Clasificación mecánica de paneles prefabricados con marcos de madera y núcleo de paja, según NCH806.EOF71 sometidos a carga horizontal

Sustainable constructions are a concept that gains further momentum every day presently, carrying a betterment in constructive processes at an environmental level, generating new ideas for the utilization of materials and their ends.

Taking ecological constructions in Europe as basis, Valdivia-based company Mulch Bio Construcciones Ltda. have projected the utilization of straw prefabricated panels through CORFO’s Innova Chile project: “15PIRE-45567 – Panel Prefabricado con marcos de madera y núcleo de paja para la construcción de viviendas eficientes”, with the objective of making use of the thermoacoustic characteristics of straw to lower the carbon footprint in habitational constructions within the Los Ríos Region.

Tin order to achieve a totally integral product, Mulch proposes the verification of the structural strength of their prefabricated panels, of which there are no antecedents through laboratory studies that verify their mechanical strength; this is why together with Universidad Austral de Chile’s Instituto de Obras Civiles they pretend to carry out the mechanic classification of the panels, executing transversal load tests, horizontal and compression applying their respective norm.

This degree work is developed together with the one realized by Matus (2017) named “Caracterización mecánica de paneles prefabricados de madera con núcleo de fardos de paja, según NCh806.EOf71 sometidos a carga transversal”, corresponding to part of the mechanical essays that will reveal the resistant behavior of these typologies.

Herein contains everything related to the process of performing the mechanical characterization of Mulch panels submitted to horizontal loads, establishing classifications based on type, class, grade and subgrade as contained according to the constructive and resistant characteristics of NCh806.EOf71.

The conducted test obeys the requirements of the NCh802.EOf71 with the concerns of its procedure, requiring the adaptation of the testing framework of the Instituto de Obras Civiles’ Laboratorio Docente of the Universidad Austral de Chile.

There are three Mulch panel typologies to be tested, from which a correct measurement is carried out to obtain the results and analysis that will be synthesized in the classification of every one of them, presenting the corresponding report to the manufacturing company of these panels.