Polymeric facades:fatigue performance of pultruded panel connections

The long-term performance of pultruded structural angle sections has been investigated through a campaign of fatigue testing. Equal angle sections have served to represent the connected element of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) facade panels. Suitable design limits on maximum recommended transverse strain at connections in the pultrusion have been established. Characteristic behaviour pertinent to application of GFRP pultrusions in facades is reported. The existence of a strain threshold in pultruded connections, below which fatigue does not occur over 100,000 cycles, has been revealed.