Cold Room Sandwich Panel

What Is A Cold Room Sandwich Panel?

A Cold Room Sandwich Panel is a three-layer structure consisting of a low-density insulation core and a thin skin layer of metal sheathing bonded and glued to each side, these self-supporting metal sandwich panels are ideal for high, medium and low-temperature cold rooms and cold storage facilities. This cold room sandwich-structured composite combines high structural rigidity, thermal resistance, lightweight, and moisture resistance, this makes them preferred to construct interior and exterior walls, roofs, ceilings, and floors. Cold room sandwich panels consist of a core of Polyurethane foam (PU/PUR), Polyisocyanurate foam (PIR), or Expanded polystyrene insulation (EPS), while the two face sheets come either in galvanized steel sheets, stainless steel plates, or aluminum sheets.

What Cold Room Sandwich Panels Are Used For?

Cold room sandwich panels are popular for a wide range of commercial and industrial temperature-controlled applications such as:

Clean rooms and cold rooms

Freezer cold rooms and walk-in chillers

Refrigerated cold chambers

Freezing chambers or negative chambers

High temperature (Chiller) cold room

Low temperature (Freezer) cold room

Temperature-controlled rooms

Temperature controlled warehouses

Temperature-controlled environments

Cold store structures

Cold storage facilities

Cold chain infrastructure

Refrigerated trucks and containers

What Industries Cold Room Sandwich Panels?

Cold room sandwich panels are also ideal for various industries including:

Food and beverages

Food processing plants

Meat and poultry

Dairy industry

Fish and seafood industry

Packaged ice industry

Fruits and vegetables

Agriculture and Floriculture

Botanicals (flowers and plants)

Pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceuticals

Medical and biotech

Vaccines, blood samples, and dental materials

Cosmetics (lipstick and cologne)

Controlled Atmosphere Cold Storage

Temperature-controlled Spaces

Cold chain and logistics

Chemicals industry (reagents and disinfectants)

Aerospace and aviation cold room units

Why Choose Cold Room Sandwich Panels For the Food Industry?

Cold room sandwich panels are food-safe panels made of non-CFC based insulation material, with non-toxic and chemically inert properties, while the metal or non-metal two layers come in different materials such as stainless steel and anti-bacterial finishes, therefore, cold room sandwich panels can ensure high hygiene environment and eliminate the formation of microorganisms, besides this, cold room sandwich panels are highly resistant to corrosion, moisture, mold, mildew, fungal growth, humidity and harsh weather conditions.

Cold room sandwich panels are popular for a variety of food products like temperature-sensitive products, perishables food, fresh produce, frozen food, processed food, meat, seafood, dairy, and so on.

What Comprises A Cold Room Sandwich Panel?

Cold room sandwich panels consist of two metal facers, known as skin or layers, and a rigid insulation core bonded between the two metal layers. However, the insulation core is often made of the following material:

Polyurethane foam (PU/PUR)

Polyisocyanurate foam (PIR)

Expanded polystyrene insulation (EPS)

Whereas, the surface material of the inner and outer metal facer comes in different materials and finishes including:

Hot-dipped galvanized steel sheet

Galvalume steel sheet

Prepainted steel sheet

Stainless steel plates

Natural or prepainted aluminum

Structural board (plywood or cement)

What Insulation Materials Are Best for Cold Room Sandwich Panels?

Cold room sandwich panels are available in different insulation materials including PUR and PIR which have been used for decades and becoming more and more popular for cold rooms:

Polyurethane (PU/PUR)

Polyurethane insulation is a sealed cellular insulating material that is produced by reacting a polyol with diisocyanates, this type of material provides high density and excellent thermal conductivity coefficient, λ = 0.022, while it ensures high resistance against moisture and fire, besides, polyurethane insulation core create an air-tight barrier against water, vapor and humidity, which provide high insulation performance and increase energy-efficiency, thanks to the closed cell structure and high cross-linking density of PUR which guarantee heat stability, and reduce energy requirements for large commercial and industrial cold rooms and refrigeration and freezing systems.

