Silicone sealants protect buildings/occupants againts hurricanes

Shanghai, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Summer is the season where Typhoons are rampant. Just the two strong typhoons this summer, Seagull and Pheonix, caused direct economic loss of over several billion yuans for China. During the typhoon season, how to take advantage of innovative technology to provide better protection to buildings from sustained winds and poundings rains and to avoid damages to buildings and properties has become the primary issue facing the construction industry.

Typhoon-prone regions need the best waterproofing and glazing products to more effectively protect the structure of the building and to prevent leaks, said Eric Mannaerts, President of Dow Corning Greater China Construction Industry Business Division. Compared to other materials, silicone sealants, glazing technology and silicone structural sealants are the ideal solution because they can provide better protection to buildings and they have also been proven to decrease structural damage and water infiltration under high wind speeds and pressures.

Structural silicone sealants provide an important function in protecting buildings from extreme weather conditions such as typhoons, hurricanes because silicone sealants can strengthen the facade of the building and glasses to help them withstand extreme temperature fluctuation, gale winds, acid rain, ultraviolet radiation, thunderstorms and even earthquakes. In addition to strong endurance, silicone sealants are also very flexible and can be applied to a wide range of design characteristics in modern architecture.

In the United States and European countries, with the arrival of the hurricane season, more and more construction crews utilize silicone structural sealants and silicone endurance sealants to help buildings resist sustained winds and pounding rains. For example, hurricane-prone regions in the Untied States have had great success in using silicone sealants to meet increasingly tougher building code requirements.

The combination of structural strength and flexibility in the sealant is a key in meeting the impact-resistant glazing standards, said Mark Baker, President of IBA Consultants, who has tested silicone sealants against other glazing materials in the construction of the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Florida (http:/www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit 62-1185-01.pdf?DCWS=Construction&DCWSS=Weathersealing%20Products).

"While several other material types could deliver the strength to withstand the test's initial impact requirement, I'm not aware of any sealant other than silicone that also provides the flexibility to hold up under the 9000-cycle wind load testing that follows."

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