Numerical analysis on flexural behaviour of GFRP sandwich roof panel with multilayer core material

Abstract

In this study, the flexural performance of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) sandwich roof panel with multilayer polyurethane foam core was investigated using commercial FEM software ANSYS WORKBENCH. The GFRP sandwich panel is composed of thin GFRP face sheets at top and bottom infilled with Polyurethane (PU) foam core of two different densities. GFRP sandwich panels with different stacking sequences of the multilayer core was considered to determine the best sequence in which the different layers of core material can be laid on top of each other. The optimum panel size was obtained from parametric study conducted with number of GFRP plies and thickness of core as parameters. Alternatively, the flexural behaviour of GFRP sandwich panel with three different web core configurations were also studied, which includes trapezoidal shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam (Type 1), rhombus shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam (Type 2), and wave shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam (Type 3). Based on the finite element analysis, GFRP sandwich panel with Type 3 core configuration (wave shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam) with lesser deformation represented a feasible model to be used as a roofing panel for small residential buildings and prefabricated modular constructions.