Experimental and numerical thermal analysis of a balcony board with integrated glass fibre reinforced polymer GFRP elements

The thermal behaviour of a balcony board with integrated glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) elements replacing the compression reinforcement rods, is investigated by means of measurement as well as numerical analysis. For this reason a specimen consisting of an externally insulated brick wall and a representative part of a balcony is tested under a steady state temperature gradient of 30 K in a guarded hot box. Additionally to the normative requirements, temperature sensors are placed on critical sites within the construction, prior to the pouring of cement, to help the verification of the numerical analysis carried out simultaneously. Measured and calculated results are compared and some numerical parameter studies are carried out to quantify the advantage of glass fibre reinforced plastic elements over conventional balcony boards from a thermal point of view.