Do I need FARRAT Thermal Breaks in my building design?
Brief:
The STRUKTRA Thermal Break developed by FARRAT is designed to insulate a building envelop while allowing it to maintain its full its structural integrity. This allows designers to meet multiple building regulations relating to fire, heat loss and energy performance.
Freedom of design and Ease of Use:
The integration of STRUKTRA will allow an architect the freedom to design and thermally isolate a building without having to compromise on the structural integrity or aesthetics. FARRAT STRUKTRA Thermal breaks are as strong as steel capable of supporting design loads of up to 250MPa, the STRUKTRA thermal plates are small, they are manufactured in a thickness of 5mm up to 25mm, with the ability to thermally isolate, steel, concrete, and wooden structures. The plates are seamlessly integrated into almost any design, they are placed in between the connection points of the structure, or architectural element and they are installed in beam to beam, column to column or beam to column applications.
Common interface details include:
- Structural Frames
- Facade system connections to primary frames
- Connection of external to internal primary building elements
- Balconies
- Staircases
- Isolation of Sub-structure and basement elements
- Man Safe systems
- Connections to existing structures
- Roof plant enclosures – columns
- Roof Parapets
Bespoke and Easy to install:
The STRUKTRA plates are customized and cut by CNC to match the dimensions and connections of the beams and column in your CAD drawings. The plates do not require any special skill, calculations, or tools to install. Simply position and bolt it into place.
Once integrated, the STRUKTRA plate will thermally insulate the building envelope by stopping or breaking the transfer of thermal energy from entering or leaving the structure. Our line of thermal breaks have a thermal conductivity measure of 0.187K which is the highest on the market and in line with all sustainability certifications such as LEEDS rating system.
Certified to the Highest European and GCC Standards:
All Farrat Structural Thermal Break Plates are supplied with a Certificate of Conformance in compliance with our British Board of Agrément (BBA) 17/5435certification and Farrat is a
member of the BRE Certified Thermal Product Scheme – Farrat Structural Thermal Breaks have been awarded ESTIDAMA approval and used in several projects across the UAE, they have also been independently assessed and awarded European Technical Approval 22/0333, confirming compliance with European Assessment Document – EAD 041877-00- 0301 and carry a CE mark and Declaration of Performance in accordance with Regulation
(EU) No 305/2011. Farrat Structural Thermal Breaks meet the National House Building Council’s (NHBC) Technical Requirements when used in accordance with BBA certificate 17/5435”
**Construction products that have Agrément Certificates are recognized by building control, government departments, architects, specifiers and industry insurers. It’s a mark of quality, safety and reliability that provides reassurance of the product’s fitness-for-purpose.
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Struktra Thermal Break Solutions
The significance of Structural Thermal Breaks in high rise fire design and building energy performance
Having introduced the Farrat Struktra Thermal Breaks Plate to the market back in 2007 we continue to lead on technical advances and certification:
- Our ETA certified STRUKTRA plates are the highest-performing sustainable building solutions. They are verified by the renowned Fraunhofer Institute) and responsible way to separate structural thermal bridge connections and prevent condensation and heatles in steel buildings and the building envelope.
- TBF was the first A2 fire rated Structural Thermal Break on the market of Thermal insulation in Dubai.
- In supporting the construction industry’s transition to netlabsolute zero without suppressing architectural ambition, we offer home-grown, PhD backed, advanced thermal modeling services aimed at accurately but pragmatically establishing the effects of thermal bridge connections and working with the project team to optimise the design in order to achieve the desired performance criteria..
- Our ongoing R&D programme recently launched Falcon a patent pending concrete to concrete thermal break connector aimed at controlling structural dynamics issues such as ‘bounce’ on long span (up to 4m) cantilevered balconies. Contact us to support you in structurally thermally incorporate into your building.
- Over the last 15 years we have tuned our service to meet the intense needs of the construction industry focusing on a trendly, pro-active service to ensure we deliver on time in and right first time every time.
