The need for more living and working space to accommodate fast-growing urban populations has created great opportunities – and challenges – for architects, contractors and building owners alike. A global leader in the development of silicone materials for the high-performance building industry, Dow Corning is helping to address these challenges, offering innovative silicon-based technologies, materials and solutions.
Dow Corning will showcase a collection of these technologies at the Greenbuild 2013 Conference & Expo, November 20 through 22 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The company will be in Expo Booth 717 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In addition, a Dow Corning High Performance Building Solutions application engineer will co-present a November 20 education session on resilient building envelope construction.
Technologies on Display at Greenbuild
Dow Corning's featured products at Greenbuild will include new, robust silicone solutions designed not only to improve the energy efficiency of buildings but also to enable greater design freedom:
- The Dow Corning® Silicone Air Barrier System – An air and weather barrier solution that provides airtight moisture control for more energy-efficient building envelope designs
- Dow Corning® Architectural Insulation Modules – A design-enabling high-performance insulation solution for next-generation curtainwalls
- Dow Corning® Building Insulation Blanket – A thin-profile, flexible insulating material that offers freedom of design coupled with improved energy efficiency
- Dow Corning® 121 Structural Glazing Sealant – A neutral-cure, RTV, 1:1 mix ratio silicone sealant ideal for repair or replacement of structurally glazed glass and other substrates
The Dow Corning Silicone Air Barrier System is a suite of compatible high-performance silicone technologies from Dow Corning designed to work in concert to help protect the entire building envelope.
"We created the Dow Corning Silicone Air Barrier System to overcome the shortcomings of other air barrier systems on the market today – systems that were unsatisfactory in terms of fire ratings, airtightness or UV resistance; systems that required too many installation steps, were incompatible with other building envelope components or lacked technical support," said Dow Corning High Performance Building Marketing Manager Andy Shives.
"Design professionals and contractors have been asking for an air and water protection solution based on proven silicone technologies from a single supplier, and we are offering it – all backed by a system warranty from Dow Corning," Shives said.
The Dow Corning Silicone Air Barrier System includes:
- Dow Corning® DefendAir 200 – A 100 percent silicone liquid-applied air and weather barrier that cures to form a seamless, flexible membrane, Dow Corning DefendAir 200 is vapor-permeable, exceeds industry requirements for airtight performance and does not have a limit on UV exposure. It provides fast, easy and effective protection from air infiltration and water penetration, which helps reduce energy consumption. Additionally, the formulation is solventless and low-VOC to help users meet increasingly stringent environmental codes.
- Dow Corning® Silicone Transition System – Featuring high-performance precured 100 percent silicone rubber strips and corners that are easy to install using Dow Corning® brand silicone sealants (rather than mechanical fasteners), this system forms a continuous airtight transition from the window to the wall.
- Dow Corning® brand silicone sealants – Certain Dow Corning silicone sealants are compatible for use with the components of the barrier system.
Dow Corning Architectural Insulation Modules , another Dow Corning innovation designed to help meet near-zero-energy building requirements, combine the aesthetics and convenience of curtainwall construction with the energy savings benefits of Dow Corning® Vacuum Insulation Panel. Dow Corning Architectural Insulation Modules are high-performance, thin-profile materials that can significantly increase thermal resistance in space-limited situations and enable slim wall constructions with high R-value performance. Available in a variety of architectural finishes, these modules give architects new design possibilities and the flexibility to better balance needs for thermal performance and visual aesthetics.
Dow Corning Building Insulation Blanket offers many of the same advantages as Dow Corning Architectural Insulation Modules, but in a thin, flexible form that is easy to install in difficult profiles such as curves and corners. This makes Dow Corning Building Insulation Blanket (PDF) an ideal solution for sealing challenging connection points in building envelopes, such as where glazing systems meet cavity walls, where above-grade and below-grade systems meet, and where parapets meet roofs.
Fast-curing Dow Corning 121 Structural Glazing Sealant features a unique 1-to-1 ("121") mix ratio and is supplied in a two-part cartridge, complete with a static mixer. Whether for repair, restoration or new construction, curtainwall contractors will appreciate this simplified solution that both eliminates the need for specialized pumps and metering equipment and minimizes quality assurance issues. Dow Corning 121 Structural Glazing Sealant is equally suitable for on-site structural glazing – including storefront systems or attachment of panel stiffeners – as it is for in-shop structural glazing.
Education Session Presentation on Envelope Design
LEED® Green Associate Andrea Wagner, a senior application engineer for Dow Corning High Performance Building Solutions, will co-present "Resilient Envelope Construction: It's All in the Details" (Session B09) with Brightworks Principal Chris A. Forney, LEED AP, BD+C, ID+C, from 2 to 3 p.m. November 20 as part of the conference's lineup of education sessions. The session will examine the increasing demands on designers and builders to deliver higher performance from the building envelope.
"If air infiltration and water intrusion are not properly addressed in construction documents with subcontractors, buildings upon completion will not be able to meet green building standards with regards to energy efficiency, building commissioning, tenant satisfaction and construction quality plans," Wagner said.
Wagner's and Forney's presentation will address the particularly important areas of window-wall transitions and the continuity of the air control layer, with five steps for developing details that will prevent these issues. They also will discuss LEED project management implications for the newly added Envelope Commissioning option in LEEDv4.
Solutions Based on Proven Technology
"Architects and building component designers need innovative new materials to help them achieve their near-zero-energy building goals. But they also need the assurance that those materials are based on proven technology," said Joy Govitz, Dow Corning's global strategic marketing leader for High Performance Building. "Dow Corning is capitalizing on its 70 years of silicon-based technology expertise to provide those solutions."
Information about Dow Corning's full range of silicon-based materials for high-performance building is available at dowcorning.com/construction.