Structural Analysis of Ferrocement Composite Panels with Expanded Perlite Based Mortar

Structural Analysis of Ferrocement Composite Panels with Expanded Perlite Based Mortar | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Structural Analysis of Ferrocement Composite Panels with Expanded Perlite Based Mortar Zhengyu Wu, Amirhossein Madadi, Tzuyang Yu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627562/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 15 May, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A laboratory investigation was conducted to evaluate the structural behavior of ferrocement composite panels (FCPs) incorporating expanded perlite lightweight aggregate (LWA) at varying volume fractions (55%, 35%, and 15%). Twelve lightweight FCPs (60 × 60 × 4 cm) were fabricated with one, two, or three layers of expanded rib lath and tested under three-point flexural loading. Structural response was assessed using digital image correlation (DIC) and theoretical analysis based on the thin plate theory. The results showed that increasing the number of rib lath layers significantly enhanced the first crack load (F cr ) and ultimate load (F u ), with improvements ranging from 11–224% in F cr and 18–76% in F u . Deflection at first crack ( \(\:{\text{D}}_{{\text{F}}_{\text{c}\text{r}}})\) and ultimate load ( \(\:{\text{D}}_{{\text{F}}_{\text{u}}}\) ) increased by an average of 47% and 229%, respectively. Additionally, the use of perlite LWA increased \(\:{\text{D}}_{{\text{F}}_{\text{c}\text{r}}}\) and \(\:{\text{D}}_{{\text{F}}_{\text{u}}}\) by 29% and 26% compared to regular FCPs, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing flexibility. DIC analysis identified transverse strain (ε xx ) as the most sensitive parameter for early crack detection. Taguchi optimization further revealed that the number of rib lath layers had a more significant impact on Fcr and Fu than perlite content. These findings suggest that a three-layer FCP system with 15% perlite replacement optimizes load-bearing capacity, making it well-suited for high-strength, lightweight applications such as modular buildings and prefabricated structural elements. Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Computational science Physical sciences/Engineering/Civil engineering Ferrocement composite panel Structural behavior Digital Image Correlation Taguchi Expanded perlite Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 15 May, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accepted 02 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 Mar, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Mar, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Mar, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5627562","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":434570365,"identity":"131fdc8d-a055-41e5-bda5-a35612cedfa0","order_by":0,"name":"Zhengyu Wu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Fujian Jiangxia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhengyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""},{"id":434570366,"identity":"66b92b4b-a9a2-4f02-bc58-9a54302fe1ef","order_by":1,"name":"Amirhossein Madadi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Massachusetts Lowell","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amirhossein","middleName":"","lastName":"Madadi","suffix":""},{"id":434570367,"identity":"5ff1053f-642a-4ef2-80e4-abaed89ed8f4","order_by":2,"name":"Tzuyang Yu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHAD5gMMDAVA+gABdTwIJlsCA4MBaVp4DIjTYs9/xkzi545aBoMbOd+kbhgwyPHdSCBkyxkzyd4zx4FacrdJ5xgwGEsS1MLYYybB23YMriVxA0EtzDxmkn/BWnKegbTUE9bCxmMmzdtWA9LCBtKSYEBQyxm2YmvZtgMMkmeeGVvnGEgYzjzzAL8W9v7DG2++batj4Due/PB2ToWNPN9xArYAAYsEA8Ph+gUHwBwJgspBgPkDA0Mdg3wDUYpHwSgYBaNgJAIAU/NBQpAFXA8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of Massachusetts Lowell","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tzuyang","middleName":"","lastName":"Yu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-12 02:08:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627562/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627562/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-97114-z","type":"published","date":"2025-05-15T15:57:45+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83068472,"identity":"52704008-7f0d-40e7-a235-cbd33ecbe494","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-19 16:10:25","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1344205,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RevisedManuscript03182025.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5627562/v1_covered_36786085-8a2c-4c2a-94d9-2fd15f1fc31d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Structural Analysis of Ferrocement Composite Panels with Expanded Perlite Based Mortar","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ferrocement composite panel, Structural behavior, Digital Image Correlation, Taguchi, Expanded perlite","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627562/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627562/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA laboratory investigation was conducted to evaluate the structural behavior of ferrocement composite panels (FCPs) incorporating expanded perlite lightweight aggregate (LWA) at varying volume fractions (55%, 35%, and 15%). Twelve lightweight FCPs (60 \u0026times; 60 \u0026times; 4 cm) were fabricated with one, two, or three layers of expanded rib lath and tested under three-point flexural loading. Structural response was assessed using digital image correlation (DIC) and theoretical analysis based on the thin plate theory. The results showed that increasing the number of rib lath layers significantly enhanced the first crack load (F\u003csub\u003ecr\u003c/sub\u003e) and ultimate load (F\u003csub\u003eu\u003c/sub\u003e), with improvements ranging from 11\u0026ndash;224% in F\u003csub\u003ecr\u003c/sub\u003e and 18\u0026ndash;76% in F\u003csub\u003eu\u003c/sub\u003e. Deflection at first crack (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\text{D}}_{{\\text{F}}_{\\text{c}\\text{r}}})\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e and ultimate load (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\text{D}}_{{\\text{F}}_{\\text{u}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e) increased by an average of 47% and 229%, respectively. Additionally, the use of perlite LWA increased \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\text{D}}_{{\\text{F}}_{\\text{c}\\text{r}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\text{D}}_{{\\text{F}}_{\\text{u}}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e by 29% and 26% compared to regular FCPs, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing flexibility. DIC analysis identified transverse strain (ε\u003csub\u003exx\u003c/sub\u003e) as the most sensitive parameter for early crack detection. Taguchi optimization further revealed that the number of rib lath layers had a more significant impact on Fcr and Fu than perlite content. These findings suggest that a three-layer FCP system with 15% perlite replacement optimizes load-bearing capacity, making it well-suited for high-strength, lightweight applications such as modular buildings and prefabricated structural elements.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Structural Analysis of Ferrocement Composite Panels with Expanded Perlite Based Mortar","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-28 08:36:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5627562/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Accepted","date":"2025-04-02T06:58:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-03-30T23:54:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-03-30T06:19:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"209889574694134634880085692934592666931","date":"2025-03-27T02:52:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"39141181447323932659664081543746330094","date":"2025-03-27T02:46:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-03-27T02:42:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-03-25T06:19:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-03-24T04:15:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"49189240-57b5-4c4d-ba00-5bd3a1d928a2","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 28th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":46273263,"name":"Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Computational science"},{"id":46273264,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Civil engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-05-19T16:08:45+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-5627562","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-97114-z","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-05-15 15:57:45","publishedOnDateReadable":"May 15th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-28 08:36:26","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-97114-z","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-97114-z","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5627562","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5627562","identity":"rs-5627562","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}