EPDM waterproofing membrane

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EPDM waterproofing membrane

An EPDM waterproofing membrane is a film-shaped building material made of ethylene-propylene-diene (monomer) rubber , a rubber-elastic material according to EN 13956 and synthetic rubber of the M group according to DIN ISO 1629. EPDM has been used as a construction material for sealing since the early 1960s Flat roofs (see roof waterproofing ), ventilated facades and ponds (see pond liner ) and parts of buildings that are in contact with the ground.

Properties and use

EPDM consists of very long, saturated and therefore highly stable molecular chains. This structure is responsible for its high elasticity and resistance to many chemical, thermal and mechanical loads. The EPDM material can be stretched up to 500% and is permanently elastic (even at temperatures between −40 ° C and +120 ° C). According to the Süddeutsche Kunststoffzentrum (SKZ), it has an unlimited useful life of more than 50 years. The material is particularly resistant to aging and ozone without additional surface protection or additives such as volatile plasticizers. EPDM waterproofing membranes are UV and IR stable and resistant to a large number of chemical media, but not to mineral oils , greases and hydrocarbons . EPDM is compatible with EPS and can be applied to roof insulation of this type without a fleece intermediate layer (in the case of PVC films, their plasticizers would migrate into the EPS , which could make the PVC brittle and break). EPDM foils are compatible with the plasticizer-containing building protection mats that are often used as protection for the sealing membrane.

EPDM is used in new buildings or renovations to seal flat roofs, facades, and to seal structures, as well as for pond liners and the sealing of water-bearing building elements. The material is available in the form of sheets or made-to-measure tarpaulins. There are also the molded parts made of EPDM that are required for profiles, edging or roof penetrations. Roof sealing sheets are occasionally offered as pond liners; these also contain flame retardants and higher levels of UV stabilizers , which are not absolutely necessary for use as (covered) pond liners.

The two fillers carbon black or chalk determine the few colors of the film: black or anthracite , light gray and white. EPDM foils do not contain any plasticizers, but antioxidants and UV absorbers as additives .

Due to the typical material properties of EPDM, there are specific advantages in the construction industry: The comparatively light film is suitable for lightweight construction. On the roof, EPDM is particularly suitable as a base for green roofs, as it is resistant to roots. Solar systems can also be set up on the robust, accessible material. In addition, the material is considered to be very low-maintenance over its entire service life.

processing

Laying types are:

  • loosely laid, with a load of gravel approx. 4–6 cm, sometimes up to 18 cm, or substrates for greening
  • glued over the entire surface using contact adhesive
  • mechanically attached, with penetration of the roof cladding in the seam or without penetration by means of an adhesive tape that is mechanically screwed to the substructure beforehand

Open fire is not used in processing. EPDM can also be laid all year round.

Stitching

There are three different seam joining methods for EPDM geomembrane :

  1. When connecting with a seam tape, the seam in the overlapping area is made with an unvulcanized seam tape. Using a primer as an activator, the EPDM surface in the seam area is prepared for the connection and this ensures full molecular cross-linking during the connection. The strips are offered as rolls up to a size of 15.25 × 61 m. A special design with a seam tape preinstalled on one side, FAT stands for Factory Applied Tape (Eng. "In the factory applied tape"), is also used.
  2. During vulcanization , the strips are overlapped and an unvulcanized hot-bonding tape is placed in between. The seam is pressed together by pressure, temperature and time and vulcanized homogeneously. This type of seam joining is preferably used for the production of prefabricated tarpaulins. These factory made tarpaulins can be produced in one piece up to an unlimited size. However, there is a restriction to approx. 1500 m² due to the manageability for the installers and the average crane loads for truck cranes.
  3. For hot gas welding , EPDM sealing sheets are equipped with a PE joint edge on both sides. The overlaps are welded homogeneously with a hot air blower . Molded parts for penetrations are also equipped with a welding edge and can therefore be welded onto the seal.

Fire protection

EPDM is, in contrast to z. B. for roofing felt or bitumen sheeting , laid without an open flame, which reduces the risk of fire in the building. It is therefore also suitable for timber construction or for redensification in built-up areas.

sustainability

EPDM has little environmental impact during manufacture, installation and use. It does not contain any volatile plasticizers or pollutants that could be released over the service life. However, what is decisive for the material's good overall ecological balance is its particularly long service life, due to its high resistance to aging. A study by the Würzburg Institute SKZ on the long-term behavior of EPDM based on samples from 39 buildings in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden that had been sealed with EPDM foils for many years comes to the conclusion: “Based on the results available, the service life can be determined of properly manufactured EPDM membranes under Central European climatic conditions to be well over 50 years. During this period of time, the sheets retain sufficient elasticity to withstand the mechanical and thermal stresses of exposure on flat roofs. "

In the field of building sealing, EPDM is therefore currently the most sustainable, environmentally and climate-friendly material. It is also particularly suitable for green roofs, as the sheets or tarpaulins are resistant to roots and do not require pesticides or herbicides. As early as 1996, Greenpeace certified EPDM as a material in “Green Building Digest 14”, stating that synthetic rubber is the “most ecologically beneficial” alternative to other roofing foils.

