Download or read book Experimental Evaluation of the Composite Behavior of Precast Concrete Sandwich Wall Panels written by Alexandar J. Mlynarczyk and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: "To ensure sufficient composite action to meet structural strength and stiffness requirements in precast concrete sandwich wall panels, the designer must provide adequate shear transfer between concrete wythes. In a typical sandwich panel, shear transfer may be provided through several different mechanisms. These mechanisms include: (1) solid concrete regions; (2) mechanical connectors that pass through the insulation wythe; and, (3) bond between the concrete wythes and the insulation. The objective to the work presented in this report is to investigate the flexural behavior of sandwich panels and the contribution to composite action provided by regions of solid concrete, wythe connectors, and bond. Tests were performed on four full-scale precast sandwich wall panels. A Prototype panel was tested, which included regions of solid concrete in the insulation wythe, metal wythe connectors, and no attempt was made to disrupt the bond between the concrete wythes and the insulation wythe. The degree of composite action developed by each of the different shear transfer mechanisms was then evaluated by testing three additional panels that included only one mechanism of shear transfer (solid concrete, wythe connectors, or bond). It was found that, for the panel geometries and materials treated in this study, the solid concrete regions provide most of the strength and stiffness that contribute to composite behavior. Steel M-tie connectors and bond between the insulation and concrete contribute relatively little to composite behavior. Therefore, for design purposes, it is recommended that solid concrete regions be proportioned to provide all of the required composite action in a precast sandwich wall panel. A precast concrete sandwich wall panel constructed similarly to the Prototype panel treated in this study will behave as a fully composite panel in terms of service load-deflection behavior and flexural strength."