Structural Performance of Polyurethane Foam-Filled Building Composite Panels: A State-Of-The-Art

Abstract

Composite panels with polyurethane (PU) foam-core and facing materials, such as gypsum, engineered wood or some composite materials, are being used as structural members in building construction. This paper reviews and summarises major research developments, and provides an updated review of references on the structural performance of foam-filled building composite panels from 1998 to 2017. The review revealed that previous studies on the structural performance of foam-filled building composite panels could be categorised into five themes; namely, energy absorption and dynamic behaviour; bending and shear behaviour, edgewise and flatwise compressive/tensile behaviour; delamination/deboning issues; and finally some miscellaneous issues. These categories comprise approximately 30%, 40%, 11%, 11% and 8% of related studies over the last two decades, respectively. Also, over the past five years, the number of relevant studies has increased by ~400% relative to the previous similar periods, indicating the attention and focus of researchers to the importance of the structural performance of foam-filled composite panels.