Effect of PVC Stay-In-Place Formwork On MechanicalPerformance of Concrete

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Effect of PVC Stay-In-Place Formwork on Mechanical

Performance of Concrete
Katherine G. Kuder1; Rishi Gupta2; Corinne Harris-Jones3; Richard Hawksworth4; Sean Henderson5; and
Jason Whitney6
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Abstract: Stay-in-place formwork is an attractive alternative to traditional formwork 共steel or wood兲 and is known to improve construc-
tability and produce a more durable final product. In the work presented, the effect of a patented polyvinyl chloride 共PVC兲 stay-in-place
forming system on the mechanical performance of concrete that it encases is examined. The compressive and flexural performance of the
system are investigated. The results indicate that the PVC encasement enhances both compressive and flexural performance. Compressive
strength is increased by the confining action of the PVC and flexural performance is improved due to the increased tensile capacity of the
sections under flexural loading.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0899-1561共2009兲21:7共309兲
CE Database subject headings: Formwork, construction; Concrete construction; Mechanic properties; Reinforced concrete.

Introduction is poured. The panels come in a variety of shapes and can


be configured for straight or curved walls. Fig. 1 presents ex-
Concrete is the most commonly used construction material in the amples of these systems. The PVC panels are assembled on
world, with over 5 billion tons produced annually. One of the site 关Fig. 1共a兲兴 with steel reinforcement included as needed
reasons for this extensive use is the ease with which concrete can 关Fig. 1共b兲兴. The PVC stay-in-place formwork can be used for any
be formed. Typically, concrete is placed using wood/steel molds. type of vertical concrete wall structure. The most common appli-
The concrete is poured into the formwork, allowed to harden and cations of this system are barns and holding tanks, but it can also
then the formwork is removed. Thus, the concrete is left exposed, be used in residential construction and retaining walls, such as
possibly subjecting it to rapid drying. In addition, tight construc- the one shown in Fig. 1共c兲. In addition to being easy to con-
tion project schedules often require the timely stripping of form- struct, the walls are easy to clean, bacteria, insect, and rodent
work, which can occur before the concrete has gained sufficient resistant and meet the 2 h fire rating 共Intertek Testing Services
strength, especially when high volumes of admixtures such as fly NA Limited 2000兲. Other possible benefits include an improve-
ash are used. ment in mechanical performance and enhanced hydration. In
A new system Octaform Systems Inc. has developed a stay-in- this work, the effect of the PVC encasement on mechanical per-
place concrete forming technology in which extruded polyvinyl formance, specifically, on flexural and compressive behavior, is
chloride 共PVC兲 panels encapsulate concrete that is used in the investigated.
construction of commercial, agricultural and residential buildings
共Octaform Systems Inc. 2009兲. The PVC panels are joined using
connectors and serve as the formwork into which fresh concrete PVC Assembly

1 The PVC encasement consists of several different interlocking


Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Seattle Univ., 901 12th Ave., P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090 parts, some of which are shown in Fig. 2. The most basic con-
共corresponding author兲. E-mail: kuderk@seattleu.edu figuration consists of 6 in. wide panels that form the exterior of
2
Faculty, Dept. of Civil Engineering, School of Construction and the the concrete wall, as well as standard connectors that run through
Environment, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon the cross section of the concrete wall and come in varying widths
Ave., Burnaby BC, Canada V5G 3H2.
3 depending on the depth of the concrete wall. In addition to this
Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Seattle Univ., 901 12th Ave., P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090. basic configuration, 45° braces and T-connectors can be inserted
4
Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, into the wall, depending on the application. The T-connector and
Seattle Univ., 901 12th Ave., P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090. 45° braces are designed to stabilize the formwork and carry the
5
Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, lateral pressure of the concrete during pouring. Concrete is
Seattle Univ., 901 12th Ave., P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090. poured from the top of the walls, vertically through each cell, as
6
Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, shown in Fig. 1共b兲.
Seattle Univ., 901 12th Ave., P.O. Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090. The PVC components are assembled into a variety of configu-
Note. This manuscript was submitted on October 17, 2006; approved
rations based on the construction circumstances and intended
on January 22, 2009; published online on June 15, 2009. Discussion
period open until December 1, 2009; separate discussions must be sub- application of the system. Fig. 3 presents four common configu-
mitted for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Mate- rations and indicates the situations in which each would be used.
rials in Civil Engineering, Vol. 21, No. 7, July 1, 2009. ©ASCE, ISSN These configurations represent a single cell that could be repli-
0899-1561/2009/7-309–315/$25.00. cated many times to create a wall.

