Flexural Behavior of Precast Concrete Sandwich Panel

Made of Foam Core and Fiber Concrete Wythes

Presented by: Sakol Kong

Asst. Prof. Dr. Chuchai Sujivorakul
Dr. Teerawut Muhammud

Introduction
Precast Concrete Structure
Quick and easy construction

Introduction
Lightweight Sandwich Structure
Self-weight reduction
Heat and sound insulation

Time consuming

Introduction
Roof

Heavy material
Maintenance

Cast-In-Place Slab
Light weight

Light load

Sandwich Structure
Heat and sound
insulation

Objectives

Load [N]

Investigate the flexural behavior of sandwich panels made of

foam core and fiber concrete wythes.
Determine parameters affecting their strength & stiffness.
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0

Deflection [mm]

Material: Foam

Expanded Polystyrene Foam

(EPS) 32 kg/m

Material: Concrete
Steel Fiber
Reinforced
Concrete
(FRC)

Fiber ID

Length, Lf
[mm]

Lf/D

Diameter,
D [mm]

HF-65/35

35

65

0.58

Cement : Sand
1:1
1 : 1.5
1:2
1 : 2.5

Tensile
Strength
[MPa]
1,100

Material: Concrete
Cement : Sand
1 : 1.0
1 : 1.5
1 : 2.0
1 : 2.5
Note: w/c = 0.35

Investigate mixture ratio with:

Good compressive strength
Good bonding resistance with foam

Material: Testing of concrete

Concrete

5 x 5 x 5 cm3
Foam

Compression Test

Shear Test

Material: Testing of concrete

Compression Test

Shear Test

5 x 5 x 5 cm3

Foam

Concrete

Material: Test Results

Concrete

5 x 5 x 5 cm3
Foam

Compression Test

Shear Test

Material: Fiber Reinforce Concrete

Mix
Proportion

Cement
[kg/m3]

Sand
[kg/m3]

Water
[kg/m3]

1:1

1021

1021

358

Fiber
Volume
Fraction
[%]
1

Experimental Investigation of Sandwich Panel

Different Types of Connection
Different Thickness of Foam Layer
Flexural Test: 3-point Bending

30 x 10 x 120 cm3

Different Types of Connection

Bond Connection

Ribbed Concrete
Connection

Concrete Column
Connection

Different Thickness of Foam Layer

8 cm

7.5 cm

Test Specimens
Panel ID

Foam Core Thickness

[cm]

FRC Facing Thickness

[cm]

Type of Connection

F8BC

Bonding Connection

F8RC

Ribbed Concrete Connection

F8CC

Concrete Column Connection

F7.5BC

7.5

1.25

Bonding Connection

Foam 8

Foam 7.5

7.5

Specimen Preparation

Position of Foam in Mold

Sandwich Panel

28-day wet curing

Analytical Prediction

, = = ( )
f ct

L f 0.2
f c(0.0014 V 0.0046 V f ) L f
D
2
f

:Post-cracking tensile strength of FRC [Sujivorakul, C. (2011)]

Test Results

Load-Deflection Curve
F7.5BC
F8BC
F8RC

Adding around 1cm of facing

to foam: significantly
increase Strength and
Stiffness

F8CC

Foam8

Foam7.5

Load-Deflection Curve
F8BC

Panel:

F8RC
F8CC

same thickness of foam layer,

same thickness of FRC facing,
But difference connection

Same ultimate load

Different stiffness

Load-Deflection Curve
F7.5BC
F8BC

Panel:
Same connection
But different thickness of foam
Different thickness of FRC

Different in both
strength and stiffness

Failure
Mode

F8BC

F8CC

F8RC

F7.5BC

Comparison Prediction vs Test

Prediction

Testing

Bending Moment [N.m]

1200

1000
800
600

400
200
0

F8BC

F8RC
F8CC
Type of Panel

F7.5BC

Good agreement between Prediction and Test

Conclusion
All Panels failed by Flexure: good bond between EPS
foam and concrete
Shear Connection: not influence flexural strength
but significantly effect Stiffness and ductility
Thickness of Bottom FRC Layer: significantly
influence flexural strength
Good agreement between the experimental test and
the prediction

Thank You for Your Kind Attention