Development of an Innovative Modular Foam-Filled Panelized System for Rapidly Assembled Postdisaster Housing

Abstract

In this paper, the development process of a deployable modular sandwich panelized system for rapid-assembly building construction is presented, and its structural performance under some different action effects is investigated. This system, which includes an innovative sandwich panel and its integrated connections, can be used as structural walls and floors in quickly-assembled postdisaster housing, as well as load-bearing panels for prefabricated modular construction and semipermanent buildings. Panels and connections are composed of a pneumatic fabric formwork, and two 3D high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sheets as the skins, filled with high-density rigid polyurethane (PU) foam as the core. HDPE sheets manufactured with a studded surface considerably enhance stress distribution, buckling performance, and delamination strength of the sandwich panel under various loading conditions. The load-carrying behavior of the system in accordance with some American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards is presented here. The results show the system satisfies the codes’ criteria regarding semipermanent housing.

Keywords

• postdisaster housing
• rapid assembly systems
• foam-filled sandwiches
• modular construction