Reinforced insulated concrete building panel

Claim 1

In a reinforced insulated concrete building panel having an inner layer of concrete, an outer layer of concrete, a layer of insulating material sandwiched therebetween, and prestressed reinforcing strands extending longitudinally through the inner and outer layers of concrete, the improvement comprising a plurality of reinforcing shear connectors embedded in the inner layer of concrete and extending through the layer of insulation into the outer layer of concrete to bond the layers together into a composite panel and to prevent delamination failure of the panel, said shear connectors each being spaced from all of the reinforcing strands, each shear connector being generally U-shaped, and having a pair of depending legs joined at one of their ends to a bight portion, the bight portion being bent downwardly in the central portion thereof to extend generally in the same direction as the legs to define a depth gauge, whereby the legs may be inserted through the layer of insulating material and into one of said layers of concrete until the depth gauge contacts the layer of insulating material, thus leaving a portion of the shear connector exposed above the layer of insulating material, the other ends of each of the depending legs having terminal portions extending in a common direction at approximately a right angle to the axis of the leg to form a secure bond between the one layer of concrete and the shear connector, said terminal portions being spaced from all of said reinforcing strands whereby said shear connectors are in spaced relationship with said reinforcing strands, said shear connectors being positioned such that the legs thereof lie in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the panel, whereby during manufacture of the panel the shear connector can be readily accurately and securely positioned at a proper depth in the panel.