Structural Thermal Breaks
Application Example
- Column Base Plates / Structural Connections
- Façade Systems
- Balconies
The STRUKTRA Thermal Break developed by FARRAT is designed to insulate a building
- Steel & Masonry (Linear)
- Balustrades (Point)
Applications
Structural thermal breaks are made up of the best heat insulation material in Dubai. They can be incorporated into any detail where there is a calculated or perceived risk of a thermal bridge occurring. This is typically in details that occur in building envelopes or where significant temperature difference is likely to occur between compartments, such as highly controlled atmospheric environments (plant or server rooms) or warm high humidity environments, such a breweries or swimming pools.
Example are
- Façade system connections to the primary frame
- Brise Solei and canopies
- Roof plant room columns
- Balustrading
- External balconies
- External Staircases
- Man-safe systems
- Sub-structure and basement structure elements
- External to internal primary building element connections
The two principal types of thermal breaks are
Mechanical
comprising of combinations of structural components and compressive thermal insulating materials used to compensate for the poor thermal performance of the continuous steel elements
Solid State Structural Thermal Break Plates
used in conventional connections as a structural ‘spacer’ that also has a high thermal performance.
Energy Loss
Thermal Conductivity values
- Steel – 50.0 W/m-k Stainless Steel 43.0 W/m-k Concrete 2.1 W/m-k
- Farrat – TBL 0.292 W/m-k
- Wood – 0.22 W/m-k
- Farrat TBF – 0.20 W/m-k
- Farrat TBK – 0.187 W/m-k
- Soft wall insulation – 0.02 W/m-k or so
Heat Loss is quantified using three parameters
| Plane elements windows | U value (W/m2K) | eg, floors, walls |
| Linear elements window/wall opening | W value (W/mK) | eg. Interface |
| Localised elements penetrating through wall | x value (W/K) | eg, structural element |
| Material Properties | Farrat TBF* | Farrat TBK | Farrat TBL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic Compressive Strength, fck (N/mm, MPa) | 355 | 312 | 89 |
| Design value for compressive strength, fcd (N/mm”, MPa) | 284 | 250 | 70 |
| Compresion Modulus (N/mm, MPa) | 5326 | 5178 | 2586 |
| Density (kg/m3) | 2160 | 1465 | 1137 |
| Water Absorption (%) | 0.40 | 0.14 | 0.48 |
| Thermal Conductivity (W/m-k) | 0.200 | 0.187 | 0.292 |
| Colour (may vary) | Grey | Amber | Black |
| Thicknesses available (mm) | 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 | 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 | 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 |
| Maximum sheet size (mm) | 1000 x 1200 | 2400 x 1200 | 2500 x 1250 |
| Temperature resistance (Celsius) | +550 short term (Max) +300 long term (Max) -120 (Min) | +250 short term (Max) +210 long term (Max) -180 (Min) | +170 short term (max) +110 long term (max) -40 (min) |
| Thickness tolerances (mm) | +/- 0.5 (TBF 5) +/-0.7 (TBF 10) +/- 1.05 (TBF 15) +/-1.4 (TBF 20) +/- 1.75 (TBF 25) | 0/+0.2 (TBK 5, 10 and 15) 0/+0.3 (TBK 20 and 25) | 0/+0.25 (TBL 5) +0.2/+1.5 (TBL 10) +0.3/+2.5 (TBL 15, 20 and 25) |
Design - Fire performance
Design - Fire testing
BRE Global Test Report
EN ISO 1716 Gross heat of combustion (calorific value) test on Farrat Structural Thermal Break, Farrat TBF.
| Fire Behaviour | Smoke Production | Flaming Droplets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | – | s | 1 | , | d | 0 |
Reaction to fire classification: A2-s1, d0
| Title | CLASSIFICATION OF REACTION TO FIRE PERFORMANCE IN ACCORDANCE WITH EN 13501-1:2018. |
|---|---|
| Notified Body No | CLASSIFICATION OF REACTION TO FIRE PERFORMANCE IN ACCORDANCE WITH EN 13501-1:2018. |
| Title | 0833 |
| Product Name | Farrat TBF |
| Report No | WF 424837 |
| Prepared for | Farrat Isolevel Ltd Balmoral Road Altrincham WA15 8HJ |
Structural Thermal Breaks
We eliminate the risk of thermal bridging.
Helping you to create energy efficient, compliant buildings. Farrat Structural Thermal Breaks are favoured across the construction industry, as the most efficient & responsible way to thermally separate structural connections and prevent heat loss in the building envelope.