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2009 / 309

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2009, 21(7): 309-315


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Fig. 1. PVC 共a兲 cell assembly; 共b兲 isometric view of PVC-encased wall with steel reinforcement; and 共c兲 completed retaining wall with PVC
encasement 共reprinted with permission of Octaform Systems, Inc.兲

Research Objective mechanical properties of the composite system that it forms


with the concrete is not known. In this study, the effect of PVC
A number of known advantages exist for the use of the stay-in- encasement on mechanical performance is examined. The influ-
place formwork, including improved constructability and en- ence of different configurations on compression and flexural be-
hanced durability. However, the effect of these systems on the havior is experimentally investigated. In addition, an analytical
model based on limit-state analysis is formulated to theoretically
predict the effect of the PVC on the flexural behavior of rein-
Panel
forced concrete.
45 degree
connector

Experimental Program

The mechanical performance of the PVC-encased systems was


evaluated by compression and flexural testing. Configurations 1,
2, 3, and 4 共Fig. 3兲 were tested and compared with control speci-
Standard T-connector mens without the PVC encasement. Flexural performance was
Connector evaluated for composites containing steel reinforcement. In the
field, concrete is poured vertically through the cells, as is shown
in Fig. 1共b兲, which allows the cement paste to penetrate between
the interlocking components before hardening, likely increasing
the bond between the PVC elements and the concrete. To repli-
cate this final-state condition, specimens were cast by pouring the
Fig. 2. Octaform cell with different components concrete through the connectors of an assembled section.

Fig. 3. PVC configurations: 共a兲 Configuration 1, present in all Octaform walls; 共b兲 Configuration 2, stabilizes formwork during concrete pouring;
共c兲 Configuration 3, configuration with all components, used to resist additional lateral movement during erection and concrete pouring phases of
construction; and 共d兲 Configuration 4, insulated walls, custom insulation piece added to side of wall opposite 45° braces

310 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2009

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2009, 21(7): 309-315


Table 1. Concrete Mix Design
Material Amount
Cement, Lafarge Type 1 350 kg/ m3
Coarse aggregate 共maximum size 10 mm兲 1,160 kg/ m3
River sand 共fine aggregate兲 700 kg/ m3
Water 170 kg/ m3
Superplasticizer, Glenium 3,000 NS 600 mL/ m3
Air entrainer, MB VR Standard 200 mL/ m3 Fig. 4. Reinforced concrete beam schematic

