Strutural performance of GFRP connectors in Composite sandwich facade elements

• A systematic testing and modelling program has been developed for the verification of the structural performance of facade sandwich elements to take structural aspects into consideration in the SESBE research project, focusing on the development of “smart” facade elements.The present paper mainly focuses on the verification of the mechanical performance of the glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) connectors of the novel type of facade element composed of reactive powder concrete (RPC) panels with foam concrete insulation between them. Because of the reduced thickness of the large facade elements, the performance of the connectors is critical for the entire structural concept. The first series of the testing and modelling programme concerning connector performance are presented here. The results suggest that sufficient strength and ductility of the connectors can be ensured using GFRP in the proposed thin light-weight facade elements.

Nyckelord

Sandwich facade elements

reactive powder concrete

foam concrete

glass fibre reinforced polymer connectors

carbon fibre reinforcements

structural performance

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)