Sandwich elements with facings of high performance concrete and a core of extruded polystyrene foam

As part of a research project at the Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern, sandwich elements with thin facings of high performance concrete (HPC) and a core of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) were experimentally and numerically investigated [1]. The facings featured a thickness of 10 to 20 mm and were bonded with the core with a thickness of 120 to 140 mm by a thermally imprinted, diamond-shaped surface structure of the XPS insulation panels (Figure 1). The load-bearing behaviour of the sandwich elements was investigated experimentally in bending, shear and large-scale element tests as well as numerically by parametric studies with finite element (FE)-software. Furthermore, the durability of the bond was investigated in fatigue tests, freeze-thaw tests and long-term loading tests. The results of the investigations are summarized in this paper. Additionally, a concept for the structural verification on the basis of standard DIN EN 14509 for the design of metal-faced sandwich elements [2] is presented. The applicability of the concept is verified by the calculation of the experiments.