Structural characterization of natural fiber-reinforced polymeric structural insulated panels for panelized construction

Abstract

The primary goal of this article is to study the structural characterization of natural fiber reinforced structural insulated panels (NSIPs) using jute/polypropylene laminates as skin. To this end, flexure and LVI tests were carried out on NSIPs in order to check the response of NSIPs under sudden impact loading and uniform bending conditions typical of residential construction. The project also includes a comparison of mechanical properties of NSIPs with OSB SIPs and G/PP SIPs. The results showed significant increase in the mechanical properties of resulting laminates mainly 53% increase in load-carrying capacity compared to OSB SIPs. The bending modulus of NSIPs is 190% higher than OSB SIPs and 70% weight reduction compared to OSB SIPs.