Repeated Loading of Cement Composite Sandwich Beams

Using large lightweight prefabricated sandwich panels offers great possibilities for the renovation of existing dwellings. By facilitating the installation process it reduces the total renovation time to a couple of days. During their life-time, these panels will be subjected to wind loading, equivalent to a repeated loading. The effect of this loading condition on the structural behavior of the sandwich panels was verified experimentally. Four-point bending tests were conducted, both static and cyclic. Results showed that the subjection to different loading-unloading cycles resulted in a residual deformation and a decreased stiffness. After being subjected to a repeated loading, the residual ultimate capacity was lowered with 30%.