Mechanical properties and failure patterns of sandwich panels with AR-glass textile reinforced concrete face sheets subjected to quasi-static load

Abstract

A sandwich panel was prepared with Alkali Resistant-glass textile reinforced concrete (ARG-TRC) as the face sheet and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) granular mortar as the core in this paper. Afterward, a quasi-static bending test was conducted to investigate the influences of the number of reinforcement layer, core thickness, and interface rib on the bending behaviors and failure of ARG-TRC sandwich panels (ARG-TRC-SPs). On this basis, the elastic bending deformation and ultimate bending capacity were theoretically predicted, and the failure mechanism was analyzed. The results show that ARG-TRC-SPs exhibited three common failure modes: face sheet bending fracture, core shear, and core crushing. Increasing the reinforcement layers significantly improved the properties of ARG-TRC-SPs but decreased textile utilization. Although the enhancement of the interface rib was dependent on the number of reinforcement layers, it could improve the integrity of ARG-TRC-SPs. There was a suitable core thickness for the ARG-TRC-SPs, and a thicker core did not indicate better mechanical properties. The theoretically predicted elastic deformation and ultimate bending capacity were in good agreement with the test results. However, the contribution of the core and interface ribs was underestimated. These results can provide a valuable reference for researchers and engineers in designing and applying TRC-SPs.