Out-of-plane shear performance of textile reinforced concrete sandwich panel: Numerical analysis and parametric study

This study investigated the out-of-plane shear performance of the textile reinforced concrete (TRC) sandwich panel through a comprehensive numerical analysis. A two-dimensional (2D) finite element (FE) model was conducted which considered the brittle nature of the core foam insulation, the bond effect between fiber and mortar, and between the TRC wythe and insulation. The FE model was validated by the existing test, and the interfacial slip distribution between the wythe and insulation was studied. Thereafter, a parametric analysis based on 126 specimens was conducted to evaluate the effect of the TRC wythe thickness, reinforcement ratio of the TRC, and the thickness of the foam board on the load carrying capacity and degree of composite action of the specimens. The results indicated that the FE model could accurately reproduce the failure process and the load-deflection relationship of the specimens; the slip distribution curve of the specimen would be influenced by the cracking behavior of the wythe and insulation; the load carrying capacity would be improved with the increase of the reinforcement ratio, insulation and TRC wythes thicknesses; while the degree of composite action would be decreased with the insulation and TRC wythes thicknesses.