Thermo Sacme System

There can be two different types of this masonry unit, varying according to their application:
load-bearing wall;
curtain wall.
In both types the insulating element can be either central or lateral.

This thermal block can be used as a replacement of the retaining panels for the pouring of concrete mix, and it can also be used as a traditional building unit. The insulating element of this block can be placed either in central or in side position; this thermal block can have open holes or holes which are half closed, and half open, thus assuring a saving of 50% in the pouring of concrete mix.

This thermoblock has the specificity of a side insulating insert; it is indispensable for the construction of lintels in the masonry structure since it assures the total continuity of the wall insulation, and avoids all thermal bridges.

These thermoblocks for partition walls are constituted by:
an insulating insert (thickness 7 / 9 cm.);
a double insulating insert (thickness 12 / 15 cm.).
The peculiarity of this partition unit is that the insulating insert is cut following a special profile, with grooves where the grout interconnecting the elements is applied, thus allowing the perfect continuity of the insulating inserts and the total elimination of thermal bridges.

These special hourdies developed by Sacme have the distinctive feature of an insulating insert which is perfectly interlinked with the concrete unit and fully complies with the laws both for thermal and acoustic insulation.

This hourdi has the peculiarity of an insulating insert interlinked with the concrete on the floor side. This innovative design gives the possibility to realize floors with embedded cells favouring the crossing of the concrete castings. The use of these “special” hourdies allows the realization of more solid monolithic structures and gives the designers the advantage of an optimal solution for floors of particularly wide dimensions.
After pouring the concrete castings, insulating panels of the same type as the EPS of the thermal hourdies shall be placed along the courses; in this way the floor structure shall be perfectly insulated, with no interference in the attributes of the load bearing structure of the floor itself.

The Thermo Sacme system gives block makers the possibility to realize a daily production of thermoblocks which is certain and continuous.
In addition, the great advantage offered by Sacme is that the thermoblocks produced have the support of an important and valuable certification, recognized world-wide. In fact, Sacme guarantees the future approval of the thermoblocks by the local authorities in the production country, according to the laws in force there, through the support of Istituto Giordano, a prestigious and internationally renowned institute.

To obtain the certificates, Sacme prepares an introductory study of the thermoblock which will be produced, with the indication of the aggregates used in the production process and of the insulating material, and draws up a technical data sheet. Then, with the application of the patented Thermo Sacme system, the production of thermoblocks is realized and the certifications obtained. These certificates have full legal validity and represent essential elements for the designers using blocks for the correct implementation of masonry units having thermal insulation and consequently the approval for energy saving.

Sacme started the production of mobile block machines for thermoblocks in 1992, thus giving a concrete reply to the necessity for thermal insulation in the buildings of the Middle East area. Then the production of this kind of equipment has undergone continual refinements and presently there are more than 100 thermoblock units spread all over the world.

The wide experience acquired during the years has given Sacme the best instruments to face efficiently and successfully the issues of thermal insulation and to propose rational solutions for perfectly efficient block plants. Sacme has the right answers for any production need in the building materials industry; the wide range of products supplied goes from the single block machine to the complete block plant, including concrete batching and mixing systems, along with material handling equipment and complete turnkey plants.

In addition to experience and efficiency, Sacme offers an unprecedented patent protection, that is a set of patents covering not only the thermoblocks production process, but also the building system, that is the concrete products used in the construction of buildings.

In the manufacturing of thermoblocks for buildings pursuant to the laws on energy saving the features of the insulating elements are essential.

Among many different insulating elements which are used in building products, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is the most popular.
This insulating material offers the right balance between quality, price, ease of use. It is an environmentally friendly material, being composed by 98% air and only 2% material. EPS demands little energy for its molding because, for the expansion of the small pearls, only water vapour is used.

In order to be used in the building industry, EPS must be self-extinguishing.
Other EPS features, like its density, the open cells, the closed cells, etc. may vary according to the objective of its use, for example the thermal insulation or the sound absorption.
In the case of thermal insulation, it is advisable to use polystyrene inserts having a density of approx. 25-27 Kg./m³, with a Lambda value of approx. 0,035. The insert thickness shall be decided according to these parameters.
For sound absorption, reference is made to the producer’s technical data sheet.

Shape of the insulating insert: in order to create a perfect interconnection between concrete mix and insulating insert and produce a monolithic structure, it is necessary to realize dovetail joints, normally in vertical courses.

In addition to traditional insulating inserts, our Thermo Sacme system accepts the use of shaped insulating elements with joints.

Another method which extraordinarily helps meeting the requirements for thermal and acoustic insulation is that regarding the use of bulk expanded polystyrene (in grains) together with a mixture of sand, gravel and cement.

This mix is a valid substitute for the expanded clay and volcanic natural aggregates like lapilli, pumice, etc. It helps obtaining better results with much lower costs! The polystyrene grains participate in making a light weight concrete mix which dramatically improves the thermal and acoustic properties of the concrete building elements, and noticeably increases the fire-resistance rating, achieving values which can hardly be obtained by using other techniques (REI 240).