance of corrosión, maintenance works are much more easy because there is so horizontal or vertical joints to trap the dirt or moisture.

Standard panels with additional U profiles to seal the edges and additional profiles to fix the panels to the wall accumulate dirt and moisture trap hard-to-clean dirt:

Vertical and horizontal joints cleaning

Truck cleaning the panels. Joints are nor easy to clean

PRODUCTION PROCESS

PREPARATORY WORK

Design, calculations , engineering and the 2D/3D design is the fist stage. Depending on the Project requirements, we design the proper panels to fullfil those requiremets.

We do the supportint metallic structure calculations on the basis of the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis) taking into account the the aerodinamic loads due to vehicles passing close to the panels.

STEEL CUTTING AND SHAPING

From especially cold rolled steel sheets the panels are formed to the shapes and sizes detailed in approved drawings carefully studied by our technical department. All cutting and shaping are done in our factory thus avoiding any cutting or treatment at construction sites. Completely shaping the panels prior to vitrification ensures that both faces of the steel are totally protected by vitreous enamel coating.

VITRIFICATION

The vitrificaction process is carried out according to the UNE‐EN 14431 norm. The enamels used consist of frits that are milled in water with other materials including clay and color‐ing pigments to a cream like consistency. The ‘slip’ is then wet sprayed directly using specialized robots onto the steel pan‐els. Vitreous enamel consists of a ground coat and a top coat. Ground coats are applied to all sides of the steel panels. The top coat is the final colour coat. After applying each coat the panels are introduced in an industrial oven were the enamel is vitrified at more than 800ºC and adheres to the steel. The resulting thickness of the vitrified enamel is between 185µ y 500µ on the front side and at least 100µ on the back side.

Steel sheets going into the oven at 800 celsius degrees

Factory general view

BACKING

Most vitreous enamelled architectural panels are lami‐nated with backing material for improved performance and flatness. Backings are used for various purposes such as for acoustic performance, fire and thermal in‐sulation and to provide a rigid backing to achieve maxi‐mum panel flatness.

The following are the most widely used types of vitre‐ous enamel panel backings:

Fireproof and waterproof timber backing
Calcium Silicate board backing
Hexagonal Cell Phenolic “Honeycomb” backing
Hexagonal Cell Aluminum “Honeycomb” backing
Fibreglass backing
Terophon backing (acustic material)

The quality control check the product meets its targeted parameters.

Finally the packaging and dispatch is done. Packed in suitable crates for air or sea freight with sheltered truck and container loading área.

Panels stocked ready for packaging

Palets ready to dispach

Loading in the container

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

The outstanding toughness and colourfastness of PANACOR PPP as well as its exceptional sound absorption qualities lends itself to being one of the most durable cladding materials in the market and extremely popular for use on infrastructure projects such as tunnel linings and airports. Other key benefits of using PANACOR PPP for infrastructure projects:

Deemed non-combustible.
Impervious to UV rays and extreme weather conditions – PANACOR PPP is not affected appearance or performance wise.
The PANACOR PPP steel is unusually hard and has a high lubricity: meaning that it is anti-scratch and impact resistant – ideal for high impact pedestrian areas.
PANACOR PPP has a high resistance to most acids and alkali’s. It is also resistant to sea spray; making it perfect for coastal and marine situations.
PANACOR PPP is also graffiti resistant – the impervious nature of the panel enables the complete removal of paint.

Graffiti cleaning

PANACOR PPP are increasingly used in transport construction due to their purpose-designed practicality and beauty, the versa-tility they offer to architects and engineers, and indeed to their robustness, abrasion resistance and non-flammable nature (Fire Classification A1).

TUNNELS CLADDING APLICATIONS

The design of road tunnels needs to take into consideration several technical and economic aspects all leading to the principal aim which is the security in the tunnels. Many are the advantages of using PANACOR PPP vitrified enameled panels for tunnel cladding.

Additionally to their aesthetic function, one of the principal advantages is the considerable energy savings in illumination systems due to the particular photometric properties of the panels with optimized color and reflectivity, which contribute to considerable increase in security inside the tunnels as well as more comfort for the drivers.

One of the biggest problems of tunnel traffic is the poor illumination of the concrete walls. The ideal situation would be for the lighting of the walls to match the lightning of the road. Concrete walls are due to absorb dust, cinders and combustion residues from the cars turning its already grey surface even darker.

Vitrified enameled panel tunnel cladding increases visual guidance and contrast for the drivers, thus reducing the possibility of accidents and complying with the European norms regarding tunnel security. Additionally, the high resistance to impact and distortion from temperatures of PANACOR PPP vitrified enameled panels provides more security advantages than other types cladding.

The heavy gauge quality and the resistance of vitreous enamelled steel to impact and distortion under extreme temperatures provide further significant safety advantages in applications such as tunnels; as well as structural stability and more durability and protection against corrosion in comparison to other types of cladding such as thin gauge panels or thermoplastic paints. Likewise, the vitrified surface has an extremely high resistance to acids which makes them particularly unalterable to atmospheric gas attack originated from vehicle traffic.

The outstanding properties of enamel cladding make it ideally suited for use in road tunnels. In this domain, the material properties of enamel provide the best interms of high resistance, a long lifespan and low maintenance costs.

These are the main advantages for this kind of application:

No fire load; protects the tunnel wall from fire and impact.
Bright, reflective surfaces reduce tunnel phobia and save energy.
Extremely easy to clean, thereby saving on water, cleaning agents and personnel.
Panels can be immediately and quickly replaced while the tunnel is in use.
Long lifespan – at least 30 years.
Enamelled information signs provide guidance throughout the entire lifespan of the panels.
Protection for tunnel infrastructure (conduits, cables, pipes).
Potential for diverting water running off mountains by using a specially designed enamelled reverse side.

SCREEN PRINTING

A significant advantage of using enamel is being able to print on it. Images can be preserved for a long period, and colour effects retain their original brilliance even after several years. You can print information signs and route maps as well as images using the 4-colour process. More than 10 colours can be printed, up to a maximum size of 1250 x 2500 mm.

END-TO-END PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Design and calculation of metallic supporting structure and vitreous enamel steel panels sized for aerodinamic pressure due to vehicles passing.

Substructure and panels create a stable and dynamically tested system.

MANUFACTURING QUALITY

A dedication to the total fulfillment of our client’s and customer’s expectations is reflected by a complete quality control system, beginning at the point of specification and continuing through to delivery of the guaranteed products. All activities are carried out in a manner which:

Uses the framework of ISO9000 Quality Standards to verify the quality of our systems.
Ensures that our products and services are of the highest standards.
Creates continuous improvements to our product through the application of the best quality practices.

Our products are manufactured in ac-cordance with EN ISO 28722:2011 “Vitreous and porcelain enamels. Characteristics of enamel coatings applied to steel panels intended for architecture”. Our customers’ quality requirements are our reference point and our guiding principle.

DIMENSIONS AND COMPONENTS

All PANACOR PPP panels are ordered in custom dimensions, standard sizing is typically around 2400 x 1200mm or less, as the panel becomes prohibitively heavy. Maximum size is 3000 x 1500mm.

The panels manufactured by Panacor are Heavy Gauge – with thickness higher than 1,2 mm in accordance to the UNE‐EN 14431 norm. Both faces of the steel are totally pro‐tected by vitreous enamel coating. The steel provides strength and sag resisting properties during enameling and the use of the panel.

The core of the panel can be manufactured with a fiber cement plate and with an aluminum honeycomb, to reduce its own weight.