Do You Really Understand ETFE Membrane Structure?

Do You Really Understand ETFE Membrane Structure?
ETFE membrane structure generally refers to ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, which is a chemical substance.ETFE is the strongest fluoroplastic. While maintaining the good heat resistance, chemical resistance, and electrical insulation properties of PTFE, it is resistant to radiation and the mechanical properties have been greatly improved, and the tensile strength can reach 50 MPa, which is close to twice that of PTFE.
1.Advantage
Excellent light transmittance: ETFE membrane can be highly transparent and allows ultraviolet rays to pass through. Ultraviolet rays are responsible for promoting photosynthesis, thereby promoting plant growth.
Solar control/shading: ETFE thin-flm system can add a variety of glass frit patterns on one or more layers to change its solar performance. The foil is printed with various standard or customized patterns. Color can be introduced in a variety of ways, whether it is applied during the film extrusion process, providing consistent hues from red to purple, or adding lighting with unlimited color options Elasticity: Although ETFE films are very elastic, they still have structural resistance, The tensile strength at the elastic/plastic limit is 21-23N/mm2, but the tensile strength at the breaking point is 52/Nmm2. For membrane structure calculations, the limit of 15 N/mm is usually conservatively adopted.
Durable and durable: ETFE will not degrade if exposed to environmental pollution, ultraviolet rays, iritating chemicals, or extreme temperature changes for a long time.
Acoustic transmission: ETFE membrane has about 70% acoustic transmission
Sustainability/energy saving：From film extrusion to transportation to the site, compared with other similar coating materials, it consumes less energy, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint. In addition, the properties of the product enhance the building physics through heat insulation and lighting, thereby contributing to the global low energy consumption of buildings.
Cost-effectiveness: Due to the lightweight characteristics of ETFE, the substructure support system, and concrete foundation can be designed more effectively. The ETFE system also provides sufficient natural lighting to minimize energy costs by reducing the need for indoor lighting
Recyclable: easy to recycle, waste from the manutacturing process and even old ETFE components can be remade into new ETFE products, such as pipe parts, wires, or castings.

2.Disadvantages
Although the tensile strength and tear strength are high, they are far lower than PVC and PTFE membrane materials, so the span of the structure is smaller than that of the fabric membrane structure.
When the inflatable type is selected, there must be corresponding mechanical equipment and electrical equipment, and the maintenance cost during the operation is relatively high.
There are few manufacturers and the price of materials is high.
3.ETFE Membrane Forming Process
Crystal material, low moisture absorption. It can be processed into products by the usual processing methods of thermoplastics. Poor fluidity, easy to decompose, and produce corrosive gas during decomposition. The molding temperature should be strictly controlled not to exceed 350 degrees, the mold should be heated to 100-150 degrees, and the pouring system should have a low resistance to material flow. It can form simple thin-walled products with a thickness of 0.7-0.8 mm
Transparent pellets, injection molding, and extrusion molding. The molding temperature is 300-330 degrees, and it is easy to cause discoloration or bubbles above 350 degrees. It is suitable for high-speed and low-pressure molding, and it is difficult to demold.

4.Matters needing attention in the production design of ETFE membrane
Insulation: Although a single-layer ETFE membrane has an approximate U value of 5.6 WM2K, a standard three-layer pad can achieve a U-shaped value of 1.96 w which is a better insulation value than three-layer glass/mK when used (glass manufacturing The quotient's number is vertical glass, which greatly improves the number). The insulation quality of the ETFE mat can also be improved by adding multiple layers of foil (up to 5 meters) or by using a specially coated metal foil to improve thermal performance. Transparency: ETFE membrane; is naturally a very transparent material and transmits light in the entire visible light region (380-780nm), The medium weight of the ETFE single layer has approximately 85% light transmission, although multiple layers will cause a small decrease.
Solar control: The base material for ETFE installation as described above is very transparent, but the ETFE foil can be processed in many different ways to manipulate its light transmission characteristics.
Printing: Also known as welding, the foil surtace is covered with various patterns to reduce solar gain while maintaining transparency. By changing the percentage of coverage and ink density, energy transfer can be changed. Alternatively, the foil can be processed with a number to affect the transmission. We provide a standard range of more than 20 standard welding modes to achieve this variety of light transmittance, however, customized modes can be charged extra.
Coloring: Color foil is also available, although it is not as easy as the standard clear foil. Colored foils can be used to integrate branding and large-scale images together. White ETFE membrane can be used to reduce glare but maintain certain light transmittance and insulation properties.
Surface treatment: The characteristics of the fabric can be changed during the manufacturing process, let us operate the light transmission surface treatment. These treatments are rendered matte in appearance, so light performances and images provide an excellent projection surface
Radiation: The foil and a series of radiotherapy can reduce the level of infrared and ultraviolet transmission through the membrane skin.
G value: The installed G value reflects the part of the solar transmittance through the glass window, which is usually expressed as a percentage or a value between 0 and 1; the higher the number, the more energy is transmitted through the window glass and the building It will heat up. The G value of the ETFE roof can be reduced to as low as 0.48 by using a 3-layer system. The 2-layer system has a sintered top surface and around 0.35. For comparison, standard glass is about 0.88, while some specially treated glass can be as low as 0.46.

Life:ETFE membrane has an excellent lifespan because it is not affected by ultraviolet rays, air pollution, and other forms of environmental weathering.

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