Materials
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The concrete mix design used is shown in Table 1. The mix de- form seating was achieved. Testing was run in piston displace-
sign was selected with a target strength of 25 MPa, which is in ment control at approximately 0.085 mm/ s and the load was
the range of concrete mixtures used on the job site 共typically recorded. The compressive strength was defined as the maximum
25– 30 MPa兲. Lafarge Type I cement was used. The coarse aggre- axial load sustained divided by the cross-sectional area of the
gate had a maximum particle diameter of 10 mm and the fine specimen. Six replications were made for each configuration as
aggregate was river sand. A polycarboxylate-based, high- well as for the control.
range water-reducing admixture 共superplasticizer兲, and MB-VR
Standard, an air-entraining admixture, both produced by BASF Flexural Behavior
Admixtures, Inc., were used. This concrete mix is typical of the
mixtures produced in the field for these types of stay-in-place The flexural performance of the PVC-encased systems was deter-
systems. mined by testing reinforced concrete beams with and without the
The reinforcing steel was a #3 deformed reinforcing bar, with PVC components. Beams were tested with the panels on the ten-
a tensile yield strength of 690 MPa and an elastic modulus of sion and compression faces. The dimensions of the reinforced
200 GPa. The extruded PVC has an inelastic response that is beams are shown in Fig. 4. To facilitate laboratory testing, the
characterized by an ultimate tensile strength of 43 MPa and an size of the beam was limited so that the beams could be easily
elastic modulus of 2.7 GPa 共Octaform Systems Inc. 2009兲. handled. Therefore, a total beam length of 609.6 mm was used.
The beam was longitudinally reinforced with a #3 steel reinforc-
ing bar 共9.5 mm diameter兲 with approximately 38.1 mm of clear
Mixing Procedure cover. The reinforcing bar contained hooked ends to provide a
The concrete was mixed in a Goldblatt rotary drum mixer. First, sufficient development length. In addition, transverse reinforce-
the dry ingredients 共cement, coarse aggregate, and fine aggregate兲 ment was provided at a spacing of 63.5 mm to avoid brittle shear
were placed in the drum and mixed for 5 min. Then the wet failure.
ingredients 共superplasticizer, air entrainer, and water兲 were added Fig. 5 presents the procedure used to prepare Configurations 1,
to the mixer and combined for 2 min more. The sides of the drum 2, and 4. The concrete was poured in two lifts through the con-
and the turning blades were scraped to prevent adhesion to the nectors. After each lift was placed, external vibration was applied
drum mixer and mixing was continued to achieve a more homo- to consolidate the concrete. To avoid consolidation issues in Con-
geneous mixture. figuration 3 due to the presence of the T-connector, the bottom
To help ensure mix consistency, a slump test was performed layer was first poured in from the side of the mold and then the
according to ASTM C-143 “Standard test method for slump of next layer poured through the connectors. Note that this consoli-
hydraulic cement concrete” 共ASTM 2003兲. Slump measure- dation issue would not exist in the field since the concrete would
ments ranged from 210 to 235 mm. This relatively high slump be poured as shown in Fig. 1共b兲.
was used to help achieve better compaction of the concrete and to After the beams were cast, they were covered with wet burlap
minimize any voids due to lack of consolidation. Use of high for 24 h. The specimens were then submerged in water. Due to
slump concrete is widely recommended by the manufacturer for
these reasons.

Compressive Behavior
Compression specimens were 152.4⫻ 152.4⫻ 152.4 mm in size.
The PVC configurations were assembled and then placed into
wood molds. The concrete could then be cast through the connec-
tors of the configured cell.
Specimens were cast by pouring the concrete through the
connectors in two lifts, consolidating each lift by rodding the
concrete. Specimens were covered with wet burlap for 24 h, after
which they were demolded and immersed in water. Specimens
were removed from the water at 48 days and then tested at
49 days.
Compression testing was performed using a Riehle hydraulic
testing machine with a 1,334 kN load cell. The load was applied
through a spherical ball bearing steel plate to help ensure a uni- Fig. 5. Concrete poured through standard connector

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J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2009, 21(7): 309-315


Point of
Loading
Testing Yoke
Testing Yoke Metal Angle

LVDT
LVDT
Fig. 7. Compression cubes during loading: 共a兲 control; 共b兲 PVC-
20” encased specimen
508 mm
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Support
Support Support
Support

