347 Analysis of the flexural behavior of Textile Reinforced Reactive Powder Concrete sandwich elements using optical measurements

Prefabricated and non-load bearing sandwich façade elements were developed using Textile Reinforced Reactive Powder Concrete (TRRPC) along with low density Foamed Concrete (FC) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) continuous connecting devices. Four-point bending tests were performed on large-scale TRRPC sandwich element beams to characterize the structural performance, which included the flexural capacity, level of composite action, resulting deformation, crack propagation and failure mechanisms. Optical measurements based on Digital Image Correlation (DIC) were taken simultaneously to enable a detailed analysis of the underlying composite action. The structural behavior of the developed elements was found to be highly dependent on the stiffness and strength of the connectors to ensure composite action between the two TRRPC panels.