Cyclic Behaviour of Two-Story Low-Damage Rocking Precast Concrete Cladding Panel System

This paper presents the bidirectional (in-plane and out-of-plane) cyclic performance of two-storied precast concrete cladding panel assemblies designed to accommodate, through a 'rocking' mechanism, in-plane and out-of-plane inter-story drifts expected in major earthquakes. Two sub-assemblies comprising four rocking precast concrete panels oriented parallel and perpendicular to the loading direction were subjected to quasi-static lateral cyclic inter-story drift demands. The test results show the ability of slotted rocking connections to accommodate the designed 2.00% inter-story drift without any noticeable damage to the panels or their connections. The only damage observed was the partial detachment of the sealant along the bond-line between the panels at 1.40% drift, possibly because of the test being conducted prematurely (only in 9 days) before the sealant had fully cured, and a relatively weak adhesion due to inadequate cleaning of the dusty concrete panel surfaces before the sealant was applied.