Fig. 6. Flexural testing experimental setup


the concrete. For normal strength concrete, the effectiveness of
the confining material depends on the geometry of the cross sec-
space constraints, the beams were taken out of the water after tion, the deformation compatibility between the two materials,
7 days and left to cure in ambient lab conditions. Flexural testing and the properties of the confining material 共Mirmiran and Sha-
was conducted 41– 43 days after casting. hawy 1997; Mirmiran et al. 1998兲. Researchers have shown steel
The flexural test setup is shown in Fig. 6. Three-point bending jackets and ties, as well as fiber reinforced polymer 共FRP兲 spirals,
was applied using a Riehle hydraulic testing machine with a wraps and jackets to be extremely effective at enhancing com-
1,334 kN capacity load cell. The beam was simply supported pression strength and ductility under loading 共Richart et al. 1928;
with a span of 508 mm. Center point displacement was measured Nanni and Bradford 1995兲.
with a linear variable displacement transducer 共LVDT兲 that had Fig. 7 shows a control specimen and a PVC-encased specimen
a stroke of ⫾25.4 mm. Loading was applied at a piston after the peak compressive load was reached. In the case of the
displacement-control rate of 0.085 mm/ s. Load and center point control 关Fig. 7共a兲兴, a conical failure is observed, with a significant
deflection were recorded. Beams were tested to a center-point amount of lost concrete. On the other hand, with the PVC-
deflection of 7 mm. Flexural toughness was determined as the encased specimens 关Fig. 7共b兲兴 the concrete is contained by the
area under the load versus center-point-deflection curve. Six rep- PVC assembly even after the peak load has been reached. Exami-
lications were made for each configuration as well as for the nation of the specimens during and after testing suggest that near
control. the peak load, the connectors start debonding from the cube.
Fig. 8 shows specimens after testing with the debonding of the
connector. For all the specimens the connector debonded, not a
Results panel. This observation supports the hypothesis that the PVC
resists the lateral expansion of the concrete. The connectors
Compressive Performance cover less area and, therefore, expansion occurs at an uneven rate
with the concrete expanding more freely between the connector
Table 2 presents the average compressive strengths of four differ- openings.
ent PVC-encased systems and the control specimen 共without The results presented in Table 2 show a variation in compres-
PVC兲. In general, the PVC increases the compressive strength sive strength depending on the PVC configuration. This trend,
over the control specimens. Based on the average of the six rep- however, is suspected to be due to testing artifacts and not an
lications, Configuration 1 has the highest compressive strength, indication of true material performance. The differences between
Configuration 3 has the lowest average strength 共still higher than the configurations are unclear for three reasons: 共1兲 as the number
the control兲, and Configurations 2 and 4 have similar strengths. or components increases, consolidation becomes more difficult;
The enhancement in compressive strength is due to the con- 共2兲 a potential for nonuniform loading existed since the specimens
fining action of the PVC cell. Confinement is known to improve were not ground or capped before testing; and 共3兲 an uneven
the compressive behavior of concrete 共Considere 1902; Richart
et al. 1928兲. As microcracks begin to form, normal strength con-
crete expands laterally. Assuming deformation compatibility be-
tween the confining material and the concrete, lateral stresses
develop in the confining material and act against the expansion of

Table 2. Average Compressive Strength of Control and PVC-Encased


Configurations 共with Standard Deviations兲
Compressive strength Standard deviation
Configuration 共MPa兲 共MPa兲
Control 27.6 4.1
1 39.3 3.4
(a) (b)
2 35.2 2.1
3 28.9 4.1 Fig. 8. PVC-encased specimens after compression testing with
4 35.2 1.4 significant connector debonding: 共a兲 top view; 共b兲 side view

312 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2009

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2009, 21(7): 309-315


60 Table 3. Flexural Results for Control and PVC-Encased Reinforced
Concrete Beams
50
Increase over
Pmax Toughness control
40
Std. Std.
Load (kN)

30 Average dev. Average dev.


Pmax Toughness
Configuration 共kN兲 共kN.mm兲 共%兲 共%兲
20
Control 48.7 3.1 277.8 16.9 — —
10 1 67.8 2.4 390.3 14.9 39 41
2 77.9 7.2 422.6 13.4 60 52
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0 3 80.7 3.0 444.5 15.5 66 60


0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4 78.0 9.9 411.5 10.4 60 48
Deflection (mm)

