Flexural behavior of energy-efficient concrete sandwich panels

The idea of fully adopting energy efficiency in building construction and systems has now been practiced in many countries worldwide, which is referred to as Green Building. In line with this perspective, this research proposes the concrete sandwich insulated panels as structural members. Concrete sandwich insulated panels is a relatively new building system that meets environmental, technical, and sustainability demands. This system is used for most of the structural components, such as load bearing walls, and partitions, due to its architectural adaptability and ease of installation. The panels are made of two reinforced concrete layers sandwiching polystyrene insulating layer and joined by shear connectors. In the construction industry, using the insulation layer (Polystyrene) has a number of significant advantages. Thermal and sound insulation, reduced building weight and construction time, economic efficiency, and energy savings are only a few examples. Undoubtedly, raising awareness of such composite system and its applications in Saudi Arabia is a practical step to move the construction sector toward sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. Consequently, the proposed research is going to spot the light on such structural system aiming to comprehend the flexural behaviour of concrete sandwich insulated panel and its composite action. Experimentally, full-scale concrete sandwich panels will be fabricated and tested under flexural action in order to fulfil the research's goal. The observations and findings of the tested samples will be interpreted in tabular and/or graphical representations, together with fruitful analysis and discussions. Furthermore, recommendations will be introduced to the future researchers to continue developing this structural system by investigating other different aspects to pave the way to its applications in Saudi Arabia. This development would encourage construction-related industrial firms to include such systems into their future projects