Lightweight FRC infill wall: in-plane and out-of-plane loading tests

The continued interest in technological innovation in construction has greatly broadened the horizons of material science, developing a specific sector closely related to the recycling of waste products. This paper examines the thermal, mechanical and structural behaviour of an insulating light weight fibre reinforced concrete (ILWFRC), which is made by replacing natural sand and gravel with artificial aggregates resulting from the process of glass recycling. ILWFRC offers low density (approximately 650 kg/m3), excellent thermal characteristics (thermal conductivity 0.1 W/mK), a compressive strength similar to brick masonry (3.5 MPa) with low cement content (265 kg/m3) and stable post-cracking behaviour. The mechanical and physical properties of ILWFRC were employed for the construction of a full-scale infill wall (having dimensions of 2.9 × 2.6 × 0.2 m), which was experimentally studied under in-plane and out-of-plane actions. In-plane response showed a maximum lateral load of 359 kN at 1.5% drift, with a residual capacity of more than 75% at 4% drift. The subsequent out-of-plane test was performed up to failure with a maximum lateral load of 67 kN, corresponding to about 7 times the infill self-weight.