Experimental studies on through-thickness shear behavior of EPS based precast concrete sandwich panels with truss shear connectors

TLDR: In this article, the performance of precast insulated concrete sandwich panels (CSPs) under through-thickness shear loading was investigated. But, the authors focused on the effect of the major parameters on the failure mode, through-THI strength, load vs relative displacement (between top and bottom wythes) behavior and load vs strain behavior of the CSPs.

Abstract: Effective use of building materials for achieving sustainable construction is of prime importance today due to fast depletion of the natural resources by the construction industries for obtaining raw materials and aggregates. Precast insulated concrete sandwich panels (CSPs) consisting of two reinforced concrete wythes, an Expanded Poly-Styrene (EPS) core and truss-type shear connectors can be considered as an innovative construction material for acting as load bearing walls and floors in building systems. The two wythes are connected by the shear connectors through the EPS core for transferring shear forces (henceforth called as through-thickness shear) between the wythes and achieving composite action in the panels. In this paper, details of experimental studies conducted on small-scale precast CSP specimens under through-thickness shear loading are presented. The major parameters considered in the experimental program were the thickness of EPS core, gap between the wythes (in CSPs without EPS core), presence/absence of EPS core and number of shear connector lines. The effect of the major parameters on the failure mode, through-thickness shear strength, load vs relative displacement (between top and bottom wythes) behavior and load vs strain behavior of the CSPs are presented and discussed. The test results indicate that the through-thickness shear strength and behavior of the CSPs are significantly influenced by the parameters considered. Reduction in thickness of the EPS core and presence of the EPS core improved the through-thickness shear strength of the CSPs.