History
Although foam-core panels gained attention in the 1970s, the idea of using stress skinned panels for construction began in the 1930s. Research and testing of the technology was done primarily by Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wisconsin as part of an U.S. Forest Service attempt to conserve forest resources. In 1937, a small stressed-skin house was constructed and garnered enough attention to bring in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to dedicate the house. In a testament to the durability of such panel structures, it has endured the severe Wisconsin climate and was used by University of Wisconsin–Madison as a day care center up until 1998 when it was removed to make way for a new Pharmacy School building. With the success of the stress skinned panels, it was suggested stronger skins could take all of the structural load and eliminate the frame altogether.
Thus in 1947, structural insulated panel development began with corrugated paperboard cores were tested with various skin materials of plywood, tempered hardboard and treated paperboard. The building was dismantled in 1978 and most of the panels retained their original strength with the exception of paperboard which is unsuited to outdoor exposure. Panels consisting of polystyrene core and paper overlaid with plywood skins were used in a building in 1967 and the panels have performed well to the present day.
SIP panel systems were used by Woods Constructors of Santa Paula, California in their homes and apartments from 1965 until 1984. This work was the basis for John Thomas Woods, Paul Flather Woods, John David Woods, and Frederick Thomas Woods when they used a similar concept to patent the Footing Form for Modular homes (US Patent #4817353) issued on April 4, 1989. Numerous homes in Santa Paula, Fillmore, Palm Springs, and surrounding areas use SIP panels as the primary method of construction. The design was awarded approval from (then) ICBO and SBCCI, now ICC.
Read more about this topic: Structural Insulated Panel
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