Drapability of AR-Glass Textile Reinforcements to Evaluate Suitability for Applications in Free-Form Precasted Concrete Panels: Fid-Bau Portal

Drapability of AR-Glass Textile Reinforcements to Evaluate Suitability for Applications in Free-Form Precasted Concrete Panels

Bhat, Shantanu / Olbrich, Jan Niclas / Gries, Thomas

Abstract

The Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) consisting of non-corroding textiles as reinforcements enable slender concrete components with a thickness of approx. 1 cm. This allows material savings of up to 80% and CO2 savings of up to 50% in building projects while simultaneously meeting the structural requirements. In addition, TRC combines the aspects of filigree, free-forming and economic efficiency in manufacturing for double curved concrete elements. The novel material can be used for façade panels, bridge claddings, roof elements, sculptures, etc. However, in order to establish TRC as a reliable material for freeform structures, comprehensive knowledge on textile reinforcement characteristics and their influences on drapability must be gained. This work describes and evaluates the drapability of high performance open-meshed AR glass textiles, in the context of their suitability as reinforcement for free-form concrete elements. The textiles investigated are biaxially reinforced knitted textile structures with different mesh opening sizes and binding types. Drape Tests with two curved geometries are performed to assess whether a textile is suitable as reinforcement, in freeform TRC elements. Properties such as grid openings, good drape quality, good handling and the aspect of shape retention of the textile reinforcements are investigated experimentally. Subsequently, for validation the optimum performing textile reinforcement is selected for the fabrication of a freeform facade element made of TRC. The important findings of this work are, the dimensions of the mesh openings and binding type have a major influence on draping quality, handling and stability of the textiles. Large mesh openings cause poor handling and a loss of stability, small grid openings in combination with tight binding types cause draping defects on the geometry, which hinders the bond with the concrete matrix. The textile with binding type trikot 1200 tex and 10 mm mesh opening is chosen as the optimum textile.