Experimental Study on the Seismic Behaviour of an Innovative Hybrid Concrete Connection Used as Thermal Break System

In Europe, the simultaneous introduction of new energy efficiency standards and majored seismic requirements has lead concrete constructors to find innovative solutions. In case of internal insulation, slab to wall connections have to be designed to maintain continuity of the insulation in structural connections while ensuring the transfer of shear forces from the slab to the wall. For this purpose, INGENOVA, a French civil engineering office, has developed a robust and ductile system, called SLABE®: stainless steel Z-shaped profiles are used as shear keys, creating an innovative hybrid concrete connection. An important research program has been carried out in order to characterize the SLABE® system behaviour under cyclic loads. Nearly true scale specimens including concrete slabs and walls have been tested in order to determine the stiffness and resistance under cyclic horizontal and vertical shear actions. Tests demonstrate a very stable behaviour of the system up to its theoretical yielding capacity and a large reserve of ductility due to the material of steel members. At last the effect of the SLABE on the overall seismic answer of buildings has been investigated numerically, in order to predict both the force redistribution between external and internal concrete walls, and the magnitude of horizontal forces transmitted by the shear link.