Experimentally-validated modelling of thin RC sandwich walls subjected to seismic loads

• No reliable modelling technique for RC sandwich panels are available in the literature.
• An experimentally validated modelling technique for RC sandwich panels is proposed.
• The modelling technique makes use of a recently proposed concrete damage model.
• The modelling technique is suitable for capturing the experimental non-linear cyclic response.
• The modelling technique could be potentially used also by practitioners.

Modelling the seismic performance of an innovative structural system consisting in lightly-reinforced concrete sandwich panels is the subject of this paper. Thin shotcrete layers are sprayed on the two surfaces of a polystyrene panel (support panel), after placing on each surface a small-diameter wire mesh. Such a system is appealing for developing countries, as it markedly reduces the construction cost, and provides excellent thermal and structural properties. Formulating a nonlinear model is, therefore, instrumental in investigating the cyclic behaviour of such a system, as required by seismic analysis. The proposed model incorporates a recently-introduced concrete damage model, and is validated through experimental tests, concerning both the force–displacement response and the progression of the damage.