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Course Description: AEC Daily: Next-Generation MgO: Exterior Wall Panels That Do It All
New building materials don’t come around very often, and in some cases, an early high-profile stumble can shape perceptions of an otherwise valuable technology. Learning from those mistakes, however, is a fundamental element of driving technical innovation, and real, robust solutions to known issues can ultimately produce the highest level of performance. Magnesium oxide-based composite panels have been used as exterior wall sheathing for several decades due to a number of highly desirable properties, including resistance to fire, dimensional stability, high strength, and other attributes. Early iterations of boards were found to have issues related to moisture and chemical stability, leading to premature failure of the building façade but also teaching the industry specific factors that needed to be improved in future generations of board. Now, as a maturing product category, the enabling technology of how to make consistent, high-quality boards is well known, even if not universally practiced. In this presentation, we review the basics of MgO chemistry, how boards incorporating MgO cement have evolved over time to address early issues in board performance, and how this technology can be incorporated into building exterior wall systems with many favorable attributes.
Explain the basic chemistry of chloride- and sulfate-based MgO composite sheathing boards, including cement chemical structure, additives, and manufacturing processes, and correlate these parameters to common board performance criteria.
Define the elements of a complete wall system that effectively leverages the benefits of MgO board technology while increasing board resistance to environmental effects.
Discuss how improvements in board chemistry, wall system designs, and wall panel acceptance criteria led to successful buildings.
Restate how MgO board characteristics relate to fire resistance, impact resistance, structural, and other wall performance properties.