Experimentally-validated modelling of thin RC sandwich walls subjected to seismic loads

• Published in: Engineering structures Vol. 119; pp. 95 - 109
• Main Authors: Palermo, Michele, Trombetti, Tomaso
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15.07.2016
• Subjects: Damage model; Experimental response; Modelling technique; Pseudo-static tests; Reinforced concrete sandwich walls; Experimental response; Damage model; Modelling technique; Reinforced concrete sandwich walls; Pseudo-static tests
• ISSN: 0141-0296; 1873-7323
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2016.03.070

•No reliable modelling technique for RC sandwich panels are available in the literature.•An experimentally validated modelling technique for RC sandwich panels is proposed.•The modelling technique makes use of a recently proposed concrete damage model.•The modelling technique is suitable for capturing the experimental non-linear cyclic response.•The modelling technique could be potentially used also by practitioners. Modelling the seismic performance of an innovative structural system consisting in lightly-reinforced concrete sandwich panels is the subject of this paper. Thin shotcrete layers are sprayed on the two surfaces of a polystyrene panel (support panel), after placing on each surface a small-diameter wire mesh. Such a system is appealing for developing countries, as it markedly reduces the construction cost, and provides excellent thermal and structural properties. Formulating a nonlinear model is, therefore, instrumental in investigating the cyclic behaviour of such a system, as required by seismic analysis. The proposed model incorporates a recently-introduced concrete damage model, and is validated through experimental tests, concerning both the force–displacement response and the progression of the damage.