Shaking table test of steel frame with ALC external wall panels

A shaking table test of a steel frame with autoclaved lightweight concrete (ALC) external wall panels is described in this paper. The specimen is a two-story full-scale model filled with external vertical wall panels, external horizontal wall panels and internal vertical wall panels. The input wave of the shaking table was generated by the El-Centro 1940 earthquake spectrum. Based on the experimental results, the seismic behavior of ALC external walls and joints was analyzed, such as the failure modes of ALC external walls and joints and the effects of external walls on the dynamic response of steel frame. The test results show that there is no great crack or damage on the wall panels at the tenth seismic intensity because of the enough intensity. The comparison between the steel frame models with and without wall panels indicates that the contribution of external wall panels to the steel frame stiffness can reach up to 25% and the damping ratio can exceed 7%. The analysis results also show that the joints are stable enough to resist the seismic loads and can provide enough flexible deformation so that the wall panels can stand large structure deformation. The screws on band iron of openings are very easy to loosen. Therefore, the joints between the band iron and wall panels should be reinforced.

► Seismic behavior of autoclaved lightweight concrete (ALC) wall panels is discussed. ► Effect of ALC external wall panels on the steel frame dynamic behavior is analyzed. ► Properties of joints between walls and steel frame are discussed. ► Properties of different wall panel layout are compared and several suggestions for design are presented.