High performance door

Abstract

A high performance door comprising a door shell having a generally planar construction with marginal edges and at least one door skin helping to define an interior door cavity and a door member disposed within the interior door cavity is disclosed. The door member is preferably constructed of a gas-entrained cementitious material and has a compressive strength of at least about 30 lbf/in 2 when measured using ASTM C-39. A method for forming a door member for use in construction with the door generally comprising: providing a door shell, placing the door shell in a fixture, filling the interior door cavity with a gas-entrained cementitious material, green-strength curing the gas-entrained cementitious material, and removing the door shell from the fixture is disclosed. The cured gas-entrained cementitious material provides a gas-entrained cementitious core for use in conjunction with a door.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A high performance door comprising: 
 a door shell having a generally planar construction with marginal edges and at least one door skin helping to define an interior door cavity; and    a door member disposed within the interior door cavity, the door member being constructed of a gas-entrained cementitious material.    
     
     
         2 . The high performance door of  claim 1 , wherein the door member has a compressive strength of at least about 30 lbf/in 2  when measured using ASTM C-39.  
     
     
         3 . The high performance door of  claim 1 , wherein the door member has a density greater than about 2.6 lb/ft 3 .  
     
     
         4 . The high performance door of  claim 1  wherein the door shell is comprised of a door frame and a first door skin and a second door skin.  
     
     
         5 . The high performance door of  claim 1  wherein the door shell is comprised of pre-pigmented plastic.  
     
     
         6 . The high performance door of  claim 1 , wherein the high performance door is fire resistant for a 20 minute fire rating test using ASTM 2074-00, UL 1° C., or UBC 7-2-1997 testing standards.  
     
     
         7 . The high performance door of  claim 1 , wherein the high performance door is fire resistant for a 30 minute fire rating test using the BSI 476/22 testing standard.  
     
     
         8 . The high performance door of  claim 1 , wherein the high performance door has a security rating of grade 20 according to ASTM F-476.  
     
     
         9 . The high performance door of  claim 1  wherein the door shell is comprised of a casing and the casing is positioned over the door member and is secured with a securing means.  
     
     
         10 . The high performance door of  claim 1  wherein the door shell is comprised of metal and is secured to the door member with an adhesive.  
     
     
         11 . The high performance door of  claim 1 , wherein the door member is a cured product of a foamed cement slurry.  
     
     
         12 . The high performance door of  claim 11 , wherein the foamed cement slurry is comprised of a hydraulic cement and water.  
     
     
         13 . The high performance door of  claim 12 , wherein the foamed cement slurry further comprises a foaming agent.  
     
     
         14 . The high performance door of  claim 13 , wherein the foamed cement slurry further comprises at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of a water reducer, a setting accelerator, and reinforcement fibers.  
     
     
         15 . The high performance door of  claim 12 , wherein the hydraulic cement includes a pozzolanic additive.  
     
     
         16 . The high performance door of  claim 12 , wherein the hydraulic cement includes a cementitious additive.  
     
     
         17 . The high performance door of  claim 15 , wherein the pozzolanic additive is selected from the group consisting of Class C fly ash, Class F fly ash, pulverized-fuel fly ash, condensed silica fume, metakaolin, rubber ash, and glass cullet.  
     
     
         18 . The high performance door of  claim 1  wherein the door shell is comprised of an aesthetic layer applied to the door member.  
     
     
         19 . The high performance door of  claim 18  wherein the aesthetic layer is comprised of a wood-like aesthetic layer.  
     
     
         20 . The high performance door of  claim 18  wherein the aesthetic layer is comprised of an aesthetic surface layer.  
     
     
         21 . The high performance door of  claim 18  wherein the aesthetic layer is comprised of a pre-pigmented aesthetic layer.  
     
     
         22 . The high performance door of  claim 18  wherein the aesthetic layer is selected from the group consisting of wood veneers, decorative films, transcribed pigment layers, polyvinylidene chloride coated wood and organic polymer coating.  
     
     
         23 . A method for forming a door member for use in conjunction with a door, the method comprising: 
 providing a form having a generally planar construction wherein the material used to construct the form does not readily adhere to a gas-entrained cementitious material;    filling the form with the gas-entrained cementitious material;    green-strength curing the gas-entrained cementitious material; and    removing the cured gas-entrained cementitious material from the form wherein the cured gas-entrained cementitious material provides a gas-entrained cementitious core for use in conjunction with a door.    
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the gas-entrained cementitious material is comprised of a foamed cement slurry.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the Material used to construct the form is selected from the group consisting of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, and polyvinylidene chloride.  
     
     
         26 . A method for forming a door member for use in conjunction with a door, the method comprising: 
 selecting a gas-entrained cementitious material that has flowability of between about 4.825 inches and about 18 inches when tested using the TT flowability method;    casting the gas-entrained cementitious material into a form;    allowing the gas-entrained cementitious material to achieve green-strength cure; and    removing the gas-entrained cementitious material from the form wherein the cured gas-entrained cementitious material provides a gas-entrained cementitious material core for use in conjunction with a door.    
     
     
         27 . A method for forming a high performance door, the method comprising: 
 providing a door shell having a generally planer construction with marginal edges and at least one door skin helping to define an interior door cavity;    placing the door shell in a fixture;    filling the interior door cavity with a gas-entrained cementitious material;    green-strength curing the gas-entrained cementitious material; and    removing the door shell from the fixture wherein the cured gas-entrained cementitious material provides a gas-entrained cementitious core for use in conjunction with a door.    
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27  further comprising inserting a flexible, non-ceramic compound into the interior door cavity prior to filling the interior door cavity.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the fixture is comprised of a platen press.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the placing the door shell in the fixture is comprised of the following steps: 
 placing the door shell in an orientation such that the at least one door skins is generally parallel with the ground; and    running an at least one roller over one of the door skins wherein excess gas-entrained cementitious material is removed from the interior door cavity.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27  further comprising agitating the gas-entrained cementitious material with an air vibrator to inhibit the formation of voids in the gas-entrained cementitious material.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the door shell is comprised of a first door skin having a first exposed outer surface and an first opposed inner surface, a second door skin having a second exposed outer surface and a second opposed inner surface, and a door frame, the door frame being attached to the first opposed inner surface and the second opposed inner surface.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the door frame is comprised of stiles and rails, wherein the stiles are constructed of laminated wood and the rails are constructed of high-density polyethylene-wood fiber and wherein the first door skin and second door skin are comprised of fiberglass.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33  further comprising inserting a plurality of nails into an at least one interior edge of the stiles prior to filling the interior door cavity with the gas-entrained cementitious material; wherein the plurality of nails serve to connect the door frame to the gas-entrained cementitious core.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising fastening a reinforcement mat to an at least one interior edge of the door frame.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the reinforcement mat is comprised of a metal mesh sheet.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the metal mesh sheet is selected from the group consisting of chicken wire, grill cloth, aluminum screen, chain-linked fencing and expanded metal.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the reinforcement mat is comprised of a polymer mesh sheet.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38  wherein the polymer mesh sheet is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene mesh, aramid fiber mat, carbon fiber mat, nylon screen, rubber-coated textiles, and plastic laminated fiber mat.