Seismic Performance of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Cladding Panels

Daniel Getz
Graduate Student; M.S. Candidate
The Department of Architectural Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802

Abstract:

Recent earthquakes have revealed the vulnerability of curtain wall systems to seismic damage. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) cladding panels, a relatively new building product, will likely develop similar problems to other cladding material. While there has been decades of research in the U.S. on precast concrete products, the research efforts on AAC are still at their infancy. There is a great potential for increased use of AAC cladding panels for low-rise, mid-rise, and even high-rise buildings, but it is limited by insufficient information available on their structural behavior. The addition of "seismically sound performance" to AAC cladding panel's many other desirable attributes, such as its light weight and speedy fabrication, will further promote the use of this product and help it compete in a well-established building envelope market.

This lecture presents the results of experimental tests performed on Autoclaved Aerated Concrete panels with conventional connection mechanisms to determine the effectiveness of the system in responding to earthquake type forces. These tests were performed at The Pennsylvania State University's Building Envelope Research Laboratory on the Dynamic Racking Test Facility. It is hoped that these experiments will begin the process by which the benefits of the ACC system can be realized in earthquake regions.