Protect People & Buildings
The Challenge
Stone makes an excellent exterior cladding material due to its long life, beauty and durability. Unfortunately stone is also brittle by nature. That means in a blast event it breaks and shatters even a minimal blast load. If a bomb blast occurs near an ordinary glazing system or curtain wall, injuries and even deaths can result from stone and glass shards shattered by the blast pressure.
The Solution
The use of blast-resistant curtain wall and glazing along with StonePly's blast-resistant stone cladding can mitigate danger to life and property. Due to their inherent strength and ductile nature, StonePly Blast-Resistant panels survive blast events amazingly well and form an important component for an overall system of protection.
How it Works
StonePly bonds natural stone to a high strength aluminum honeycomb composite. This combines the weather resistance and beauty of the stone with the strength and flexibility of the aluminum honeycomb. This makes a panel that is incredibly strong, flexible, and ductile.
StonePly panels can be engineered to meet any blast-resistant construction standard known.
In addition, unlike stone panels backed with fiberglass and honeycomb, the two layers of continuous aluminum sheet and honeycomb backing of StonePly make it capable of catching exterior blast fragments before they penetrate the building.
Designing Stone Cladding for Blast Resistance
Where to Use
Whether your project is new construction or a retrofit of the exterior skin of an existing and occupied building, we can assist you in meeting the standards of the General Services Administration (GSA), The Department of Defense (DoD), FEMA, or other standards.
New Cladding
We work with architects, designers, and engineers to help create blast-resistant assemblies. Whether you need StonePly cladding panels over a stud wall backup or StonePly panels to insert into a curtain wall assembly, we can assist you with preliminary designs, budgeting, details, construction feasibility, and assembly testing.
Historic Recladding
Our blast-resistant stone panels can replicate the size and shape of existing stone panels in a stronger, lighter, safer cladding. This makes them ideal for additions, modernizations or restoration projects and where stone facings with GSA, ISC, or DOD blast-resistance is required.
StonePly Blast-Resistant Panels can be designed to meet all applicable standards and offer protection to the occupants of a building from flying blast fragments. They are designed to be used within curtain wall aluminum frames anchored to the surrounding building or over a stud wall or other backup.
Note: StonePly Blast-Resistant Panels are only part of the complete engineered system and the performance of any panel must be evaluated in conjunction with the complete system.
Designed for Multiple Hazards
When designing against a single hazard such as blast events, it is important to consider how the material selected for blast-resistance may conflict with protection from other hazards. It's good to know that StonePly performs very well against all five of what FEMA refers to as the "extreme hazards".
| Hazard | Rating | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Blast | Excellent | Blast resistant StonePly panels resist blasts and stop or capture flying blast fragments. |
| Earthquake | Excellent | Lightweight panels reduce earthquake forces and mechanical attachment prevents falling stone. |
| Wind | Excellent | Tested and approved for hurricane force winds; large missile and small missile impact and cyclic pressure loading. |
| Fire | Excellent | StonePly is composed of stone and aluminum which are both minerals and are considered 100% non-combustible. Mechanical attachment of panels and continuous bond prevents thermal shattering and falling debris. |
| Flood | Excellent | StonePly is waterproof and can even be used in permanent underwater applications. It does not promote mold or mildew growth. |