Numerical analysis of cement panels reinforced with galvanized iron or polypropylene meshes

Abstract

This paper deals with the numerical analysis of panels reinforced with galvanized iron (GI) or polypropylene (PP) meshes. It has been a common practice to use galvanized iron meshes as reinforcement in panels and is popularly called as ferrocement panels. Elevated humidity level and presence of salts can lead to corrosion of these galvanized iron meshes, leading to reduced service life. A rust-freepolypropylene mesh can be used as an alternate to the steel mesh. This paper presents numerical analysis in ANSYS Workbench based on an experimental study published in the literature” Comparative study of ferrocement panels reinforced with galvanized iron and polypropylene meshes”. A total of 16 rectangular panels tested in flexure was analyzed. Out of 16 panels, 8 were reinforced with GI mesh and 8 with PP mesh. The specimens were simply supported on two short edges and subjected to four-point bending. The parameters investigated include thickness of panels, volume fraction and the material of the mesh. All the GI mesh panels showed better strength than the corresponding PP mesh reinforcedcement panels. However, PP mesh panels exhibited better ductility as compared to GI mesh panels. An increase of 54% is noticed in 40mm thick panels reinforced with GI mesh, when compared to 20mm thick panels. Similarly, an increase of 83% is noticed in 40mm thick panels reinforced with PP mesh, when compared to 20mm thick panels. The results of numerical analysis were found to be comparable with the corresponding experimental results.