Rock Wool Boards Provide Better Performance for the Construction of Tianfu Airport

Rock Wool Boards Provide Better Performance for the Construction of Tianfu Airport

The application of rock wool boards in the construction of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is not merely a simple material filling, but rather provides core support from multiple dimensions including operational safety, energy efficiency, long-term durability, and compliance with green building standards.

As an ultra-large public building with a total construction area of 126,000 square meters, the airport handles a large daily passenger flow with dense crowds, and features complex pipelines inside the roof and walls, making fire resistance a core safety performance. Rock wool boards inherently possess Class A non-combustible properties (the highest fire resistance rating), meaning they do not burn when exposed to open flames and do not release toxic or harmful gases, effectively blocking the path of flame spread. This is particularly crucial for the airport: in the event of an accidental fire, rock wool boards can maintain structural stability in high-temperature environments, buying valuable time for personnel evacuation and fire rescue efforts. Their fire-resistant characteristics, combined with the aluminum-magnesium-manganese alloy sheets on the airport roof and the internal pipeline system, form a coordinated protection mechanism, preventing "secondary disasters" caused by flammable insulation materials and fully meeting the stringent fire safety standards for large transportation hubs, which far exceed those for ordinary civil buildings.

Airports are "high-energy-consuming buildings": on one hand, terminal buildings have spacious interiors (usually with a height exceeding 10 meters) and large window areas, leading to frequent heat exchange; on the other hand, airports operate 24/7, requiring continuous operation of air conditioning and heating systems, resulting in extremely high energy consumption costs. Rock wool boards address this issue through a "double-layer insulation system" (inner layer of rock wool + outer layer of glass wool with an air layer in between). In terms of thermal insulation, the dense, three-dimensionally interwoven fiber structure of rock wool effectively blocks air convection and heat conduction, reducing heat loss from the interior to the exterior in winter and preventing high outdoor temperatures from entering in summer. This helps maintain a stable indoor temperature in the terminal, avoiding discomfort to passengers due to temperature fluctuations or increased air conditioning load. In terms of energy efficiency, according to data from similar large public buildings, roofs adopting rock wool insulation systems can reduce overall building energy consumption by 15%-20%. For Tianfu Airport, this means significant annual savings in electricity and heating costs, providing long-term operational cost advantages while aligning with the requirements for building energy efficiency under the "dual carbon" goals.

The roof system of Tianfu Airport adopts a "65/300 type aluminum-magnesium-manganese alloy standing seam system + double-layer purlin structure", which is a complex roof design with irregular shapes and large spans, placing high demands on the physical properties and construction flexibility of insulation materials. Rock wool boards demonstrate outstanding adaptability in this scenario. They offer dimensional and cutting flexibility, allowing precise cutting according to roof purlin spacing and pipeline routes to perfectly fill irregular spaces, avoiding insulation "dead zones" that might occur with ordinary block insulation materials due to mismatched sizes. They also possess compressive and deformation resistance capabilities: airport roofs need to withstand snow loads, strong wind pressure, and the weight of maintenance personnel, and rock wool boards, especially high-density engineering-grade ones, have sufficient compressive strength to resist collapse and deformation during long-term use, maintaining stable insulation performance and preventing insulation failure due to material damage. Additionally, rock wool boards are compatible with other materials, showing no chemical reactions with main roof materials such as aluminum-magnesium-manganese alloys, glass wool, and waterproof membranes. They can be securely fixed using special adhesives or anchoring methods, ensuring the overall structural stability of the roof system and avoiding risks such as detachment and leakage caused by material incompatibility issues.

Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, as a national key project, clearly aimed for "green, low-carbon, and sustainable" construction and ultimately obtained China's highest green building certification - the "Green Building Three-Star" certification, with the application of rock wool boards being an important contributing factor. In terms of environmental attributes, rock wool boards are mainly made from natural rocks such as basalt and diabase, which are renewable resources. Their production process emits no toxic substances, and they can be recycled after disposal, conforming to the definition of "green building materials". Regarding health risks, high-quality rock wool boards undergo anti-corrosion and moisture-proof treatment, containing no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and benzene, thus posing no health risks to passengers and staff in the airport, which aligns with the strict requirements for "indoor air quality" in large public buildings. In terms of durability support, rock wool boards have strong aging and moisture resistance (especially hydrophobic rock wool, which can effectively withstand the rainy and high-humidity environment in Sichuan). With a service life of over 20 years, they match the designed service life of airport buildings (usually over 50 years), reducing secondary construction pollution and costs associated with replacing insulation materials, and further enhancing the sustainability of the building.