Authors
Abstract
The main aim of this investigation is to produce high performance lightweight concrete
sandwich panels consisting of two layers of mortar having different mesh reinforcement
and feeded polystyrene concrete core in between. Locally pozzolanic material (ultra –
fine feldspar) is used to produce the high performance mortar as partial replacement of
cement. The effect of various factors such as core thickness, volume fraction and type of
reinforcement (polyimide grids, polypropylene meshes and chicken wire meshes) has
been investigated. The work covers the physical properties of the mortar and polystyrene
concrete core. Also the structural properties and behaviour of eight series of 1000mm
length and 200mm width concrete sandwich panels with two reinforced mortar faces of
20 mm in thickness and core of 30 and 50mm in thickness from polystyrene concrete
were investigated by nondestructive and destructive methods.
The nondestructive tests included the density and dynamic modulus for mortar and
polystyrene concrete. Also the density and dynamic properties of the concrete sandwich
panels as a whole (dynamic modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio and stiffness constant)
were determined by ultrasonic pulse velocity. Flexural properties such as, first crack and
ultimate loads, moment capacity, modulus of rupture, resilience, ductility and toughness
of the concrete sandwich panels were investigated from the destructive tests .
The results show that the ultimate moment increases as the core thickness and the
volume fraction of different types of reinforcement increase and the modulus of rupture
increases as volume fraction of reinforcement increase. Also it was shown that concrete
sandwich panels with high toughness and ductility can be obtained by using polyimide
grids or polypropylene meshes to reinforce the compression and tension faces of the
panels.
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