Analysis and design guidelines of precast, prestressed concrete, composite load-bearing sandwich wall panels reinforced with CFRP grid

Abstract

This paper presents newly developed design guidelines for precast/prestressed concrete wall panels reinforced with carbon-fiber-reinforced-polymer (CFRP) shear grid to achieve the composite interaction. The analytical approach provides a general methodology to determine the behavior of fully and partially composite wall panels. The effects of an imperfect connection between the two concrete wythes are considered by varying the total shear force transmitted through the shear connectors at the interface. The predicted strains along the thickness of the panel at different load levels compared well with recent test results conducted at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The shear-flow capacity of the insulating materials and the CFRP shear grid are determined using the proposed approach. The influence of the degree of the composite interaction on the induced curvature and slip-strain behavior is presented. A simple design chart for estimating the flexural capacity of the wall panels with different shear-reinforcement ratios is proposed. The approach is also verified by using finite-element analysis up to the service-load level. The predicted displacement and strains compared well with the measured values reported by the experimental program.