Fabric‐Reinforced, Mortar‐Faced, Foam‐Core Sandwich Panels

Abstract

This paper describes the construction of structural sandwich panels by wrapping reinforcing fabric around a foam board, then dipping it in a mortar slurry and screeding away excess mortar. A design procedure is described for obtaining the relative face, core, and reinforcing thicknesses to satisfy panel structural constraints at minimum material cost and at minimum weight for these faces, which have unequal tensile and compressive stiffnesses. Design is illustrated for a panel bending stiffness constraint. Stiffness/weight and stiffness/material cost ratios have been studied as a function of the amount of mineral wool added as a supplementary reinforcement stiffener. Stiffness/weight ratios are compared to those of pre‐stressed hollow‐core concrete decks. Potential applications include lightweight insulated panels for foundation walls and for walls and roofs of small buildings. Potential advantages include the elimination of concrete footing and foundation‐wall insulation costs as well as the reduction of construction time.