Fig. 9. Load versus center-point-deflection curves for control steel


reinforced concrete beams
peatability trends were observed for the different PVC-encased
state of confinement pressures is known to exist with prismatic configurations. For the control specimens, the first crack observed
specimens because of the stress concentrations at the corners was always a flexure crack at the midpoint of the beam. Subse-
共Campione 2006兲. quent cracks were sometimes only flexure cracks, while for other
beams shear cracks also formed. For the PVC-encased specimens,
it is difficult to know how the cracks form due to the presence of
Flexural Performance the PVC. However, cracking was observed visually during load-
ing through the connector openings. It was not possible to observe
Experimental Results the cracking on the tension face of the beam due to the panels.
The load versus deflection curves of the control beams are shown Based on these visual observations, it appeared as though the
in Fig. 9 and indicate that the results are repeatable. Similar re-
cracking occurred in a similar manner as it had with the control
specimens. The first crack appeared to be a flexure crack, while
90
subsequent cracks appeared to be either additional flexure cracks
Conf. 3
or shear cracks.
80 Conf. 2
Fig. 10 presents representative load versus center-point-
70 deflection curves for the beams tested and Table 3 summarizes the
60
Conf. 4 results from the flexural tests. PVC encasement significantly en-
Conf. 1
hances load capacity and toughness. Based on the average of the
Load (kN)

50
six replications, the following conclusions can be drawn. Con-
40 Control figuration 1 has the smallest increase in load capacity and tough-
30
ness, 39 and 41%, respectively. Configuration 3 shows the
greatest increase in load capacity and toughness compared to the
20
control, 60 and 66%, respectively. Configurations 2 and 4 have
10 similar performances that fall between the two.
0
During the test, the control specimens began to lose concrete
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 at higher loads, while the PVC encasement contained the con-
Deflection (mm) crete. This containment of concrete is advantageous in the event
of impact, seismic, or blast loading. Fig. 11 shows a PVC-encased
Fig. 10. Representative load versus center-point-deflection curves for specimen loaded beyond 7 mm center-point deflection after the
control and PVC-encased reinforced concrete beams
connector has failed at the weakest cross section.

Fig. 11. PVC-encased specimen loaded past 7 mm center-point-deflection: 共a兲 with concrete still contained; 共b兲 failure of connector at weakest
point

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Fig. 12. General PVC-encased cross section with strain distribution and assumed stress

