Evaluation of production quality and mechanical behavior of low-cost shear connectors manufactured with perforated GFRP plates

Abstract

Insulated pre-cast concrete wall panels, also called sandwich panels, consist in two external concrete layers, in which an internal layer of thermal insulation material is inserted between, aiming better acoustic and thermal performance. One of the main concerns regarding the performance of these panels refers to the elimination of thermal bridges caused by metallic connectors, which jeopardize the panels’ thermal efficiency. One of the proposals to solve this problem consists in the use of PERFOFRP connectors, which are plane plates with perforated holes through its thickness, which are embedded into the concrete plates, creating anchorage pins that enhance the shear strength and the layers’ debonding resistance. This research had the objective of evaluating the production quality of this type of connector, produced with a low-cost and easy-to-use vacuum assisted resin infusion system; considering the effects of: (a) resin plate homogeneity, by taking samples from various locations on the plate; (b) fabrication repeatability; and (c) raw production materials’ origin; on the results of: (I) ultimate tensile stress, (II) modulus of elasticity, and (III) volume fraction of fibre. Also, 18 specimens in the form of representative models of the shear connector in insulated pre-cast concrete wall panels, with six different hole configurations achieved by varying the holes’ diameter and spacing, were subjected to push-out tests, to assess the holes’ diameter and spacing effects on the mechanical performance of the connection in terms of ultimate load capacity and stiffness. The results indicated a production quality with a satisfactory level of characteristics variation, considering: the variability in different parts of a single composite plate, the variability between composite plates from different infusion process, and the variability between different production batches. Furthermore, the push-out tests demonstrated that the perforated connectors presented, when compared to non-perforated connectors: a gain in shear strength from 8% to 25%, lower relative displacements, and higher levels of stiffness. It was also observed that connectors with 25.40 mm diameter holes presented better performance than connectors with 31.75 mm diameter holes; and that the reducing the hole spacing from 2.00 to 1.75, for the 25.40 mm diameter specimens, caused a decrease in the load capacity of the connector. Thus, it was verified that variations on the hole’s diameter and spacing influenced the load carrying capacity of the connection.