Engineers from RMIT University, Australia, together with the company Livefield have developed fire-proof building cladding using recycled glass.
This circular economy solution offers a promising way to tackle the vast amount of glass waste that ends up in landfills around the world. The composite siding is structurally strong, economical and made from 83% recycled glass, along with plastic binders and heat and fire resistant additives.
Reduction of glass waste, to make the construction industry more sustainable
The combination of materials used in this project overcomes the challenges of glass clads, which are often brittle and prone to fracture. Experiments have shown that the new coatings are fire-resistant, waterproof and meet structural and environmentally sustainable requirements. The technology meets the non-combustibility requirements set by Standards Australia and has been proven for large-scale manufacturability.
Panels using the technology have been installed at RMIT University’s Bundoora campus to demonstrate their viability as building envelopes. Livefield is interested in improving the manufacturing process of the recycled class composite cladding, with the support of research from the study house.
According to lead researcher Associate Professor Dilan Robert, millions of tons of reusable glass go unnecessarily to landfill each year, and more glass could be recycled into building industry products. Glass is one of the most recyclable materials in the world, as it does not lose its quality or purity and can be recycled for multiple uses in a wide range of industries.
Reusing glass that would otherwise go to landfills will bring environmental, economic and social benefits. Making city buildings fire safe is a major research focus. Claddings play a key role in preventing the spread of fire, especially in high-rise buildings. Some of the most catastrophic building fires, such as the one at Grenfell Tower in London in 2017, have been attributed to the poor fire prevention performance of cladding materials.
The RMIT team behind this new cladding technology has also recently published research into the fire safety compliance of building cladding materials and the use of recycled glass in building products. Both articles are published in Construction and Building Materials.
