Assessment of GRC Facade Panels Mechanical Behaviour with the FEM

摘要

Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC) is a composite material consisting of a cementitious matrix in which short length glass fibres are dispersed. GRC has been used for more than thirty years in the construction industry, especially in facade panels. In this paper a case study is presented, of a building GRC facade where important pathologies were detected, namely extensive cracking and deformation. The panels' structural behaviour was simulated with a FEM model that was first validated by reproducing experimental tests performed on the facade and then used to assess the efficiency of different repairing techniques to suppress the pathologies.