Structural test and FEM analysis of a thermal bridge connection employing the UHPC system for concrete cladding wall

The paper describes the technical design used to develop a structure model that improved thermal insulation properties and structural performance. This study experimentally and analytically investigated the shear capacity of a precast ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) rib with a concrete cladding wall through the shear keys connection. The structural performance was examined by conducting tests on five specimens under conditions of static loading of the UHPC rib with and without shear keys. The test results revealed that the structural load capacity is significantly affected by changes to the dimensions and design of the shear key, as well as the eccentricity distance in these specimens, the load capacity was approximately 3 to 4 times higher compared to conventional solutions. Numerical models were built to simultaneously predict the shear capacity of structures with varying loading positions and crack failure. These results demonstrated that the proposed modeling may be effectively used to verify the experimental results. Several important input parameters, a constitutive model, and a bar-concrete interface in the LS-DYNA program are suggested.