Experimental Investigation of Shear Effects in Ultra‐Lightweight Concrete Encased CFS Structural Members

Abstract

AbstractA building system, promising cost‐efficient residential buildings, is under development. The system uses cold‐formed steel as load‐bearing member and encases it in polystyrene aggregate concrete, a special ultra‐lightweight concrete, which plays building construction roles, and provides increment of load‐bearing capacity, too. Previous research was focusing on individual member design for axial and flexural effects. In order to provide 3D rigidity for buildings horizontal effects (wind load, earthquake, imperfections) should also be considered. The load transfer of the investigated structural system is significantly different for horizontal and vertical (gravitational) actions thus the previously derived design method has to be expanded to describe the resistance against horizontal actions. This paper briefly introduces the building system and deals with some of the components necessary for providing 3D rigidity. Shear panel tests were carried out in order to identify the stiffness, failure mode and load‐bearing capacity of panels. Then two types of panel connection were investigated: (i) slab‐to‐wall, and (ii) wall‐to‐wall. Tests aimed to study the failure mode and load‐bearing capacity of joints. Test‐based design values were determined based on measured data.