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Abstract

Ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) is a new class of concrete with far superior mechanical and durability properties compared to conventional concrete. Recently, its use has been growing in both civil and architectural applications, especially in the precast industry. This paper presents the application of UHPC to the production of precast concrete sandwich wall panels commonly used in Northern regions and known as insulated wall panels. Using UHPC in the panel wythes allows for a significant reduction in wythe thickness and, consequently, panel weight, in addition to the elimination of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement, which simplifies production. In this study, four 2.44 m × 1.22 m × 203 mm composite UHPC sandwich wall panels were fabricated by a local precast producer using a nonproprietary UHPC mixture. Panels were tested in flexure to evaluate the degree of composite action when wythe thickness of 32 mm and glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) shear connectors are used. These panels do not contain any conventional rebars or prestressing strands as they are fully dependent on the presence of random steel fibers in UHPC to provide the tensile resistance. Test results have shown that this new system can achieve a flexural capacity of 92% of that of a fully composite panel while being more flexible and lighter than conventional concrete sandwich wall panels. The composite UHPC sandwich wall panels have a great potential in architectural and structural applications, such as exterior load-bearing walls and cladding panels.

Practical Applications

This paper investigates the structural behavior of a new system of sandwich wall panels utilizing reduced wythe thicknesses made of ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) and achieving high degree of composite action. Structural performance and production efficiency of this system can have significant impacts on energy-efficient building construction. This new system can achieve a degree of composite action up to 92%, which makes the design efficient for large cladding panels and load bearing exterior walls. A design example is presented comparing a conventional concrete sandwich wall panel made of two 76-mm-thick concrete wythes and 51-mm-thick insulation to a UHPC panel with the same overall thickness of 203 mm but with 32-mm-thick concrete wythes and 140-mm-thick insulation. Both panels are 2.44-m wide and 9.14-m tall and subjected to unfactored wind pressure of 1.44-kPa, which is considerably higher than the typical values used in wall design for midwest states. The significant increase in the insulation thickness of the UHPC panel results in significantly less weight and higher R-value than those of the conventional concrete panel. In addition, the UHPC panel does not have either longitudinal prestressing strands or transverse reinforcing bars, which simplifies panel fabrication.

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Data Availability Statement

Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge THiN-Wall, LLC for providing NU-Ties, technical assistance, and financial support. Also, the authors acknowledge Coreslab Structures Inc. (Omaha) for panel fabrication.

References

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Go to Journal of Architectural Engineering
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30Issue 2June 2024

History

Received: Apr 13, 2023
Accepted: Dec 15, 2023
Published online: Feb 23, 2024
Published in print: Jun 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jul 23, 2024

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George Morcous, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE [email protected]
FPCI, Professor, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, NE 68182-0176. Email: [email protected]
Formerly, Graduate Research Assistant, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, NE 68182-0176 (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8636-8409. Email: [email protected]
Formerly, Graduate Research Assistant, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, NE 68182-0176. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-4535. Email: [email protected]

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