Laboratory test and numerical study of structural insulated panel strengthened with glass fibre laminate against windborne debris impact

• SIP strengthened with glass fibre laminate against debris impact was studied.
• Laboratory tests were conducted by using an air cannon system.
• Damage patterns of the specimens were observed and discussed.
• Impact resistance capacity of strengthened SIP under debris impact was studied.
• Numerical model was developed to generate SIP vulnerability curve.

Cyclone and tornado as common nature disasters have caused devastating damages and losses around the world. In such events loose objects might be lifted and propelled by strong wind as the windborne debris, which is a potential hazard to the building facade because windborne debris impact may create openings on the building envelop, threaten the safety of occupants inside the building and cause further damages to the structure. Some wind loading codes e.g., the Australian Wind Loading Code (AS/NZS 1170:2:2011) specifies the design requirements to address this issue. On the other hand, structural insulated panel (SIP) has been increasingly used in building constructions owing to the advantages of thermal insulation and easy to build, but it is vulnerable to windborne debris impact owing to its insufficient impact resistance capacity. This disadvantage prevents the wide applications of SIP in regions with strong winds, such as the Cyclone region C and D defined in Australian Wind Loading Code. In this study, glass fibre laminate was used to strengthen SIP with OSB (Oriented Strand Board) skins to improve its capacity to resist windborne debris impact. One unstrengthened and six strengthened SIP panels were manufactured and tested by using a pneumatic cannon system. Two high speed cameras were used to capture failure modes and dynamic responses. The effectiveness of glass fibre laminate strengthening was examined and compared in terms of the residual velocity of the projectile. A numerical model was also developed to simulate the laboratory tests. The accuracy of the model was calibrated by the test results. The validated numerical model was then used to conduct more numerical simulations to obtain vulnerability curves of OSB skin SIP panels against windborne debris impact.

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