Back Services: R & D
Easi-Set's Product Lines Benefit from Continuous Development
Easi-Set saves you the time, cost and risk of product research and development. Our focus of product development is based on feedback from our licensed producers and the needs of the precast concrete products market. Extensive testing, engineering and drawings back all new product improvements.
Product improvements are an important part of the Easi-Set package. Through both technical research and development efforts and the innovations of our producers, we continually invent, improve and enhance our products to maintain the cutting edge of precast technology — to meet the demands of customers, to expand the market, to stay ahead of the competition and to keep your products on an upward growth curve.
A History of Innovative Cutting Edge Precast Products
We have been conducting R&D for decades, gaining us a reputation for innovative and diversified products. This has allowed our product lines to stay at the forefront of the market, making us leaders of the industry.
The Easi-Set family of licensed producers enjoys the benefits and experience of a wide-ranging international network of precasters, which individual companies cannot compete with. Easi-Set precast licensed producers share their product innovations with their fellow precasters in our network. Easi-Set in turn, assists licensed producers with their product development endeavors.
Recent Product Improvements
Easi-Set Buildings pass Level 5 Ballistics test
Easi-Set passed a Level 5 ballistics test of its standard 3-inch thick building panel. MGA Research Corporation, an independent testing laboratory, in Manassas, VA conducted the UL 752 test. In the Level 5 test, a 150 grain 7.62 NATO round is fired at a 12-inch x 12-inch test sample from a distance of 15-feet. The test requires 6 shots to be fired at the samples, which are at several different temperatures. Passing this test allows Producers to certify a higher level of bullet resistance (were formerly certified for Level 3) for the Easi-Set Buildings. It is anticipated that these tests will be repeated for a 4-inch thick panel.
50-foot Easi-Span Roof Section developed
A new 50-foot one-piece precast roof section was engineered for EASI-SPAN Buildings. This gives EASI-SPAN Buildings the ability to accommodate clear-span interiors up to 50’ wide x 250’ long x 35’ in height.
J-J Hooks tested to MASH Standards
An enhanced J-J Hooks barrier design was tested to MASH Test Level 3 requirements by the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station, TX. The MASH test, which supersedes NCHRP 350, uses a heavier crew cab pickup with a higher bumper. TTI performed two different restrained crash tests – bolted down (bridge decks) and pinned down (roadways).
The enhanced J-J Hooks design incorporates a longer J-Hook (18”) which mates seamlessly with the existing J-J Hooks barrier, minimum additional reinforcement (to withstand the higher impact forces transferred to the barrier when it is secured), six pockets and patented deflection limiters to reduce lateral deflection.
The successful completion of these two tests, with deflections that were less than any other tested barrier, allows J-J Hooks producers to offer highway authorities J-J Hook barrier designs for free-standing, pinned, or bolted installations.
SoftSound completes tests
SoftSound (absorptive material) completed test required for state and provincial approvals.
- Noise Reduction Coefficient up to 0.8
- Freeze thaw (300 cycles)
- Salt scaling (50 cycles)
- Flame spread - "Class A" rating
- Sound Transmission Loss - 50db
- Modulus of Rupture - 150 psi minimum
SoftSound is a proprietary composite that is molded and compressed to suit the desired technical and aesthetic requirements of the customer. By combining specialized components with cement as a binder, in a specific and exacting process, SoftSound creates a material that surpasses any other combination of sound absorption, durability, thermal, strength and moldability.
Slenderwall is now available with factory-installed closed-cell foam insulation and windows, for a total envelope package.
BPDL delivered the final panels to the ETS (Ecole de Technologie Superieure) student residence project located at 1100 rue Notre-Dame Quest in Montreal, Quebec. This nine-story building, with 80,000 sf of SlenderWall cladding (nearly 480 panels), offers high-end housing choices for attending students. The building fronts on three streets, has an interior courtyard, and incorporates store fronts at the street level on one side. BPDL undertook the responsibility for providing and assuring the entire building envelope. They insulated (closed-cell foam) the panels and installed the windows at their plant in Alma, Quebec, erected the panels, and installed the panel joint sealant at the site.
Assuring the total envelope is a “first” for a SlenderWall producer, but will quickly become a “standard” as producers strengthen their sales position by offering customers “one-source envelope accountability.” The panels utilize three colors of architectural precast concrete and accommodate over 30 styles of windows. The choice to install the windows at BPDL’s plant saved the project money, shortened the field schedule, and improved the overall quality of the finished envelope. BPDL was able to install an average of 15 panels per day.
The contemporary design of the project with its unique window locations required only a few panel designs. Most of the 480 panels were of only one type. The building will be ready for occupancy this September.
Sierra Wall II – The forefront of highway sound wall technology.
In 1980, Smith-Midland Corporation pioneered the use of precast concrete highway sound walls in the United States. Sierra Wall, the first one-piece precast concrete column and panel system, quickly became the gold standard in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
Now Smith-Midland and its licensing subsidiary Easi-Set Worldwide are proud to introduce the Sierra Wall II, which features a fully integrated, one-piece, pre-stressed extended column and sound panel. The inclusion of the foundation portion of the column, which extends into the earth, sets Sierra Wall II apart from its competition. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials guidelines, this patented design eliminates the need for costly heavy-steel reinforcing cages around the pre-stressed foundation portion of the column.
The combined strength of the integrated supporting/foundation column and panel delivers the highest quality and lowest cost highway sound wall ever offered. The one-piece design also eliminates thousands of linear feet of panel joints, adding significantly to its sound attenuating capacity versus competitive sound wall systems.
SlenderWall with PVA Fiber Reinforcement completes demanding Dynamic Tests
During the month of March, 2013, a 12 ft. x 16 ft. SlenderWall panel, containing PVA fiber reinforcement in the 2 inches of architectural precast, successfully completed a series of demanding dynamic tests. The tests were performed by National Certified Testing Laboratories of York, PA and included performing ASTM tests [E283-04, E330-20(10), & E331-00(19)] and AAMA tests [501.4-09 & 501.1] under five different configurations using the same SlenderWall panel.
These tests determine the ability of the SlenderWall external cladding panel to withstand differential pressures and accommodate inter-story drift. During the test protocol, the panel was preloaded and air leakage, static water penetration and dynamic water penetration tests were performed. Following the preload, a uniform load deflection test was performed and the leakage and water penetration tests were repeated. Following this, a 50% overload uniform load deflection test was performed and again the leakage and water penetration tests performed.
The tests included three panel configurations: (1) 6 ft. gravity, 6 ft. lateral, studs on 2 ft. centers; (2) 8 ft. gravity, 8 ft. lateral, studs on 2 ft. centers; and (3) 8 ft. gravity, 8 ft. lateral, studs on 4 ft. centers. The panel passed all tests with “flying colors” and validated the durability and ruggedness of the SlenderWall design. A final test is planned in which the panel will be taken to the point of failure (cracking of the architectural precast).
