Full-Scale Seismic Testing of a Building Constructed With Aac Panels

Abstract eng:
Thanks to its cellular internal structure, Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) is well known for superior characteristics such as low self-weight, good thermal insulation and high fire resistance. In addition to them, the AAC materials high workability boosts its usage, particularly for construction of non-structural elements such as infill walls or façade claddings. With regard to building physics, AAC has two important aspects, which are its low thermal insulation value and low water vapor diffusion resistance factor which helps to build healthy and energy efficient homes, besides its structural advantages. The construction of houses with reinforced AAC panels is easy, quick and economic. This type of houses, which are generally single or two story, had been built in various regions of Turkey and performed well against destructive earthquakes. In this type of buildings, wall panels of the structure are load-bearing elements and the reinforcements between the joints of load bearing panels are covered with grout. The joint reinforcements are anchored to foundation and bond beams. This connection provides integrity and increases the load bearing capacity. Floor and roof panels are also built with AAC panels; these are approximately three times lighter than conventional concrete slabs. Thus, light weight provides lower axial stress on load bearing panels, and also decreases the earthquake forces acting on the structure. AAC panels are prefabricated elements and produced according to certain production standards. After production, in order to secure quality, AAC and reinforcements in AAC are tested. Factory produced elements are always more controlled than structural elements produced on site. Although, the porous nature of the AAC leads to relatively lower mechanical characteristics with respect to ordinary concrete, thanks to its light weight, the seismic demand in the form of inertial forces is also low. This low seismic demand enables the use of reinforced AAC panels for construction of low-rise buildings even in regions with high seismicity. However, the experimental studies available in the literature that aim to investigate the seismic behavior of such AAC Panel structures are scarce and limited to certain application practice that generally varies depending on the region and manufacturer. Moreover, only limited design documents address to seismic design of this type of buildings. In order to shed some light on the issue, in this study, a full-scale three-dimensional building has been tested under simulated earthquake loads. The quasi-static test has been performed as part of an extensive experimental campaign, which includes several material and member tests. The building is two stories high and has approximately 6 m x 6 m plan dimensions. In this paper, in addition to the introduction of the investigated building typology, the followed testing procedure is also briefly described. Then the main experimental results and observations are summarized.

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