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Cladding systems for sandwich panels - Refurbishment of walls and roof

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 EUROSTEEL 2011, August 31 - September 2, 2011, Budapest, Hungary 2199

CLADDING SYSTEMS FOR SANDWICH PANELS

Refurbishment of walls and roofs

Paavo Hassinen a, Thomas Misiek b and Bernd Naujoks c

a
Aalto University, School of Engineering, Dept. of Struct. Engineering and Building Technology, Finland
b
Versuchsanstalt für Stahl, Holz und Steine, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
c
Institute für Sandwichtechnik, Fachhochschule Mainz, Germany

INTRODUCTION
Sandwich panels are typically made of an insulating core material and of thin metallic faces. The
thin faces are susceptible to damages, which may lead to a partial or a full loss of the load-bearing
capacity of the panel. The damages, but also the wrinkling folds due to an overloading, the shabbi-
ness of the coating or the need of a new architectural appearance may be reasons to renew of the
external facade of a building. A new cladding mounted on the external face is a suitable solution to
refurbish and even to improve the load-bearing capacity of wall and roof panels. The ageing of the
components of the system has to be prevented or it shall be taken into account in the design and use.
A requirement is the proper bond between the face and core and an undamaged core layer.
Conventional cladding systems consist normally of rails fixed on the external face of the panel and
of cladding components fixed on the rails. Rails may be Z- or hat-sections and the cladding compo-
nents may be made of sidings or of corrugated or trapezoidal sheeting. Connections may be based
on mechanical fasteners, key-and-slot-like push fit connections, rivets or even by gluing technique.
Another solution of the cladding systems is built-up from additional sandwich panels or monopan-
els fixed to the external face of the ordinary sandwich panel. The new system is a composite struc-
ture made of five or six layers plus the connection surface between the old panel and the additional
elements. The multilayer system provides also an increase of the thermal insulation, which is of
additional value to a renewed or updated wall and roof structure.

1 ACTION EFFECTS
The most important action effects on the cladding systems are the wind suction and pressure load.
The loads of the ventilated cladding systems have been a subject of several investigations. The goal
of the investigations has been to check whether and in which extent a reduction of the action effects
compared to the action effects on a closed structural body is possible. With sufficient ventilation at
the rear, a pressure establishes between the sandwich panel and the cladding. A certain part of the
external pressure is transferred through an internal pressure directly to the face of the sandwich
panel. The internal pressure in the rear ventilated system results in a load to the sandwich panel.
The results of these investigations have partially found their way in EN 1991-1-4 [2].
In design of sandwich panels, a proof for the load case temperature difference must always be done.
EN 14509 [1] gives temperatures for the summer and winter seasons which are to be taken as action
effects. Caused by shadowing through the cladding profiles, a summer temperature of the external
face of even as low as 40C may be applied in the design independently on the colour group. This
temperature can be also applied for the shaded rails.

2 CONVENTIONAL CLADDING SYSTEMS ON SANDWICH PANELS

Compared to the initial or to the remaining load-bearing capacity of the ordinary sandwich panel,
the additional cladding system may result in an improvement in the load-bearing capacity. The ad-
ditional cladding will change the introduction and distribution of the stresses, and thus, may also
have negative effects concerning the resistance. The main point is a careful analysis of the initial
condition of the wall panels and a profound design of the additional components and the interac-
tions. The problems of the ordinary sandwich panels shall not be hidden behind a new cladding.
2200
In principle, two system layouts based on rails can be distinguished. The rails may be installed in
transverse direction to the span or parallel to the span of the sandwich panel. The cladding profiles
themselves are usually fixed in transverse direction to the rails. Two examples of the systems with
vertically spanning sandwich panels are:
 horizontal rails and the trapezoidal sheeting in vertical direction (Fig. 1, left) and
 vertical rails and horizontally installed corrugated sheeting (Fig. 1, right).
Sandwich panels installed in horizontal direction can also be covered with the described cladding
systems.

rail
(hat-section as a
trapezoidal horizontal fix point )
sheeting
corrugated
sheeting
sandwich
panel rail
(Z-section as a
horizontal
floating point)
rail
(Z-section) sandwich
panel

Fig. 1. Cladding of sandwich panels made of conventional rails and thin-walled sheeting.

Fastening of the cladding system of the sandwich panels is usually done with mechanical fasteners
such as self-drilling or self-tapping screws or rivets, which will be fixed to the external face layer,
only. The fastening of the cladding profiles to the rails can also be done using mechanical fasteners.
Only in very seldom cases, fastening of the cladding profiles is based on an adhesive bonding.

