New Anticracking Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Cement Material and Integrated Composite Technology with Lightweight Concrete Panels

Glass-fiber-reinforced cement (GRC) is a widely used decorative material for wall facades. Conventional GRC products have poor crack resistance, low construction efficiency, poor integration, and few environmental benefits, hence failing to meet the requirements of building industrialization. To realize an integrated composite wall made from GRC and precast lightweight concrete (PLC) with a lasting anticrack effect, the anticracking properties of GRC material as well as the connection mode of GRC and PLC layers were studied. Through long-term shrinkage test, the influence of fiber content, rubber powder content, and expansion agent content on the crack resistance of GRC material was systematically analyzed. At the same time, the influence of connection mode on the crack resistance of the GRC layer after compositing with precast lightweight concrete (PLC) was analyzed. The results showed that adding fiber can effectively improve the flexural strength of the GRC and reduce drying shrinkage, whereas adding rubber powder can effectively improve its toughness and crack resistance. The addition of U-type expansion agent (UEA) can impart the cement mortar with a certain degree of microexpansion performance and help improve the drying shrinkage of the GRC. Compared with other compounding methods, the smooth connection of the GRC and PLC can effectively reduce the shrinkage of the GRC surface layer and improve its crack resistance. So, the new GRC material has good crack resistance performance and facade effect. These research studies provide an experimental basis for the large-scale application of the panel, and it has great advantages in improving the efficiency of prefabricated building construction.

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