Impact behavior of sandwich ferrocement panels

Abstract

Ferrocement is one of the construction materials used to reduce both cross-section and eliminate coarse aggregates. In this experimental study the impact strength and strain energy of thin laminated mortar specimens were investigated. Five series of ferrocement sandwich panels with 400mmX400mmX50mm in dimensions were cast and subjected to drop impact loadings. The results of simply supported tested panels showed that using plastic instead of galvanized wire mesh increased the impact resistance of panels. Including a thin row of Styrophoam between the two mortar layers increased strain impact energy for failure load. Different crack patterns were recorded according to the type, number of wire mesh and percentage of Styrophoam content.