Abstract
This paper presents the structural behaviour of precast lightweight foam concrete sandwich panel (PFLP) under flexure, studied experimentally and theoretically. Four (4) full scale specimens with a double shear steel connector of 6 mm diameter and steel reinforcement of 9 mm diameter were cast and tested. The panel’s structural behavior was studied in the context of its ultimate flexure load, crack pattern, load-deflection profile, and efficiency of shear connectors. Results showed that the ultimate flexure load obtained from the experiment is influenced by the panel’s compressive strength and thickness. The crack pattern recorded in each panel showed the emergence of initial cracks at the midspan which later spread toward the left and right zones of the slab. The theoretical ultimate load for fully composite and noncomposite panels was obtained from the classical equations. All panel specimens were found to behave in a partially composite manner. Panels PLFP-3 and PLFP-4 with higher compressive strength and total thickness managed to obtain a higher degree of compositeness which is 30 and 32.6 percent, respectively.
Highlights
A sandwich panel is a three or more layer element, usually comprising of thin faces/wythes of high-strength material which encloses a thicker inner layer of low average strength
This study proposes the use of a Precast lightweight foam concrete sandwich panel (PLFP) sandwich panel which uses the foamed concrete as its wythe
This research investigated the structural behavior of the PLFP panel with double shear connectors subjected to flexure load
Summary
A sandwich panel is a three or more layer element, usually comprising of thin faces/wythes of high-strength material which encloses a thicker inner layer of low average strength. This study proposes the use of a PLFP sandwich panel which uses the foamed concrete as its wythe This new precast system is lighter but higher in strength to weight ratio. The materials used for casting the specimen were concrete, foamed concrete, steel bars (9 mm), steel truss connectors (6 mm), and polystyrene. Materials for capping were Portland cement, aggregate, sand, steel bars, and polystyrene. This research investigated the structural behavior of the PLFP panel with double shear connectors subjected to flexure load It focused on ultimate strength capacity of the panel under flexure load and the efficiency of the double shear connector for precast lightweight foam concrete sandwich panel under the applied load. The horizontal and longitudinal steel bars tied with double shear truss connectors were placed in the formwork. The upper layer was poured on top of the core layer and trowel to obtain a smooth surface
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