Structural behavior of load-bearing sandwich wall panels with GFRP skin and a foam-web core

An innovative load-bearing sandwich wall panel with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) skins and a foam-GFRP web core (GSFW wall panels, where "GS" denotes GFRP skin and "FW" denotes foam-GFRP web core), which was manufactured using a vacuum-assisted resin infusion process, was developed in this paper. An experimental study involving nine specimens was conducted to validate the effectiveness of this panel for increasing the axial strength under edgewise compression loading. The effects of web thickness, web spacing, web height, and skin thickness on axial stiffness, displacement ductility, and energy dissipation were also investigated. The test results demonstrated that axial strength, axial stiffness, displacement ductility, and energy dissipation could be improved by increasing the web thickness, web height, and skin thickness. An analytical model that considers the confinement effect of foam and the local buckling of GFRP skin was proposed to predict the ultimate axial strength of GSFW panels. A comparison of the analytical and experimental results showed that the analytical model accurately predicted the ultimate axial strength of GSFW wall panels under edgewise compression loading. To simulate the low velocity impact by blindings that are rolled by the wind, an impact test was conducted and the residual axial strength of the wall panels after impact was also investigated.