Design Procedures for Typical Cladding Panel Connections in RC Precast Buildings

Abstract eng:
Precast buildings represent a considerable part of industrial and commercial infrastructure in Europe. The potential losses in the case of the strong earthquakes are therefore large. This was confirmed during the recent earthquakes. For example, during the earthquakes in Emilia-Romagna in Italy, RC precast buildings were amongst most vulnerable types of structures. Damage was observed on structural as well as on non-structural components. Particularly vulnerable appeared to be the cladding panels and their connections with the main structural system. For instance, Bournas et al. [1] observed the collapse of cladding panels in 75 % of all precast buildings in the area. Libeatore et al. [2] observed severe damage of cladding panels in 50 % of 34 surveyed industrial buildings. It was reported by several authors ([3] – [8]) that the cladding-to-structure connections were designed only for seismic forces acting in the direction perpendicular to the panel plane, which are related to the local mass of the panels, and for low out-of-plane horizontal actions such as wind loads. The prevailing opinion was that the main cause for the failure of the cladding-tostructure connections was their inadequate resistance to the horizontal seismic actions in the panel plane. The cladding panel connections, which are typically used in RC precast buildings in Europe, have been analyzed experimentally and analytically within recently concluded European project SAFECLADDING [11]. Vertical as well as horizontal panels were addressed. The typical cladding panel connections were mostly designed to be used in the non-seismic regions. Even though a little was known about their seismic response they were extensively used in the seismic regions. The basic mechanisms of their seismic response were identified for the first time within the SAFECLADDING project. Contrary to the prevailing opinion that cladding panels are most vulnerable in their out-of-plane direction, it was proved that the most critical components – connections typically fail due to the seismic effects in the plane of the panels. This observation was in a good agreement with the damage observed after recent earthquakes. Based on the experimental and analytical studies of complex response of typical cladding panel connections, appropriate robust engineering numerical models were defined, which can be used in the design practice. The design procedures were proposed, and the expressions, which can be used to estimate their displacement and strength capacity, were derived.

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