Development of sandwich composites for building construction with locally available materials

• Effective use of natural fabric as reinforcement for production of ferrocement.
• Tensile behavior of ferrocement with natural fabric versus galvanized steel wire reinforcement.
• Sandwich composites comprising locally available materials for structural applications.

A sandwich composite comprising ferrocement skins was developed as the primary structural module for building construction with indigenous materials. The indigenous reinforcement systems selected for use in ferrocement skins were jute burlap and chicken mesh (flexible galvanized steel wire). These reinforcement systems were characterized through performance of tension tests. The tensile strength, stiffness and ductility of jute burlaps were found to compare favorably with those of chicken mesh which is a viable reinforcement for use in ferrocement. Tension tests on ferrocement sheets indicated that indigenous reinforcement ratios above a threshold level could induce multiple cracking and strain-hardening behavior, producing a desired balance of tensile strength and ductility. The tensile strength of indigenous ferrocements with jute burlap reinforcement exceeded the theoretically predicted values, which could be attributed to the favorable interactions of the burlap reinforcement with the inorganic matrix, and the strengthening effects of hydrates precipitating within the yarn voids in burlap. Experiments were conducted to determine the bond strength and the required development length of the indigenous reinforcement in cementitious matrix. Indigenous sandwich composites comprising ferrocement skins with jute burlap reinforcement and an aerated concrete core made of lime-gypsum matrix and saponin foaming agent were fabricated and subjected to flexure testing. The sandwich composite provided relatively high flexural strengths; the flexural failure modes indicated that the relatively dense aerated concrete core makes important contributions to the flexural performance of the sandwich composite.