Polycarbonate Multiwall Sheets: Calculation Methods and Experimental Comparisons

During the last decades the use of polycarbonate solid or multiwall sheets in the construction field, has become more and more frequent and a typical example is their use in important works of coverage of stadiums and public buildings. Due to this development it was noted a lack of specific technical codes for the calculation of structures built with this material in Europe and in particular in Italy since only a few codes for limited structural types exist. For this reason, in order to perform the calculations, it is necessary to refer to the technical documentation provided by suppliers or construction companies. This information is often very short, is supplied according to the type and is the result of experimental tests. In this article various test groups are examined and their experimental results are compared with the information contained in the available technical documentation.