Section 2 Classification of Ceiling Materials

There are many ceiling materials in interior decoration engineering. The ceiling materials mainly used in clinical laboratories are color-coated steel sandwich panels, gypsum board, aluminum clip-in ceiling panels, calcium silicate board, and cleanroom boards. Below we introduce these ceiling materials one by one.

I. Color-Coated Steel Sandwich Panels

The ceiling structure of enhanced (negative-pressure) BSL-2 laboratories all uses double-layer color-coated steel composite sandwich panels. According to the relevant requirements for laboratory buildings, it is best to use glass-magnesium board as the ceiling material; glass-magnesium color-coated steel panels are used for laboratory ceilings to ensure the relative temperature requirements and the allocation of settings. Its features are fast installation, no plastering needed, washability, good heat insulation and sound insulation, and no need for cement, river sand, or other building materials. The times change rapidly and building technology is renewed with each passing day. In laboratory construction, the material and quality of indoor ceiling panels directly affect the firmness and appearance of the laboratory building. With advantages such as durable fire resistance, excellent performance, high-pressure resistance, and attractive appearance, it is the inevitable choice for laboratory construction in the new era, as shown in Fig. 8-22.

Fig. 8-22 Example of a color-coated steel sandwich panel ceiling

II. Gypsum Board

Gypsum board can be used as the ceiling material in public areas such as laboratory waiting areas, exterior corridors, and passageways. Waiting areas in particular usually have decoration-grade requirements, and ceilings often need decorative shapes; therefore, gypsum board remains the most ideal ceiling decoration material.

Gypsum board is divided into ordinary paper-faced gypsum board, fiber gypsum board, and decorative gypsum board. It is made from gypsum as the raw material, with fiber, binder, and modifier added, through mixing, pressing, and drying. It has the features of fire protection, sound insulation, heat insulation, light weight, high strength, small shrinkage with good stability, resistance to aging, and resistance to insect attack. Construction is convenient and the effect is outstanding, so it is widely used in modern decoration engineering, as shown in Fig. 8-23.

Uses: widely used in hotels, office buildings, shopping malls, and the office areas and reception desks of laboratories.

Advantages: attractive, dignified, fireproof, sound-insulating, heat-insulating, light, and highly stable.

Disadvantages: poor moisture-proof effect and high price.

Recommendation: can be used in laboratory reception lobbies, meeting rooms, etc.

Fig. 8-23 Example of a gypsum board ceiling

III. Aluminum Clip-In Ceiling Panels

The ceiling structures of laboratory clean areas and some BSL-2 laboratory areas can all use aluminum clip-in ceiling panels. An aluminum clip-in ceiling panel is a three-layer composite panel with plastic as the core layer and aluminum sheet laminated on the outside; decorative or protective coatings may be applied to the surface. After more than ten years of development, the technology of aluminum ceiling panel materials has been continuously updated; the aluminum clip-in ceiling panel is a third-generation product—a metal ceiling. Among metal ceilings, aluminum clip-in panels have overtaken the older types and risen to prominence, as shown in Fig. 8-24 and Fig. 8-25.

Fig. 8-24 Aluminum clip-in ceiling panel

Fig. 8-25 Example of an aluminum clip-in panel ceiling

The aluminum clip-in ceiling panels on the market are also divided into the following grades:

The first category is aluminum-magnesium alloy, which also contains some magnesium. The greatest advantage of this material is good oxidation resistance; at the same time, because an appropriate amount of magnesium is added, strength and stiffness are somewhat improved, making it the best ceiling material.

The second category is aluminum-manganese alloy; the strength and stiffness of this panel are slightly better than aluminum-magnesium alloy, but its oxidation resistance is slightly inferior.

The third category is ordinary aluminum alloy; this panel contains less manganese and magnesium, so its strength and stiffness are both clearly lower than aluminum-magnesium and aluminum-manganese alloys, and its oxidation resistance is average.

Common engineering specifications: 600 × 600 mm, 800 × 800 mm, 300 × 1200 mm, 600 × 1200 mm.

Aluminum clip-in panel grades are divided into national-standard and non-standard. By the international designation of the aluminum they are further divided into designations such as 1100, 3003, and 5005; by alloy strength into H24, H18, etc.; by toughness into ordinary aluminum, aluminum-magnesium alloy, and aluminum-manganese alloy.

Uses: widely used for bathroom ceilings in hotels, office buildings, shopping malls, laboratories, stadiums, and various factories.

Advantages: good moisture resistance, oil-stain resistance, and flame retardancy; attractive and dignified. Environmentally friendly, non-toxic, odorless, anti-static, easy to dust and easy to clean. Long service life and resistant to aging.

Disadvantages: more expensive than mineral wool board.

Recommendation: recommended for laboratory bathroom ceilings; this type of ceiling looks clean and tidy, with tight joints and a high grade, and is suitable for damp locations.

IV. Calcium Silicate Board

Calcium silicate board can also be used as a ceiling material in public areas such as laboratory exterior corridors and passageways, or in clean areas.

