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The rapid population growth and urbanization have made a massive demand for the shelter and construction materials. Masonry walls are the major component in the housing sector and it has brittle characteristics and exhibit poor performance against the uncertain loads. Further, the structure requires heavier sections for carrying the dead weight of masonry walls. The present investigations are carried out to develop a simple, lightweight and cost effective technology for replacing the existing wall systems. The lightweight concrete is developed for the construction of cement wall panel. The EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) beads of 3 mm diameter size are mixed with concrete and developed a lightweight concrete with a density 9 kN/m3. The lightweight sandwich panel is cast with a lightweight concrete inner core and ferrocement outer skins. This lightweight wall panel is tested for in-plane compression loading. A nonlinear finite element analysis with damaged plasticity model is carried out with both material and geometrical nonlinearities. The experimental and analytical results were compared. The finite element study predicted the ultimate load carrying capacity of the sandwich panel with reasonable accuracy. The present study showed that the lightweight concrete is well suitable for the lightweight sandwich wall panels.
Architectural precast concrete wall panels that act as loadbearing elements in a building are both a structurally efficient and economical means o f transferring floor and roof loads through the structure and into the foundation. In many cases, this integration can also simplify construction and reduce costs. This article presents the many benefit s that ca n be derived from using loadbearing architectural precast concrete walls in buildings. Discussed herein are the various shapes and sizes of wall pane ls, major design considerations, and when loadbearing or shear wall units should be the first design choice. The role o f connections, shear walls, and the use of precast concrete as forms for cast-in-place concrete is explained. In general, the design methods and techniques presented in this article apply to buildings in both seismic and non-seismic areas. The latter part of this article shows how these design principles can be applied in practice in a variety of buildings. These examples illustrate the use of window wall panels, spandrels, and solid or sandwich wall panels as the loadbearing wall members. When all the advantages of using architectural precast concrete as loadbearing walls are added up, it makes good sense to use this structural form in building applications.
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