Polyisocyanurate (PIR)

Polyisocyanurate (PIR) is a thermoset plastic typically created by adding a blowing agent to a mix of polyols and isocyanates, produced as rigid thermal insulation, the PIR foam insulation is made of closed-cell, this offers superior thermal resistance for industrial and commercial cold room applications in addition to an excellent fire resistance performance, however, when compared to PUR (Polyurethane), PIR (polyisocyanurate) has a higher R-value, which provide better thermal insulation, and allow high energy efficiency in buildings. Hence, PIR cold room sandwich panels are more suitable for environments exposed to humidity and moisture. Polyisocyanurate (PIR) is also referred to as polyiso, or ISO.

What Are The Benefits Of Cold Room Sandwich Panels?

Cold room sandwich panels offer numerous benefits for both commercial and industrial cold rooms, due to their unique design and durable material, cold room sandwich panels offer unmatched benefits across a wide range of applications:

Thermal Resistance

Cold room sandwich panels offer high thermal conductivity (λ-values/K-value) ranging from 0.024 W/(m·K) for polyurethane and 0.05 W/(m·K) for mineral wool, whereas, their R-values vary depending on the type of insulation core, properties, density (>42kg/m³) and thickness.

These thermally-resistant sandwich panels are designed to provide high thermal performance and air tightness to cold rooms, this maintains optimal indoor temperature, prevents air leaks, and minimizes heat transfer through the cold room, these characteristics make them the first choice for applications with temperature control and energy efficiency requirements, such as industrial cold rooms, commercial cold rooms, cold storage facilities, etc.

Strength

Cold room sandwich panels offer an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio to large cold room structures, thanks to their rigid skin layers, and lightweight insulating core material which allows them to withstand substantial loads and maintain the structural stability of cold rooms. Also, when compared to traditional construction materials, cold room sandwich panels are incredibly lightweight and strong, this lightness and strength make it widespread for construction applications such as walls, partitions, roofs, ceilings and floors. The structural functionality of a cold room sandwich panel is similar to a classic I-beam, where two thin skin layers are designed to resist the in-plane and lateral bending loads, whereas, the insulating core material can resist shear loads.

Cost-Effective

Cold room sandwich panels are a cost-effective building envelope, each unit is designed to maintain a controlled environment, and offer a high insulation performance at an affordable cost. Also, this energy-efficient composite insulated panel can reduce significantly energy consumption, and thereby ensure better energy saving for the long term, however, when compared to traditional building materials, cold room sandwich panels are extremely durable and have a longer lifespan, also, cold room sandwich panels are more economical and offer exceptional performance, easy to install, and require minimal maintenance. Cold room sandwich panels can be also reused or replaced.

Environmental Sustainability

Cold room sandwich panels are a sustainable choice for cold rooms, due to the recyclable metals, thermally-resistant insulation, and energy-efficient properties, this eco-friendly sandwich structures can maximize the energy efficiency of cold rooms and contribute largely to energy saving in the long run. Besides, cold room sandwich panels are moisture-resistant, vermin-proof, rot-proof, and non-deteriorating.

These eco-friendly composites have become a vital component in green buildings as it doesn’t require repainting or maintenance like brick and concrete structures.

Are Cold Room Sandwich Panels Corrosion Resistance?

Cold room sandwich panels are corrosion-resistant structural panels, thanks to the corrosion-resistant inner and outer skin layers which protect the cold room surface from the impact of rust and deterioration, this makes them an excellent option for chemical processing plants, seafood processing rooms, coastal areas and working environment characterized by wet and high moisture.