Calcium silicate board is a new type of inorganic building material made from siliceous materials (main component SiO₂, such as quartz powder, fly ash, diatomaceous earth, etc.), calcareous materials (main component CaO, such as lime, calcium carbide sludge, cement, etc.), reinforcing fiber materials, and auxiliaries, proportioned in certain ratios and processed through slurry-forming (Hatschek) or compression molding and autoclaved curing. Because of its high strength, light weight, good workability, and non-combustibility, it is widely used for suspended ceilings and non-load-bearing building walls, as well as other places with fire-protection requirements. Calcium silicate boards are divided into thermal-insulation calcium silicate boards and decoration calcium silicate boards, as shown in Fig. 8-26.

Thermal-insulation calcium silicate board is called microporous calcium silicate; it is a white, rigid new thermal-insulation material with the features of light bulk density, high strength, low thermal conductivity, high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and the ability to be cut and sawn. It is widely used for thermal insulation and fire-and-sound protection of equipment, piping, walls and roofs in construction and other fields. Thickness is usually above 30 mm, and density is 200–1000 kg/m³.

Fig. 8-26 Calcium silicate board

Calcium silicate board is a new building board known worldwide for its comprehensive performance; it has been promoted, used, and developed in developed countries since the 1970s. Thickness is 4–20 mm, and the main length and width are 1220 × 2440 mm. There are also decorative calcium silicate ceiling tiles processed from large-format calcium silicate boards, which, with advantages such as fire protection, sag resistance, and many varieties, are widely used for suspended ceilings.

V. Cleanroom Boards

Cleanroom board, also called purification board, is a composite panel using materials such as color-coated board and stainless steel as facings. Cleanroom boards have unique dust-proof, anti-static, and antibacterial effects. They are widely used in clean-engineering fields with demanding indoor-environment requirements, such as pharmaceuticals, food, biology, hospital operating rooms, precision-instrument manufacturing, and scientific research. Cleanroom boards can be composite panels with seven kinds of core material—rock wool, glass wool, paper honeycomb, ceramic-aluminum board, glass-magnesium paper-honeycomb board, etc.—more than ten facing materials including color-coated steel board, galvanized board, galvalume smooth board, stainless steel, printed steel board, aluminum-foil paper, PVC, and three-ply board, and more than twenty panel shapes, as shown in Fig. 8-27.

Fig. 8-27 Cleanroom board

VI. Acoustic Panels

Acoustic panel is an ideal sound-absorbing decorative material. It has the advantages of sound absorption, environmental friendliness, flame retardancy, heat insulation, thermal preservation, moisture resistance, mildew resistance, easy dust removal, easy cutting, pattern assembly, simple construction, good stability, good impact resistance, good independence, and high cost-performance. A rich variety of colors is available to meet sound-absorption and decoration needs of different styles and levels. It is used for sound-absorbing wall panels and ceiling panels in factories with excessive noise and in large public buildings, as shown in Fig. 8-28. By material it is divided into:

1. Wood

Wood acoustic panels are finely fabricated according to acoustic principles and consist of a facing, a core material, and a sound-absorbing felt. Wood acoustic panels are divided into two types: grooved-wood acoustic panels and perforated-wood acoustic panels.

2. Mineral Wool

Mineral wool acoustic panels have rich surface-treatment forms, and the boards have a strong decorative effect. The surface-treated knurled mineral wool board, commonly known as "caterpillar," has a surface covered with holes of varying depths, shapes, and apertures.

Fig. 8-28 Acoustic panel

VII. High-Crystal Panels

High-crystal panel, fully named high-crystal ceiling panel, is a new improved product developed in response to traditional gypsum-type ceiling panels on the market such as "gypsum board" and "calcium silicate board." By increasing the density of the gypsum crystal-network structure and the bonding strength between grains, lowering water absorption, etc., and adding composite admixtures TBS, TSV, TPF, TSG and modified adhesive TAG to the batch, it has the advantages of being green, natural, light, attractive, sound-insulating, heat-insulating, and fire-resistant, and offers the structural diversity advantage of cast forming. Standard high-crystal panels use a flat-laid installation method requiring no separate access opening, and the installation method is simple. During maintenance, if a panel needs replacing, it is only necessary to move the panel directly aside; every panel can be moved and removed, saving later maintenance costs. It can be used in public areas such as laboratory exterior corridors and passageways, or in clean areas and some laboratory areas, as shown in Fig. 8-29.

Fig. 8-29 High-crystal panel

VIII. Negative-Ion Silicon-Crystal Panels

Negative-ion eco silicon-crystal panels use a variety of excellent inorganic materials. This material has the functions of releasing negative oxygen ions to improve air quality, adsorbing and degrading formaldehyde and other harmful gases, and killing some harmful bacteria and viruses in the air; it is a new type of environmentally friendly building material. Its main components are diatomaceous earth and modified dihydrate calcium sulfate crystals, and its surface is covered with a transparent nano-titanium-dioxide film. After the ion eco silicon-crystal panel is irradiated by visible light, the highly oxidative hydroxyl radicals produced can penetrate the cell walls of bacteria and coagulate the proteins of viruses, achieving the effect of killing bacteria and viruses almost without selectivity. It can effectively suppress the airborne transmission of epidemic viruses. It is widely used for large-area ceilings in hotels, office buildings, shopping malls, hospitals, laboratories, stadiums, and various factories, as shown in Fig. 8-30.

Fig. 8-30 Negative-ion silicon-crystal panel