Abstract

Climate change and the request for better assets’ energy performances are forcing the construction sector towards passive or even active buildings: assets with a positive balance between energy production and consumption. Building insulations play a crucial role in reducing energy demand. One of the most used technology to insulate new and refurbished buildings are the External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS). Despite their thermal advantages, low cost, and ease of application, these systems may have serious problems if not well designed. Cracks on the coating layer are among the most common pathologies during ETICS service life. They have been studied using a Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis on two different types of ETICS in order to understand how cracks and the mechanical characteristics of materials used in the ETICS are related. The results show that errors during ETICS installation impacts on cracks occurrence as much as the mechanical performances of some layers. The FEM analysis have been complemented by the experimental study of the mechanical behavior of the coating layer under the effect of rainwater, in order to better understand ETICS behavior over their service life.

Abstract

Short Fiber Reinforced Composites (SFRCs) are being increasingly used in a variety of applications due to their interesting mechanical properties and ease of processing. For SFRCs, different micro-structural parameters (in addition to the constitutive behaviour of the matrix and reinforcement fibers), such as fiber orientation distribution, fiber aspect ratio and fiber/matrix interface strength play important roles in the macroscopic mechanical behaviour. Hence, to have an accurate and reliable modelling approach, using multi-scale models is a natural choice. In this study, a coupled multi-scale model is proposed using a recently developed micromechanical model and the Finite Element Method. The proposed model enables analysis of macroscopic specimens considering micro-structural properties.