Different types of metal surfaces can be provided to prevent corrosion caused by several factors such as aggressive corrosive environments, humidity areas, coastal areas, and salt. However, stainless steel sheets are preferred because it does not rust due to the formation of stainless steel sheet, however, the level of corrosion resistance depends mainly on the formation of “passive” chromium oxide film applied on the stainless steel surface, for example, oxide film, grades AINSI 304 stainless steel and 316 contain approximately 18% chromium, while they can be finished using double paint coating on galvanized steel sheet, and aluminum sheet.

Are Cold Room Sandwich Panels Fire Resistant?

Cold room sandwich panels offer the best performance in fire resistance, given their fire rating insulation core and high strength metal layers, cold room sandwich panels act as passive protection for a wide range of applications including internal and external walls,  interior partitions, facades, ceilings, roofs, and floors. The fire resistance of cold room sandwich panel varies between 30 and 240 minutes, whereas their fire behaviors and reaction to fire depend mainly on the insulation core, skin layers thickness, joint details, and the type of coating, also, flame retardants are normally added to combustible insulation to prevent burning and slow the spread of fire, while non-combustible insulation such as Rock wool insulation can withstand temperatures above 1,000°C in the case of fire, also when exposed to fire, this type of insulation does not burn or release toxic smoke.

Are Cold Room Sandwich Panels Hygienic?

Cold room sandwich panels offer the best hygienic environment for a wide range of industries including temperature-sensitive products, agri-food, seafood, meat-processing plants, food storage and logistics, pharmaceutical products, healthcare solutions, electronics, and other industries that require a constant temperature environment to keep their product protected, thanks to the superior thermal insulation which resist moisture, mold, mildew, and high humidity environment, while the most hygienic coating can be applied to the surface to prevent contamination, bacteria, germs and other factors that are harmful to health. Also, cold room sandwich panels are smooth, easy to disinfect and clean.

Are Cold Room Sandwich panels customizable?

Cold room sandwich panels is an attractive choice for a wide range of temperature-controlled environments including cold rooms, cold storage, cold chain logistics, and refrigerated trucks. Cold room sandwich panels can be fully customized to create a visually appealing envelope and come in different sizes, thicknesses, shapes, profiles, finishes, and colors, while infinite customization features can be used to meet the exact requirements of different industries including the following:

Applications: Wall, Ceiling, Partition, Roofs and Floors.

Insulation Core: PUR (polyurethane), PIR (polyisocyanurate), Expanded polystyrene insulation (EPS), and more.

Skin Layers: Pre-painted Galvanized Steel Sheets (PPGS), Pre-painted Galvalume Steel Sheets, Aluminum Sheet, Stainless Steel Sheet, and more.

Panel thicknesses: 55, 80, 100, 120, 140, 150, 170 and 200 mm

Width: 1110 mm

Panel lengths: 2000 mm to 18000 mm

Joint System: double tongue & groove slip joint.

Profiles: Smooth, Microlinear, Low Rib, Micro Lining, Micro Wave, Groove, Microgroove, etc.

Configuration: Vertical, or Horizontal.

Coating: Polyester, Plastisol, PVC film, PVDF, SP 25, AGRO, Food Safe, etc.

Are Cold Room Sandwich Panels Easy To Install?

Cold room sandwich panels are easy-to-install prefabricated composite panels, each unit comes ready to install with a tongue and groove joining system, while a sealing is often applied to eliminate the gaps, ensure air tightness, and minimize thermal bridges through the joints, these make the assembly easy, reduce costs and help realize projects faster. Also, cold room sandwich panels are lightweight and versatile, customers can choose from different standards or made-to-measure sizes, while they can be designed to cover cold room building envelopes including walls, partitions, ceilings, roofs, and floors.

How Long Do Cold Room Sandwich Panels Last? 

Cold room sandwich panels are long-spanning panels that have a long lifespan of 10 years and can last up to 20 years, given their durable material, self-supporting double-skin metal-faced insulating panels, cold room sandwich panels can stand the test of time without periodic maintenance.