Innovative sandwich structures made of high performance concrete and foamed polyurethane

The demands on contemporary buildings make new construction methods and materials essential. Sandwich elements with layers made of high performance concrete and additional specialized characteristics can fulfill the requirements of sustainable and durable building envelopes with esthetic appeal. Nevertheless, the standard production method by assembling slabstock core materials in freshly poured concrete hinders reliable bond quality, which greatly affects the load-bearing capacity. In order to overcome this problem and realize a homogenous bond quality, the cores were foamed between precast concrete layers, leading to enhanced load-bearing capacity of the sandwich sections. This article presents possible applications, the production method, and the major results of experimental investigations on the load-bearing behavior of sandwich sections with textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) and ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) as well as varying types of connectors and foam cores. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.