Evaluation of Wood Composite Sandwich Panels as a Promising Renewable Building Material

Abstract

During this study, full-size wood composite sandwich panels, 1.2 m by 2.4 m (4 ft by 8 ft), with a biaxial corrugated core were evaluated as a building construction material. Considering the applications of this new building material, including roof, floor, and wall paneling, sandwich panels with one and two corrugated core(s) were fabricated and experimentally evaluated. Since primary loads applied on these sandwich panels during their service life are live load, snow load, wind, and gravity loads, their bending and compression behavior were investigated. To improve the thermal characteristics, the cavities within the sandwich panels created by the corrugated geometry of the core were filled with a closed-cell foam. The R-values of the sandwich panels were measured to evaluate their energy performance. Comparison of the weight indicated that fabrication of a corrugated panel needs 74% less strands and, as a result, less resin compared to a strand-based composite panel, such as oriented strand board (OSB), of the same size and same density. Bending results revealed that one-layer core sandwich panels with floor applications under a 4.79 kPa (100 psf) bending load are able to meet the smallest deflection limit of L/360 when the span length (L) is 137.16 cm (54 in) or less. The ultimate capacity of two-layered core sandwich panels as a wall member was 94% and 158% higher than the traditional walls with studs under bending and axial compressive loads, respectively. Two-layered core sandwich panels also showed a higher ultimate capacity compared to structural insulated panels (SIP), at 470% and 235% more in bending and axial compression, respectively. Furthermore, normalized R-values, the thermal resistance, of these sandwich panels, even with the presence of thermal bridging due to the core geometry, was about 114% and 109% higher than plywood and oriented strand board, respectively.

The potential of lightweight panel systems in building industry

“…In addition to thermal insulation properties, the core withstands temperature around 2.000 °C, what ensures an exceptional fire resistance of the board. The system involves a corner panel, which is applied to insulate the most critical corner points of constructions [14,15]. Figure 6.…”

The Effect of Openings’ Size and Location on Selected Dynamical Properties of Typical Wood Frame Walls

“…The inside of the frame is filled with an insulating material that achieves various functions: thermal insulation [ 10 ], acoustic insulation [ 11 , 12 ], and structural reinforcement [ 13 ]. Insulation materials are often mineral wool [ 10 ], polyurethane foams (PU foams) [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], or other solutions based on waste from various biomasses [ 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

A Novel Implementation of the LDEM in the Ansys LS-DYNA Finite Element Code

“…As far as layered materials are concerned, several layers made of different materials are stacked, and may be characterised by different orientations and thickness [10][11][12][13]. Each layer or group of layers is devoted to a specific task, ranging from structural strength to insulation or lightening.…”

“…They consist of a soft, thick core between two thin sheets held together by means of adhesive layers. The core, which may be characterised by either a continuous or a discrete periodic geometry (such as honeycomb and corrugated cores), plays an important role in sandwich panels [12]. For instance, a higher rigidity of the entire composite can be achieved by increasing the thickness of the core, with a consequent slight increase in terms of weight [14].…”

“…Nowadays, sandwich panels are widespread in the fields of both aerospace [15], shipbuilding [16], automotive [14], civil engineering [12], and furniture industry [17]. Extensive experimental research has been recently carried out in order to understand the mechanical behaviour of such materials subjected to specific loadings, such as through-thickness compression [18], longitudinal compression [19], bending moment [20], torsion [21], indentation [22], and dynamic loading [23].…”