A novel non-combustible lightweight core for prefabricated sandwich panels

Abstract

Prefabricated insulation panels are a type of sandwich panels which are composed of two hard skins and a closed cell foam core that reduces the panel's overall density and provides thermal insulation. Despite being highly combustible, the majority of Australia's structural insulation panels are made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) as core material. This research investigates the development of a novel non-combustible lightweight core for sandwich panels using EPS beads and geopolymer binders. The composites made of EPS beads and bonded with geopolymer are investigated and their mechanical, thermal and fire performance are investigated. Results show the suitability of this non-combustible compo..