3 LOAD TRANSFER AND DESIGN OF CONVENTIONAL CLADDING SYSTEMS

3.1 Basic mechanical systems
If the rails run parallel to the sandwich panel, the cladding profile normally spans in rectangular
direction to the sandwich panel. The load-bearing capacity of the total system is based on the load-
bearing capacity of the sandwich panel and that of the rails. The cladding profiles themselves play a
minor role, since the bending moment ensues in perpendicular direction to the profiling. In deter-
mining of the stress distribution of the cross-section, the shear flexibility of the core layer of the
sandwich panel and flexibility of the mechanical fastenings are to be considered.
If the rails run in transverse direction to the span of the sandwich panel, the cladding profile nor-
mally spans parallel to the sandwich panel. In the case, both the sandwich panel and the cladding
profile are structural members of the system. The location of the rails in the transverse direction
results in a considerably high shear flexibility of the connection, which in this case is consisting of
the rails and of the mechanical connections between the cladding profile and the sandwich panel. A
high shear flexibility also results in the fact that the sandwich panel and the cladding profile may
not have an effective interaction as a composite system any more. On the other hand, a high shear
flexibility reduces the stresses caused by the difference of the temperatures between the members.
 2201
3.2 Load transfer
The wind loads exposed to the cladding profile, are introduced into the rails via pressure line loads
or via tensile points loads depending on the sign of the wind pressure. The same is true in the con-
nection between the rails and the sandwich panel. Due to the composite actions between cladding
system and sandwich panel, the total system transfers the effects of the wind load by bending mo-
ments and shear forces which distribute over the structural members of the system. The temperature
differences cause thermal expansions in the single components, which result in shear forces to be
transferred through the fasteners. Due to the bending stiffness of the cladding profiles and the rails,
additional internal bending moments appear also in the statically determined systems.
3.3 Stress resultants
The determination of the stress resultants can be performed in a simplified way according to the
theory of the elastic bond ([4] and especially [5]). The procedure is explained here on a basis of a
single span girder loaded by a uniformly distributed load. Based on [5] also solutions for other load
cases can be given. However, it is recommended to use software suitable for rigid frame structures
in which the elastic core and the fastenings can be modelled accordingly.
The presented procedure is based on a series expansion which was truncated after the first term. In a
simplified form, this method is already used for the design of sandwich panels. The reference line
for the calculation of the cross-section values follows the centroidal axis. In a structure with rails
spanning parallel to the sandwich panel and having the cross-section values presented in Fig. 2a),
the centroidal axis will mostly locate in the core near to the external face.

a) eS
hP VL
EL, AL, IL NL
hL ML
KS hL0
EF1, AF1, tF1 NF1
z
GC, AC e VC
NF2
EF2, AF2, tF2
direction of span of
the sandwich panel
b) eL eL
VP
NP
EP, AP, IP hP0 hP MP

KL , KS hL
NF1
EF1, AF1, tF1
z
GC, AC e VC

NF2
EF2, AF2, tF2
direction of span of
the sandwich panel

Fig. 2. Symbols and definitions of cladding systems based on

a) rails in the direction of the span and b) rails in transverse direction to the span.

Due to the discretely distributed bending stiffnesses of the rails, the cross-section can be modelled
with a tee-beam. The flange of the tee-beam consists of one segment of the width b' ≤ eL of the face
of the sandwich panel. Thus, the design is based on a beam section. The uniformly distributed load
2202
q ensues through multiplication of the acting specific load with the distance e L of the rails. There-
fore, the effective areas of the face sheets AF1 and AF2 cab be calculated as
𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹𝑖𝑖 = 𝑏𝑏′ ∙ 𝑡𝑡𝐹𝐹𝑖𝑖 (1)
In the further calculations, the modulus of elasticity of the faces is taken as a reference value. If the
rail consists of another material, the cross-section values AL and IL are to be reduced in the ratio of
the moduli of the elasticity. The spring stiffnesses KS necessary for the mechanical connections can
be taken for example from [6]. Thus, KS = 2,5 kN/mm is obtained for self-tapping screws and self-
drilling screws and KS = 4,0 kN/mm for rivets. The effective bending stiffness
𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 𝐼𝐼𝐿𝐿 + 𝜗𝜗𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 ∙ ℎ𝐿𝐿0 + 𝜗𝜗𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 ∙ 𝑒𝑒 (2)
can be obtained via the values
𝜋𝜋 2 ∙𝐸𝐸∙𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙𝑒𝑒 𝑆𝑆
𝐾𝐾𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 = 1 + 𝑙𝑙 2 ∙𝑛𝑛 (3)
𝑆𝑆 ∙𝐾𝐾𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝐴𝐴 𝐿𝐿 +𝐴𝐴 𝐹𝐹1
𝜋𝜋 2 ∙𝐸𝐸∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 = 1 + (4)
𝑙𝑙 2 ∙𝐺𝐺𝐶𝐶 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
Φ = 𝐾𝐾𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 ∙ 𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 − 𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
(5)
𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝜗𝜗𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 = 𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1
ℎ𝐿𝐿0 ∙ 𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 + 𝑒𝑒 ∙ 𝐴𝐴 +𝐴𝐴 (6)
𝐹𝐹1 𝐹𝐹2
𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2 𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿
𝜗𝜗𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 = 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝑒𝑒 ∙ 𝐾𝐾𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 + ℎ𝐿𝐿0 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1
(7)

