Bearing capacity of riveted connections of mineral wool sandwich panels

The article presents a study on the pulling-out bearing capacity of the connection between a curtain wall system and an outer sheet of a wall sandwich panel with a mineral wool core realized through blind rivets. An experimental study was carried out on samples of sandwich panels with various parameters of fastening in order to assess the influence of the considered factors on the value of bearing capacity. Results obtained for the studied type of sandwich panel allowed us to determine the minimum permissible edge distance for a blind rivet in order to prevent delamination of the outer sheet as well as the influence of the end profile installation and cyclic load action on the bearing capacity of the joint. Experimental results showed that the edge distance of 75 mm or more does not affect the bearing capacity of the joint. The pulling-out bearing capacity of a blind rivet with a diameter of 4.8 mm was determined for both single and cyclic load actions. The presence of an additional stiffening element such as end face profile contributed to an increase of this value. Recommended scheme for the installation of the fastening elements was proposed based on dependencies obtained during the experimental investigation.