In-Plane Shear Characterization of Composite GFRP-Foam Sandwich Panels
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 23, Issue 5
Abstract
Shear walls, diaphragms, and shear web structures are generally subjected to in-plane shear loading. Only a small number of test data regarding the in-plane shear behavior of glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) sandwich structures are currently available. Using ASTM’s picture frame shear test, this work reports a systematic experimental approach coupled with both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) digital image correlation (DIC) methods to characterize the failure modes of sandwich structures. Constituent materials such as plain foams, GFRP laminates, and GFRP-foam sandwich panels featuring different polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core densities and face sheet thicknesses were tested. The principal strain ratio measurement presented in this work was able to outline the interaction of failure modes. A simplified analytical model to assess the core in-plane shear load contribution was developed and validated. The core contribution was clear and should be taken into account for high-density foam materials and web-reinforced core designs. This research produced new in-plane shear data and a simplified design equation that will assist engineers in confidently sizing, designing, and predicting the in-plane shear capacity of sandwich structural members.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge Diab Corporation and 3A Composites Corporation for providing the closed-cell foams. A special thanks to Composite Advantage LLC (Dayton, Ohio) for manufacturing all composite panels. The testing assistance of the Structures and Materials Assessment, Research and Testing (SMART) Group at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) is greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 23 • Issue 5 • October 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 12, 2018
Accepted: Jan 29, 2019
Published online: Jul 10, 2019
Published in print: Oct 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Dec 10, 2019
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