Next Generation of Architectural Precast Insulated Wall Panels

Off-site building envelope construction or prefabrication has many benefits including fewer construction defects, fewer onsite workers, shorter onsite construction time, and less onsite waste. The off-site building construction approach with greatest market success to date is precast concrete. However, precast production needs to develop new technologies to capture a larger share of the construction market. More specifically, architectural precast insulated wall panels would be more widely used if they were lighter, had a shorter production time, and had higher thermal performance. This report summarizes the technologies that Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, and the University of Tennessee developed so that the next generation of architectural precast insulated wall panels are 50% lighter, 50% faster to produce, and/or have two times higher thermal performance.