Impact and post-impact performance of sandwich wall boards with GFRP face sheets and a web-foam core: The effects of impact location

In recent years, load-bearing exterior sandwich wall boards have been adopted in civil engineering. The exterior walls of structures are often exposed to low velocity impacts such as stones, tools, and windborne debris, etc. The ultimate loading capacity, deformation, and ductility of sandwich walls are weakened by impact loads. In this study, the sandwich wall boards consisted of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) face sheets and a web-foam core. The core of wall boards was not the isotropic material. There was no doubt that the mechanical performance was seriously influenced by the impact locations. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an investigation on the impact and post-impact performance of exterior wall boards. A comprehensive testing program was conducted to evaluate the effects of impact locations and impact energies on the maximum contact load, deflection, and contact time. Meanwhile, the compression after impact (CAI) performance of wall boards were also studied. The results indicated that the impact location significantly affects the performance of wall boards. Compared with an un-damaged wall board, the residual ultimate loading capacity of damaged wall boards reduced seriously, which were not larger than 50% of the designed ultimate loading capacity.