TRC MULTILAYER PRECAST FACADE PANEL: STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR IN FREEZING-THAWING CONDITION

This paper presents an experimental investigation carried out at Politecnico di Milano in order to study the mechanical behavior of both textile reinforced concrete (TRC) and textile reinforced concrete sandwich solution when exposed to an increasing number of freezing and thawing cycles ( up to 500, +4/- 18 degrees C) considering both un-cracked and precracked initial conditions. An analytical model that accounts material non-linearity was used to investigate the effect of freezing and thawing on the sandwich behavior. Concerning sandwich solution, experimental results showed a negligible effect on both initial stiffness and maximum bearing capacity of the solution, but a significant reduction of the ductility.