For the design of the rails, the stress resultants NL and ML are required:
4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 2 𝜗𝜗 𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 2 𝐼𝐼𝐿𝐿
𝑁𝑁𝐿𝐿 = ∙ , 𝑀𝑀𝐿𝐿 = ∙ (8), (9)
𝜋𝜋 3 𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝜋𝜋 3 𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓

The rails can be designed according to EN 1993-1-3 [3]. The stresses in the faces are:
𝑁𝑁𝐹𝐹1 4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 2 𝜗𝜗 𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 −𝜗𝜗𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1
𝜎𝜎𝐹𝐹1 = = ∙ (10)
𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 𝜋𝜋 3 𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓
𝑁𝑁𝐹𝐹2 4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 2 𝜗𝜗 𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2
𝜎𝜎𝐹𝐹2 =
𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
= 𝜋𝜋 3
∙ 𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓
(11)

The wrinkling stress of the faces of the sandwich panel can be taken from the CE-declarations of
the manufacturers.
If the rails are mounted rectangular to the direction of span of the sandwich panels (Fig. 2b)), the
determination of an effective width b' is not necessary. For sake of simplicity, the reference width
of 1 m is chosen. The flexibilities of the rails in the longitudinal direction to the span are modelled
with springs of stiffness KL. The parameters can be calculated from expressions

𝜋𝜋 2 ∙𝐸𝐸∙𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙𝑒𝑒 𝐿𝐿

𝐾𝐾𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 = 1 + (12)
𝑙𝑙 2 ∙𝐾𝐾∙ 𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1
𝜋𝜋 2 ∙𝐸𝐸∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 = 1 + 𝑙𝑙 2 ∙𝐺𝐺 (13)
𝐶𝐶 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
Φ = 𝐾𝐾𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 ∙ 𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 − 𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
(14)
𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝜗𝜗𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 = 𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1
ℎ𝐿𝐿 + ℎ𝑃𝑃0 ∙ 𝐾𝐾𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 + 𝑒𝑒 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
(15)
𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 ∙𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2 𝐴𝐴 𝑃𝑃
𝜗𝜗𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 = 𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹2
𝑒𝑒 ∙ 𝐾𝐾𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 + ℎ𝐿𝐿 + ℎ𝑃𝑃0 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝑃𝑃 +𝐴𝐴𝐹𝐹1
(16)

and the effective bending stiffness from

𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 𝐼𝐼𝑃𝑃 + 𝜗𝜗𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 ∙ 𝑎𝑎𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 + 𝜗𝜗𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 ∙ 𝑎𝑎𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 (17)
For the design of the cladding profiles, the stress resultants NP and MP are required:
 2203
4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 2 𝜗𝜗 𝑃𝑃 ,𝐹𝐹1 4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 2 𝐼𝐼𝑃𝑃
𝑁𝑁𝑃𝑃 = ∙ , 𝑀𝑀𝑃𝑃 = ∙ (18), (19)
𝜋𝜋 3 𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝜋𝜋 3 𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓

The cladding profiles can be designed for example according to EN 1993-1-3 [3]. In many cases,
however, the cross section capacities are available in tabulated form. The stresses in the faces can
be calculated using the expressions (10) and (11) by replacing ϑL,.F1 with ϑP,F1.
The wrinkling stress of the faces of the sandwich panels can be also taken from the CE-declaration
of the manufacturers, where the reduced values of the stresses should be used due to the line load
and point load introduction of the wind loads into the external face. It shall be checked additionally,
in which degree the composite action between the cladding system and the sandwich panel develops
or does the shear flexibility uncouple the system completely. For the shear forces, the expression
4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 𝜗𝜗 𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 1
𝜏𝜏𝐶𝐶 = 𝜏𝜏𝐹𝐹1,𝐹𝐹2 = 𝜋𝜋 2
∙ ∙ 𝑒𝑒 (20)
𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓

applies in both cases. The value must be compared with the shear resistance of the core material.
3.4 Connections
The load-bearing capacity of the connections between rails and the sandwich panel has to be veri-
fied. It is to be noted that in addition to tensile forces from the wind suction and to the transverse
forces from the dead weight, also transverse forces from the bending are acting. If the rails run par-
allel to the span of the sandwich panel, the shear force of the connection can be evaluated using
4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 𝜗𝜗 𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 𝑒𝑒
𝑉𝑉𝑆𝑆 = 𝑉𝑉𝐿𝐿,𝐹𝐹1 = 𝜋𝜋 2
∙ ∙ 𝑛𝑛𝑆𝑆 (21)
𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝑆𝑆

