Title: A new studded precast concrete sandwich wall with embedded glass-fiber-reinforced polymer channel sections: Part 1, experimental study
Date Published: May - June 2020
Volume: 65
Issue: 3
Page Numbers: 78 - 99
Authors: Debrup Dutta, Akram Jawdhari, and Amir Fam
https://doi.org/10.15554/pcij65.3-04

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Abstract

This paper examines the structural effectiveness of a new concrete sandwich panel with a shear connector made of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) pultruded channel sections intended to enhance composite action and flexural rigidity while minimizing thermal bridging. The flanges of the channel section were embedded in both wythes. Five half-scale panels (610 × 280 × 3050 mm [24.02 × 11.02 × 120.08 in.]) were tested in four-point bending, varying the connector configuration and type as well as the wythe reinforcement ratio. The connectors investigated were a continuous GFRP channel, a discrete GFRP channel consisting of multiple segments spaced apart, and a control conventional steel truss. Ancillary push-off single shear tests were conducted on 500 mm (19.7 in.) long wall segments to examine the GFRP connector shear strength and its bond strength to concrete. The panels with continuous and discrete GFRP channels achieved 4 and 2.6 times the ultimate strength of that with a steel truss, respectively. The continuous GFRP channel contributed 49% of the total flexural capacity of the wall. As the wythe reinforcement ratio increased from 0.17% to 0.68%, the ultimate load of the panels with continuous GFRP channels increased by 33%. Failure modes were compressive flange crush¬ing for the panels with continuous GFRP channels, web shear for the panel with a discrete channel, and rupture of wythe reinforcement for the panel with steel truss. The continuous and discrete GFRP connectors provided an average degree of composite action of 50%, compared with 33% for the steel truss panel. The GFRP-concrete bond strength was 0.28 MPa (0.04 ksi).