Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Kimberly Waggle Kramer / Insulated precast concrete sandwich panels are commonly used for exterior cladding on a building. In recent years, insulated tilt-up concrete sandwich panels are being used for the exterior load-bearing walls on a building. The insulation is sandwiched between exterior and interior concrete layers to reduce the heating and cooling costs for the structure. The panels can be designed as composite, partially composite, or non-composite. The shear ties are used to achieve these varying degrees of composite action between the concrete layers. A parametric study analyzing the standard, solid single-wythe tilt-up concrete wall panel and solid sandwich (double-wythe separated by rigid insulation) tilt-up concrete wall panels subjected to eccentric axial loads and out-of-plane seismic loads is presented. The sandwich tilt-up panel is divided into two categories – non-composite and composite wall panels. The height and width of the different types of tilt-up wall panel is 23 feet (21 feet plus 2-foot parapet) and 16 feet, respectively. The solid standard panel (non-sandwich) is 5.5 inches in thickness; the non-composite sandwich panel is composed of 3.5-inch architectural wythe, 2.5-inch rigid insulation, and 5.5-inch interior load bearing concrete wythe; and the composite sandwich panel is composed of 3.5-inch exterior, load bearing concrete wythe, 2.5-inch insulation, and 5.5-inch interior, load bearing concrete wythe. The procedure used to design the tilt-up wall panels is the Alternative Method for Out-of-Plane Slender Wall Analysis per Section 11.8 of ACI 318-14 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary. The results indicated that for the given panels, the applied ultimate moment and design moment strength is the greatest for the composite sandwich tilt-up concrete panel. The standard tilt-up concrete panel exhibits the greatest service load deflection. The non-composite sandwich tilt-up concrete panel induced the greatest vertical stress. Additionally, the additional requirements regarding forming materials, casting, and crane capacity is covered in this report. Lastly, the energy efficiency due to the heat loss and heat gain of sandwich panels is briefly discussed in this report. The sandwich tilt-up panels exhibit greater energy efficiency than standard tilt-up panels with or without insulation.

Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Kimberly W. Kramer / Soils conditions vary throughout the United States and effect the behavior of the foundation system for building structures. The structural engineer needs to design a foundation system for a superstructure that is compatible with the soil conditions present at the site. Foundation systems can be classified as shallow and deep, and behave differently with different soils. Shallow foundation systems are typically used on sites with stiff soils, such as compacted sands or firm silts. Deep foundation systems are typically used on sites with soft soils, such as loose sands and expansive clays. A parametric study is performed within this report analyzing tilt-up concrete structures in Dallas, Texas, Denver, Colorado, and Kansas City, Missouri to determine the most economical tilt-up wall panel and foundation support system. These three locations represent a broad region within the Midwest of low-seismic activity, enabling the use of Ordinary Precast Wall Panels for the lateral force resisting system. Tilt-up wall panels are slender load-bearing walls constructed of reinforced concrete, cast on site, and lifted into their final position. Both a 32 ft (9.75 m) and 40 ft (12 m) tilt-up wall panel height are designed on three foundation systems: spread footings, continuous footings, and drilled piers. These two wall heights are typical for single-story or two-story structures and industrial warehouse projects. Spread footings and continuous footings are shallow foundation systems and drilled piers are a deep foundation system. Dallas and Denver both have vast presence of expansive soils while Kansas City has more abundant stiff soils. The analysis procedure used for the design of the tilt-up wall panels is the Alternative Design of Slender Walls in the American Concrete Institute standard ACI 318-05 Building Code and Commentary Section 14.8. Tilt-up wall panel design is typically controlled by lateral instability as a result from lateral loads combining with the axial loads to produce secondary moments. The provisions in the Alternative Design of Slender Walls consider progressive collapse of the wall panel from the increased deflection resulting from the secondary moments. Each tilt-up wall panel type studied is designed in each of the three locations on each foundation system type and the most economical section is recommended.

Tilt-up construction basically involves job-site prefabrication of concrete building members under controlled and relatively economical conditions. This master’s report presents tilt-up design procedures, along with construction procedures and planning at the job-site, erection, finishing and architectural treatments. It is intended to bring together the five steps of design, planning, construction, erection, and finishing which are crucial to a successful tilt-up project. / text