SlenderWall | York, PA

During the month of March, 2013, a 12 ft. x 16 ft. SlenderWall panel, containing PVA fiber reinforcement in the 2 inches of architectural precast, successfully completed a series of demanding dynamic tests. The tests were performed by National Certified Testing Laboratories of York, PA and included performing ASTM tests [E283-04, E330-20(10), & E331-00(19)] and AAMA tests [501.4-09 & 501.1] under five different configurations using the same SlenderWall panel.

These tests determine the ability of the SlenderWall external cladding panel to withstand differential pressures and accommodate inter-story drift. During the test protocol, the panel was preloaded and air leakage, static water penetration and dynamic water penetration tests were performed. Following the preload, a uniform load deflection test was performed and the leakage and water penetration tests were repeated. Following this, a 50% overload uniform load deflection test was performed and again the leakage and water penetration tests performed.

The tests included three panel configurations: (1) 6 ft. gravity, 6 ft. lateral, studs on 2 ft. centers; (2) 8 ft. gravity, 8 ft. lateral, studs on 2 ft. centers; and (3) 8 ft. gravity, 8 ft. lateral, studs on 4 ft. centers. The panel passed all tests with “flying colors” and validated the durability and ruggedness of the SlenderWall design. A final test is planned in which the panel will be taken to the point of failure (cracking of the architectural precast). PVA RSC15 fibers form a molecular bond with the concrete, reducing the formation of cracking in concrete and providing multidimensional reinforcement. They provide improvement to impact, shatter and abrasion resistance of concrete, enhancing durability and toughness of the ramp. NYCON-PVA RSC15 is a component of the NYCON TUFF SLAB blend.