If the rails run rectangular to the direction of the span of the panels, the shear forces result in
4∙𝑞𝑞∙𝑙𝑙 𝜗𝜗 𝑃𝑃 ,𝐹𝐹1 𝑒𝑒 𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑆𝑆 = 𝑉𝑉𝑃𝑃,𝐹𝐹1 = 𝜋𝜋 2
∙ ∙ (22)
𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝑛𝑛 𝑆𝑆 ∙𝑒𝑒 𝑆𝑆

where nS and eS can be different for the connections between the cladding profile and the rail and
between the rail and the sandwich panel. The proofs for transverse forces and tensile forces in the
mechanical connections can be done on the basis of the ETA guidelines for fasteners. The tensile
forces introduced into the external face sheet must be transferred via the tensile strength of the core
and bond. There are test results are available [7]. A conversion of the knowledge into standards and
regulations remains to be done.

4 CLADDING SYSTEMS WITH A SECOND PANEL

As an alternative to the conventional systems introduced above, a new system of refurbishment was
investigated within the framework of the EASIE project. The system consists of an additional
sandwich panel or monopanel fixed to the external face. The system allows improving the thermal
behaviour of the wall, also. The additional elements can be fixed with mechanical fasteners or by
adhesive bonding. Despite adhesive bonding is a very demanding task to be made at the site, it pro-
vides many advantages like continuous uniform distribution of the stresses between the components
and the avoidance of the screw holes in the external face of the sandwich panels.
First experimental results of the wall systems with elements fixed using mechanical fastenings have
been performed. The figures 3, 4 and 5 give impressions about the behaviour and the resistance of
the new cladding system. The experimental results will be used in development of mechanical mod-
els and design procedures for the systems.
Fig. 4 shows the ultimate load in comparison to the resistance of the ordinary sandwich panel. An
increase of the ultimate load is clearly visible. Some specimens were loaded with a repeated load of
5000 cycles, corresponding to the serviceability limit state load of the ordinary sandwich panel.
Repeated load seems to have just a minor influence on the behaviour and resistance in this case.
2204

Fig. 3. Load arrangement and mode of failure of a cladding systems based on an ordinary sandwich
panel covered by a thin additional panel. Total depth of the ordinary panel is 100 mm and that of
the additional panel 40 mm.
30
30 add. panel, IR2 screws, repeated
25 25 add. panel, IR2 screws
Ultimate load [kN]

20 add. panel, SL2 screws

20

Load [kN]
15 ordinary panel
10 15
IR2 screws SL2 screws
5
10
0
5
tic

tic

tic

tic
ed

ed
tic

tic

tic

at

at
sta

sta

sta

sta
sta

sta

sta

Deflection [mm]
pe

pe
0,

0,

0,

0,
,

re

re
ry

ry

ry

0
30

30

50

50
na

na

na

0,

0,
c/c

c/c

c/c

c/c
30

50
di

di

di
or

or

or

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
c/c

c/c

Fig. 4. Comparison of the ultimate load of the Fig. 5. Load-deflection curves of ordinary
ordinary sandwich panels and panels cov- sandwich panels and panels with an
ered with an additional thin panel. additional thin cladding panel.

5 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors express thanks for the support of the research work to the EASIE project, which has
received financial support from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme
FP7/NMP2-SE-2008 under grant agreement No 213302.

REFERENCES
[1] EN 14509:2007 Self-supporting double skin metal faced insulating panels - Factory made products -
Specifications
[2] EN 1991-1-4:2005 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-4: General actions - Wind actions
[3] EN 1993-1-3:2006 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-3: General rules - Supplementary
rules for cold-formed members and sheeting
[4] Möhler, K, Über das Tragverhalten von Biegeträgern und Druckstäben mit zusammengesetzten Quer-
schnitten und nachgiebigen Verbindungsmitteln. Habilitation, Technische Hochschule Fridericiana zu
Karlsruhe, 1956 (in German).
[5] Schelling, W, Zur Berechnung nachgiebig verbundener, zusammengesetzter Biegeträger im Ingenieur-
holzbau. Dissertation, Universität (TH) Karlsruhe, 1968 (in German).
[6] European Recommendations for the Application of metal Sheeting acting as a Diaphragm – Stressed
Skin Design. ECCS publication no. 88. Brüssel: ECCS TC 7. 1995.
[7] Käpplein, S, Misiek, Th, Dacheva, A, Ummenhofer, Th, Introduction of tensile forces with mechanical
fasteners in sandwich panels. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Steel & Composite
Structures ICSCS 2010, S. 389-390 (extended abstract).

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