Analytical Model the depth to the neutral axis is c 共mm兲; the strain in the concrete
The flexural data suggest that PVC encasement can be used to is ␧c 共mm/mm兲; the strain in the polymer is ␧ p 共mm/mm兲;
improve the flexural performance of concrete systems and that the the depth of the Whitney stress block is a 共mm兲; the compres-
extent of the improvement depends on the PVC configuration. To sive strength of the concrete is f ⬘c 共MPa兲; the tensile strength of
examine this more closely, an analytical model based on limit- the polymer is f pu 共MPa兲; the compressive force in the concrete is
state analysis was used to predict the moment capacity of each of C 共kN兲; the tensile force in the PVC panel is T p 共kN兲; and the
the configurations. Chahrour and colleagues 共Chahrour et al. tensile force in the steel is Ts 共kN兲. The tensile force in the con-
2005兲 recently investigated and modeled the flexural performance nector is Tc 共kN兲 and the centroid of the connector measured from
of reinforced concrete encased by a similar PVC system using the bottom panel is y c 共mm兲. The values for Tc and y c vary for
this approach and found good agreement between experimental each configuration.
results and analytical predictions. However, they did not examine The forces acting in the cross section are as follows:
the influence of different PVC configurations. Similar approaches
have also been taken to model the flexural performance of rein- C = 0.85f ⬘c abc 共1兲
forced concrete with externally bonded FRP.
Since the beams investigated in this study were relatively
deep, a nonlinear analysis would be required 共Nawy 2003兲. Ts = As f y 共2兲
Therefore, analytical results are not compared directly with the
experimental results, but rather are used to help describe the in- Tc = Ac f pu 共3兲
fluence of the PVC encasement on the flexural performance of the
composite system.
The moment capacity of the configurations is modeled using T p = A p f pu 共4兲
limit-state analysis. The following assumptions are made: where As = area of the steel 共mm2兲; and f y = yield strength of the
1. Euler–Bernoulli beam theory applies; steel 共MPa兲.
2. Perfect composite action is assumed, meaning that no slip By equilibrium, the depth of the concrete stress block is
occurs between the PVC and the concrete or between the
steel and the concrete; 共Ac + A p兲f pu + As f y
3. Tensile forces carried by the cracked concrete 共below the a= 共5兲
neutral axis兲 and compressive forces carried by the PVC are 0.85f ⬘c abc
neglected; where Ac = area of the concrete in compression 共mm2兲.
4. The confining action of the PVC in the compression zone is The moment capacity is then calculated by
neglected and the compressive forces are modeled using the
Whitney stress block 共Nawy 2003兲;
5. The critical section occurs where the PVC connectors have
the least amount of PVC 关at the location of the openings— Table 4. Limit-State Analysis of Flexural Behavior
Fig. 11共b兲兴; and Increase M n
6. The contribution of the PVC component between the top Ac Ap yc a Mn over control
ellipse and the large center opening is neglected in the 共mm2兲 共mm2兲 共mm兲 共mm兲 共kN mm兲 共%兲
moment capacity, as the strain in this section is relatively Control — — — 13.7 5,249.9 —
small. Panel only — 181.9 — 16.2 6,325.8 20.5
Fig. 12 presents a general cross section of the beams, with the Conf. 1 83.4 181.9 31.5 17.2 6,706.3 27.7
strain distribution and the assumed stresses. The width of the
Conf. 2 146.5 181.9 28.2 17.9 7,002.1 33.4
cross section is b 共mm兲; the width of the concrete section is
Conf. 3 181.9 181.9 29.7 18.4 7,180.4 36.8
bc 共mm兲; the thickness of the standard connector is tc 共mm兲;
Conf. 4 146.5 181.9 28.2 17.9 7,002.1 33.4
the height is h 共mm兲; the depth to the reinforcing bar is d 共mm兲;

314 / JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JULY 2009

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2009, 21(7): 309-315


冉 冊
Mn = As f y d −
a
2
冉 冊
+ A p f pu h −
a
2

+ Ac f pu h − y c −
a
2
冊 共6兲
Notation

The following symbols are used in this paper:


The results from the limit-state analysis are presented in Table 4. As ⫽ area of steel
Ac and y c are calculated for each cross section given the assump- a ⫽ depth of Whitney stress block;
tions stated above. In addition, the contribution of the panel alone b ⫽ width of cross section;
is considered. The model predicts that the PVC encasement will bc ⫽ width of concrete section;
enhance flexural performance and that the extent of the improve- C ⫽ compressive force in concrete;
ment depends on the amount and location of the PVC compo- c ⫽ depth to neutral axis;
nents. The highest moment capacity is given by Configuration 3, d ⫽ depth to reinforcing bar;
followed by Configurations 2 and 4, finally, Configuration 1. f ⬘c ⫽ compressive strength of concrete;
These trends are similar to those observed in the experimental f pu ⫽ tensile strength of polymer;
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part of work and suggest that the PVC encasement enhances the f y ⫽ yield strength of concrete;
flexural performance by increasing the tensile capacity of the h ⫽ height of concrete section;
cross section. Tc ⫽ tensile force in connector;
T p ⫽ tensile force in PVC panel;
Ts ⫽ tensile force in steel;
Conclusion tc ⫽ thickness of standard connector;
y c ⫽ centroid of connector measured from bottom panel;
The effect of PVC on the mechanical performance of the com- ␧c ⫽ strain in concrete; and
posite concrete system that it encases was evaluated. The influ- ␧ p ⫽ strain in polymer.
ence of various PVC component configurations on compression
and flexural behavior was evaluated. Based on this work, the
following conclusions can be drawn:
1. PVC encasement increases compressive strength. The in- References
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