The application of marble composite panels in China has a history of nearly thirty years. They are widely used in building decoration projects, both beautifying numerous buildings and conserving significant stone resources. However, stone composite panels are a special product completely different from traditional stone products, and their processing technology is also entirely different. They have specific processing techniques, must adhere to specific processing regulations, and must implement their own quality standards.
If marble composite panel processing is not strictly carried out according to these standards, the resulting product quality will not meet requirements, leading to serious problems. Hollow areas are the most fatal problem with stone composite panels. Once this occurs, customers may return the goods, causing huge losses to the stone composite panel processing company, facing massive compensation claims, and even severely impacting the company to the point of bankruptcy. This is not an exaggeration; some stone processing companies have indeed experienced such difficulties and setbacks.
1. Composition of marble composite panels
Simply put, stone composite panels are products made by bonding stone to another material using adhesives.
Figure 1 shows a stone-aluminum honeycomb composite panel. As can be seen from Figure 1, the stone-aluminum honeycomb composite panel consists of a stone surface material and an aluminum honeycomb substrate. The two are bonded together with adhesive.
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2. Classification of Aluminum Honeycomb Composite Panels by Substrate Type
(1) Stone-Ceramic Composite Panel
(2) Stone-Stone Composite Panel
(3) Stone-Silicate Composite Panel
(4) Stone-Aluminum Composite Panel
(5) Stone-Aluminum Honeycomb Composite Panel
(6) Stone-Glass Composite Panel
(7) Stone-Wood Composite Panel
(8) Stone-Plastic Composite Panel
(9) Stone-Metal Composite Panel
- Stone-Insulation Material Composite Panel
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Since stone composite panels are made by bonding stone with other materials using adhesives, if the process and technical standards are not strictly followed during bonding, hollow areas are very likely to occur in the finished stone composite panels. Figure 6 shows the surface of the aluminum honeycomb surface being roughened by hand grinding to make the surface rougher and the bonding with the composite adhesive stronger; Figure 7 shows the application of composite adhesive to the stone surface.
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3.Fatal quality problems caused by hollow areas in stone composite panels:
(1) Separation of the stone from the substrate on the composite panel surface
If hollow areas appear in the stone composite panel, the gap between the stone and the substrate will greatly affect the adhesion and strength between them, resulting in insufficient pull-out force and easy separation between the stone and the substrate.
(2) Cracking of the composite panel surface
If hollow areas appear in the stone composite panel, the adhesive will generate a lot of heat during the curing process, increasing the tensile force on the stone and making it easy to crack the thin stone slab, causing cracks in the surface of the composite panel. Cracking affects the appearance of the stone surface and can further expand the crack area over time.
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(3) Significantly reduced strength of the stone surface
The strength of the stone at the hollow areas is greatly reduced. Since the thickness of the stone in stone composite panels is mostly around 5mm, and sometimes even less. Such thin stone, due to its significantly reduced strength and the presence of hollow areas, will crack or break easily under slight external impact.
(4) Significantly Reduced Freeze-Thaw Strength: Hollow areas in the exterior wall composite panels greatly reduce the stone’s freeze-thaw strength. Under harsh conditions such as snow, ice, and intense sunlight, the stone will suffer severe damage and breakage.
(5) Significantly Reduced Waterproofing Performance, Affecting the Mechanical Properties of the Stone Composite Panel: Hollow areas in the exterior wall stone composite panels allow rainwater to seep into the stone, significantly reducing its waterproofing performance. This affects the mechanical properties of the stone composite panel, corrodes the substrate, compromises its safety, and increases the risk of damage.
(6) Significantly Increased Damage Rate in Hollow Composite Panel Floors: Once hollow areas appear in the stone composite panel floor, the panel is essentially rendered unusable, becoming a waste product. Hollow areas in the stone composite panel floor will crack under even slight external impact. A high heel stepped on a hollow stone composite slab, and it immediately cracked. A well-known large-scale stone processing company in China once supplied millions of yuan worth of stone composite flooring to foreign customers, but due to hollowness in the composite panels, the company suffered a large number of returns and claims. The company subsequently ceased production of stone composite panels.
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In the past two years, the popularity of marble background walls has surged, with home decoration pursuing a more luxurious and grand style, leading to increasingly larger background wall products. To reduce the price of background wall products, many marbke processing companies are making composite panels, resulting in an upward trend in the price of stone composite panels.
To ensure the quality and safety of marble composite panels, stone processing companies must strictly adhere to the processing procedures and rigorously control the issue of hollowness in the panels, ensuring that the processed stone composite panels are free of hollowness. Otherwise, if hollowness occurs in the processed stone composite panels, especially in batches, the processing company may face catastrophic consequences!
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