Experimental study of the out-of-plane mechanical properties of tall foam ceramic (FC) partition wall

Abstract

Foamed ceramic (FC) partition wall is a non-structural component which has a broad application prospect. At present, most of the relevant specifications and studies on partition walls are limited to ordinary floor heights. In practical engineering applications, the partition wall exceeding the specification height limit often appears in scenes such as hotel halls and airport terminal. It would pose a life safety threat to the building in the event of out-of-plane damage of this type of partition wall under wind loads. Therefore, this paper aims to study the out-of-plane mechanical properties of tall FC partition walls under static loading. Experimental studies were conducted on the influence of different connection forms, as well as different construction column spacings on the out-of-plane mechanical performance of tall FC partition walls. It can be found that different connection forms had almost no effect on the cracking load. The cracking load decreased gradually with the increasing of the structural column spacings. The specimens with more rigid connection had better crack resistance ability during the service phase. With the increasing of the spacing of structural columns, the restraining effect of the steel skeleton on the FC wall panel, its out-of-plane bearing capacity and stiffness all decreased; The configuration of the steel skeleton reduced the brittleness of FC material; The weak part of tall FC partition wall was in the bonding area between FC wall panel and square steel tube, which should be paid attention to in practical engineering.