Cracking in Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 7, Issue 1
Abstract
The outside lamina of an exterior insulation and finish system is typically applied as a plaster using a polymer and portland cement mix, reinforced by a mesh that is usually a glass fiber product. Observations of leakage and cracking are discussed. Engineers sometimes find a particularly severe cracking failure in which the crack splits the system, including the mesh, fully through its thickness, suggesting that in such cases the mesh is of insufficient strength to distribute tensile strains and control cracking. Elementary stress analysis establishes the conditions under which such full splitting will occur. Pilot tests were performed to measure elastic modulus, rupture stress, shrinkage strain, and mesh strength. For the sample system studied, the measured properties confirm the mesh strength to be inadequate for control of cracking, and predict system performance failure by full splitting. Further analysis demonstrates that the tensile strain field producing such failure can be produced solely by shrinkage of the material.
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References
1.
Allen, E. (1985). The professional handbook of building construction. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.
2.
“Control of cracking in concrete structures.” (1980). ACI 224R‐80. American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Mich.
3.
EIMA guideline standard 101.91, standard guide for use of resin coated, glass fiber mesh in exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS), Class PB. (1992). Exterior Insulation Manufacturers Association, Clearwater, Fla.
4.
Williams, M. F., and Williams, B. L. (1990). “Sealant usage for exterior insulation & finish systems.” Building sealants: Materials, properties, and performance, ASTM STP 1069, T. F. O'Connor, ed., ASTM, Philadephia, Pa., 303–314.
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Copyright
Copyright © 1993 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 20, 1992
Published online: Feb 1, 1993
Published in print: Feb 1993
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