Mechanical properties of low-performance concrete (LPC) and shear capacity of old unreinforced LPC squat walls

Low-performance concrete (LPC) is characterized by its low strength and commonly by the presence of large aggregates. This type of concrete was used for construction of load carrying, commonly unreinforced walls in old buildings. The resistance of these buildings with LPC squat walls (of relatively low height-to-length ratio), to in plane horizontal loads, was experimentally investigated in this study. The low compressive strength of these walls, well below that of standard concrete, requires estimation of the relation between the actual LPC compressive strength and its tensile strength, and identification of their failure mode and corresponding shear capacity when subjected to in plane horizontal loads. In this study, compressive and splitting tensile strengths of authentic LPC specimens were measured, and based on them, a relation between the compressive and tensile strengths is proposed. Then, diagonal compression tests were performed on authentic LPC specimens, as well as specimens made of standard concrete. These tests yielded the expected mode of failure of vertical cracking and their analysis shows that their shear capacity needs to be evaluated based on their tensile strength (rather than the flexural shear capacity of unreinforced concrete beams). Thus, the load-bearing (both horizontal and gravitational) capacity to prevent diagonal tension failure of an unreinforced LPC wall can be evaluated by comparing the LPC tensile strength to the major principal stress caused by the load. Assessment of the tensile strength can be based on the relation between the compressive and tensile strengths proposed in this work.