Concrete sandwich wall panels have been used for decades in the precast concrete construction industry because of their thermal efficiency. To achieve full or partial-composite action in concrete sandwich panel walls, the engineer must obtain a percent composite action from a connector manufacturer, making some engineers uncomfortable. Engineers are dependent upon the recommendations given by the connector manufacturers to establish their designs. This project tested six full scale sandwich panel walls to evaluate the percent composite action of various connectors and compare the results to those provided by the composite connector manufacturers.
This project aimed to validate current procedures using these methods, and to develop simpler, more efficient methods for predicting overall strength of this innovative building system. This study concluded that the reported degrees of composite action from each manufacturer are considered conservative in all instances for the connectors tested. Additionally, the intensity and type of connectors are important factors in determining the degree of partial composite action in a panel
