Abstract
In this paper, precast lightweight Concrete Sandwich Panels (CSP) with reinforced concrete skins/wythes, truss shear connectors and expanded polystyrene core are proposed to be a good alternative for replacing conventional load bearing brick masonry walls. Literature review indicated that studies examining the failure modes of concrete sandwich panels under axial compression are not reported. Towards filling this gap and for developing design guidelines for practical applications, in this paper, failure modes of CSP are theoretically defined. Experimental investigations are conducted to determine the actual failure modes, strength and behaviour of the panels under axial compression. The failure modes observed from the experimental study are compared with the theoretical failure modes. Test results indicated that CSP can be used for practical applications as an alternative to conventional brick masonry walls. Attempts are also made to find the applicability of available strength predicting formulas of sandwich members/RC walls for concrete sandwich panels. Results showed that the available formulas have to be modified for predicting the axial compressive strength of CSP with reasonable accuracy.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.