The material can either be reprocessed and put to a new use, e.g. B. in floor coverings for playgrounds, or in systems for generating heating energy. Direct recycling options are still being intensively researched. Due to its properties, EPDM has been classified by the independent Dutch Institute for Building Biology and Ecology (NIBE) as a particularly sustainable material for use on flat roofs. The basis is a procedure from the “Center for Environmental Science” in Leiden, in which the entire life cycle from production to recycling is considered.

history

EPDM has been produced since the 1960s industrially on a large scale after the chemist and Nobel laureate Karl Ziegler (1898-1973) and Giulio Natta (1903-1979) was the first prerequisite for profitable, simplified production process - the Ziegler-Natta catalyst of polymerization - had created. Since then, it has become more and more popular in the area of ​​building sealing: In the USA it is already one of the most frequently used sealing materials for roofs and facades. In the Netherlands, EPDM's market share grew from 4.3 percent to 20 percent between 1997 and 2015. In Germany, it is becoming increasingly important, as 86 percent of the architects and planners surveyed in a current study (at the end of 2018) rated EPDM as “very important” and “important”.

The development in the field of building sealing is determined by a multitude of factors: functional requirements in modern building construction as well as environmental and health aspects and the associated legal requirements as well as the trend towards flat roof construction, green roofs and solar roofs.

Until the 50s / 60s of the 20th century, traditional sealing materials such as roofing felt soaked with coal tar proved more and more harmful to people and the environment. From around the end of the 1970s, liquid bitumen, an asphalt-related petroleum product, replaced tar. In the course of the first energy crisis in the late 1970s and encouraged by the growing environmental movement, the demand for energy saving grew, which led to greater insulation of buildings. This stored heat, but the roof structures also heated up. However, tar and liquid bitumen have a degree of melting of less than 50 ° C, so that damage and leakage occurred. This was followed by bitumen welding sheets in the 1980s, which have been further developed since then. However, they are still processed with an open flame and thus a high risk of fire. In addition, bitumen is classified as a pollutant, which makes disposal more difficult. In the 80s and 90s, plastic materials were developed such as B. polyolefin and PVC film. Here, however, the required flexibility can only be achieved by adding plasticizers that outgas over time. In addition to the harmful effects on the environment and health, this can also lead to a loss in elasticity, the material fatigues and can therefore no longer fully fulfill its function. With EPDM, an environmentally friendly, functional and also particularly long-lasting alternative for building sealing became available. In 1968, a roof in Europe was sealed with EPDM sheets for the first time, which is still in use today and did not have to be replaced.

Web links

EPDM society roof and facade Berlin

EPDM Roofing Association, Washington DC

L'Association des producteurs de Systèmes d'Etanchéité en EPDM (VESP)

Remarks

  1. ↑ Roofing sheeting that is more likely to contain flame retardants (according to another source (isgatec) it would be difficult to make EPDM flame-retardant, since flame-retardant plasticizers exuded at higher doses of EPDM.
  2. ↑ rarely in German-speaking countries, more likely in English-speaking countries than "EPDM Rubber white"

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Georg Abts: Introduction to rubber technology . Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-446-45461-3 ( google.de ).
  2. ↑ a b PresseBox (c) 2002-2019: 50 years of EPDM: Its environmental capital is its longevity, EPDM Society for Roof and Facade mbH, press release - PresseBox. Accessed December 1, 2019 (German).
  3. ↑ Etude SKZ. In: Verenigde EPDM Systeem Producenten. Accessed December 1, 2019 (fr-fr).
  4. ↑ a b MATERIAL ARCHIVE. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b EPDM simply laid. - EPDM. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b Material compass - EPDM - all-rounder with tight failure tolerances ; at isgatec.com)
  7. ↑ Company website of an additive manufacturer , last accessed in February 2020
  8. ↑ Sealed roof with EPDM. - EPDM. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b EPDM - protection that lasts half a century. - EPDM. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  10. ↑ a b PLASTOFORM GMBH. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b Environmental Responsiveness. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  12. ↑ a b NIBE. In: Verenigde EPDM Systeem Producenten. Accessed December 1, 2019 (fr-fr).
  13. ↑ Superior overall life cycle assessment and service life - EPDM. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  14. ↑ NIBE - The Dutch Institute for Building Biology and Ecology - EPDM. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  15. ↑ PresseBox (c) 2002-2019: 50 years of EPDM: Its environmental capital is its longevity, EPDM Society for Roof and Facade mbH, press release - PresseBox. Accessed December 1, 2019 (German).
  16. ↑ Etude SKZ. In: Verenigde EPDM Systeem Producenten. Accessed December 1, 2019 (fr-fr).
  17. ↑ EPDM: The right choice for a sustainable roof waterproofing system. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Recyclage. In: Verenigde EPDM Systeem Producenten. Accessed December 1, 2019 (fr-fr).
  19. ↑ 50 years of EPDM - EPDM. Accessed December 1, 2019 .