Bearing capacity of lightweight steel concrete enclosure wall panels

The object of this study is lightweight steel concrete enclosure wall panels (LSCS panels) consisting of light gauge steal profiles and foam lightweight cellular concrete filling in general and, in particular, their fastenings. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for calculating enclosure wall LSCS panels with partial resting on floor slabs fastened with self-tapping screws of the Harpoon type. Methods. The experimental study of behavior of the sample of the LSCS panel fastened via galvanized plate with self-tapping screws to a metal tube, the rigidity of which is many times higher than the rigidity of the LSCS panel, from the action of a distributed load simulating wind pressure, is carried out. The density of foam concrete of the panel was measured during experiment and amounted to 370 kg/m3. Results. The methodology of calculating the bearing capacity of LSCS panel-to-slab fastenings is proposed and substantiated. The analytically calculated destructive load 28.25 kN is 9.3% less than experimentally obtained destructive load 30.9 kN. It is shown that the loss of load-bearing capacity of the panel happens due to bearing of the steel sheet of the web of the light gauge steel profile of the panel. It is shown that the rigidity of the LSCS panel fastenings varies from the one corresponding to the fixed-support calculation scheme to the one corresponding to the hinged-support calculation scheme. The behavior of the panel corresponds to the fixed-support calculation scheme before the load is 30% of the value, that gives the maximum allowable deflection, then the fasteners work as a finite stiffness support and turn into a plastic hinge when the load reaches 90% of the abovementioned load. It is proposed to use the hinged-support calculation scheme in design practice.