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Experimental investigation on the influence of silicone sealant on the seismic behaviour of precast façades

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Abstract

Silicone sealant is usually interposed between panels of precast façades. In ordinary cladding panel configurations, relative sliding between panels occurs under lateral actions. The shear drifts and consequent stresses arising in the silicone strips may lead to a significant increase of the load demand in the cladding panel connections and affect the seismic behaviour of the structural system. This paper presents the results of experimental tests and numerical analyses carried out to clarify the role of the silicone sealant on the seismic response of precast structures with cladding panels. An experimental campaign including monotonic and cyclic tests on both silicone strips applied to small concrete blocks and two panel sub-assembly sealed with silicone, has been developed at Politecnico di Milano. Furthermore, cyclic and seismic pseudo-dynamic tests on a full-scale prototype of precast building with cladding panels sealed with silicone, have been performed at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The results of the experimental tests are presented and compared with the results of numerical simulations. Some recommendations for seismic design of precast frame structures with cladding panels, considering the effect of silicone sealant, are finally provided.

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Acknowledgements

The work presented in this paper has been funded mainly by the European Commission within the FP7-SME-2011 SAFECLADDING research project (Grant agreement No. 314122, 2012), and partially by the Italian Department of Civil Protection (DPC) and the Italian Laboratories University Network of Earthquake Engineering (ReLUIS) within the research program DPC-ReLUIS 2014–2016. The financial supports of the funding institutions are gratefully acknowledged. The contribution of Marjo Cerriku and prof. Liberato Ferrara to the execution of the local tests performed at Laboratorio Prove e Materiali (LPM) of Politecnico di Milano is gratefully appreciated. The experimental tests on the full scale precast prototype has been performed at the European Laboratory of Structural Assessment (ELSA) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Special thanks are due to all members of the JRC team, particularly to Paolo Negro, Javier Molina, and Pierre Pegon. Gratitude and appreciation are also expressed to BS Italia and Styl-Comp companies, particularly to Claudio Pagani and Enzo Ruggeri, for the production and erection of both the testing frame of the sub-assembly tests at Politecnico di Milano and the full scale prototype at JRC. Finally, many thanks to Antonello Gasperi for fostering with his interest the research on this subject.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Bruno Dal Lago, Fabio Biondini & Giandomenico Toniolo

  2. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate Space Security and Migration, Unit Safety and Security of Buildings, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, 21027, Ispra, Italy

    Marco Lamperti Tornaghi

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  1. Bruno Dal Lago
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  2. Fabio Biondini
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  3. Giandomenico Toniolo
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  4. Marco Lamperti Tornaghi
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Correspondence to Bruno Dal Lago.

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Dal Lago, B., Biondini, F., Toniolo, G. et al. Experimental investigation on the influence of silicone sealant on the seismic behaviour of precast façades. Bull Earthquake Eng 15, 1771–1787 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-016-0045-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-016-0045-y

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