Structural testing of concrete walls on-edge with combined axial and out-of-plane loading

Full-scale testing of structural components can be time consuming and difficult. The design of full-scale slender concrete walls is highly influenced and controlled by second-order and out-of-plane bending loads. Previous experiments on out-plane bending of slender walls and insulated walls have been performed with bending in the direction of gravity (with or against). Additionally, most of the research considering out-of-plane bending does not include an axial load and suffers from inaccurate results due to not simulating the actual loading and constraining conditions or safety issues. This testing method was developed expressly for the determination of slender wall behavior in insulated concrete panels and verified on solid slender walls, which are well understood. The testing setup presented has the following advantages: • Reduces the risk of cracking panel prior to testing and provides safe and rapid testing. • Offers ease of implementation in labs with height restrictions, given sufficient floor space. • Integrates axial and lateral uniform loading.