Behaviour of Three Dimensional Expanded Polystyrene Eps Sandwiched Concrete Panels Under Aggressive Environment

Abstract

The rising need for housing in developing countries has led to a demand for rapid construction materials and techniques. Additionally, the desire for better living comfort and low energy consumption has driven a shift from traditional masonry construction to rapid construction methods that offer advantages such as insulation, lightweight properties, and acoustic insulation. One such extensively used material is Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Sandwiched Concrete Panels, known for their rapid construction capabilities, costand#65534;effectiveness, insulating properties, and lightweight load-bearing capacity. This study aims to evaluate the flexural performance of these panels under aggressive environmental conditions, including chloride exposure, acid exposure, sulfate exposure, and elevated temperatures. Additionally, the study employs Acoustic Emission (AE) non-destructive testing to monitor the panels. The EPS panels used in this study have dimensions of 1000 × 600 × 130 mm (Length × Width × Thickness), with welded wire mesh of size 50 × 50 mm serving as wythe reinforcement and truss-shaped shear connectors. In the first phase of this study, chloride exposure, which results in corrosion, is simulated using an impressed current technique for accelerated corrosion. The panels were corroded to different levels by varying the days of exposure of 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-days, the panels were then tested under a monotonically increasing flexural loading. The failure mode and behavior of the corrosion-damaged panels were investigated regarding flexural strength, stiffness, ductility, and composite action. The investigation showed decreases of 6.98%, 13.93%, 20.62%, and 60.45% in the ultimate flexural load-carrying capacity after 5, 10, 15, and 20 days of accelerated corrosion, respectively. The ductility, evaluated using the Ductility Factor (DF), showed a decrease of up to 85.01% in highly corroded panels. AE parameters, such as cumulative AE hits, amplitudes, and X-Y event plots, were used to detect faults, reliably indicating