Numerical studies of steel-concrete-steel sandwich walls with J-hook connectors subjected to axial loads

Steel-concrete-steel (SCS) sandwich composite wall has been proposed for building and offshore constructions. An ultra-lightweight cement composite with density1380 kg/m³ and compressive strength up to 60 MPa is used as core material and inter-locking J-hook connectors are welded on the steel face plates to achieve the composite action. This paper presents the numerical models using nonlinear finite element analysis to investigate the load displacement behavior of SCS sandwich walls subjected to axial compression. The results obtained from finite element analysis are verified against the test results to establish its accuracy in predicting load-displacement curves, maximum resistance and failure modes of the sandwich walls. The studies show that the inter-locking J-hook connectors are subjected to tension force due to the lateral expansion of cement composite core under compression. This signifies the important role of the interlocking effect of J-hook connectors in preventing tensile separation of the steel face plates so that the local buckling of steel face plates is prevented.