Banca de DEFESA: Wallas Borges Araújo

Experimental behavior of curauá fiber reinforced PERFOFRP type shear connectors

Natural/Vegetable Fibers; Curauá; Shear Connector; Push-out Test; Sandwich Wall Panels; Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)

This study represents a significant advancement in the development of sustainable solutions for precast wall sandwich panel connectors. Unlike previous research that focused on addressing the issue of thermal bridges caused by metal connectors, which impairs the energy efficiency of buildings, this pioneering work aimed to evaluate the mechanical behavior of connections using connectors made of Short Curauá Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CuFRP). One of the main innovations involved replacing widely used glass fibers with plant-based curauá fibers, with the goal of reducing the environmental impact associated with the production of these connectors. These fibers come from renewable sources and require low energy consumption in their extraction process. It's important to note that no previous study investigated the use of plant-based fibers in the manufacturing of these connectors, making this research groundbreaking in this regard. The behavior of the connections was determined and compared with connections produced using perforated Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer connectors (PERFOGFRP), considering load-carrying capacity and ductility. The push-out test results demonstrated that connections with perforated CuFRP connectors, or rather, PERFOCuFRP connectors, exhibited shear strengths ranging from 84.82% to 41.17% of the strengths obtained with PERFOGFRP connectors. Furthermore, these connections displayed higher displacement corresponding to peak load and lower stiffness compared to similar connections tested previously. Although they exhibit lower load capacities and stiffness, connections made with PERFOCuFRP connectors can be a viable alternative to the currently used connectors, provided that adaptations in design are made. For instance, while an 8.00 m x 3.00 m sandwich panel requires the use of 0.52 m of PERFOFRP connectors to achieve the same load-carrying capacity, if PERFOCuFRP connectors are used, the same panel would require 0.62 m of connectors. This represents a 20% increase in the quantity of required connectors when opting for the connectors studied in this work as opposed to those manufactured with GFRP.