Ultimate compressive strength of Enveloped Laminar Concrete panels

An experimental research of Enveloped Laminar Concrete (ELC) panels subjected to axial compression loading is presented. ELC panels are characterized by the use of steel U-sections surrounding a concrete panel reinforced by steel gratings welded to these U-sections. The experimental program consisted of evaluating 17 ELC panels with different slenderness ratios under the action of centered compressive loads. The experimental setup allowed for the execution of fixed-end supports and uniform load distribution over the width of the models. Typical failure modes and the influence of the panels’ slenderness on their load-bearing capacity are discussed. The estimated load bearing capacities obtained from semi-empirical equations for structural concrete wall panels developed by other researchers and specified in technical standards were compared to the experimental results. In most of the analyzed cases, the strength of the ELC panels is higher than that of other wall panels, which is mainly due to the contribution of steel U-sections in the composed structural system.