Experimental and numerical study of a half-scaled reinforced concrete building equipped with thermal break components subjected to seismic loading up to severe damage state Benjamin Richard a,⇑ , Nicolas Ile a , Alberto Frau a , Amandine Ma b , Olivier Loiseau b , Cedric Giry c , Frederic Ragueneau c a CEA, DEN, DANS, DM2S, SEMT, Laboratoire d’Etude de Mécanique Sismique, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France b IRSN, SES, Bureau d’Etudes de Genie Civil, F-92260 Fontenay aux Roses, France c LMT, ENS-Cachan, Univ P. M. Curie/CNRS/PRES Universud Paris, 61 avenue du Président Wilson, F-94230 Cachan, France article info Article history: Received 28 May 2014 Revised 20 February 2015 Accepted 4 March 2015 Keywords: Numerical modeling Reinforced concrete Cast3M AZALEE TAMARIS Thermal break component Shaking table abstract A half-scaled reinforced concrete (RC) structure designed with an irregular shape to exhibit coupling torsional/bending effects and equipped with thermal break components was subjected to seismic tests. The aim of the experimental campaign was to analyze the influence of the thermal break components on the overall behavior of the mock-up in order to close the gap between the thermal and the seismic requirements in case of strongly irregular RC structures. The analysis of the experimental results is sup- ported by experimental/numerical comparisons using an homogenized constitutive law to describe the behavior of a representative volume element (RVE) of RC. The observations show that the thermal break components do not significantly modify the dynamic behavior of the RC structure and ensure almost the full load transfer between the shearwalls and the connected slabs. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Reinforced concrete (RC) wall bearing structures are widely used as primary resisting lateral load system either for new or existing constructions. Sometimes, design engineers have to deal with buildings being irregular in the plane and regular in elevation. This structural geometry generally leads to some issues when deal- ing with the seismic assessment of such complex structures. For instance, specific nonlinear effects at localized positions may appear as well as coupling torsional/bending responses [1–9]. The thermal performance of such structures is becoming a require- ment in European countries [10]. Consequently, many research works have been carried out to limit, ideally to erase, the sources of thermal dissipation between the building and the external environment [11–13]. Successful insulation techniques and dedi- cated components have been developed, leading to a drastic reduc- tion of the thermal energy loss. Indeed, new structural components called thermal break components have been designed to improve the in-building thermal insulation. Despite the fact that such a technique of insulation appears as promising regarding the results coming from the thermal analysis, their effects on the overall mechanical response of the equipped structure have still to be addressed, especially when considering seismic loadings. The issue of thermal and seismic compatibility rose in case of conventional buildings. Nevertheless, the work carried out so far to address this issue is mainly related to beam-column type struc- tures. Although this structural configuration is recommended by design rules for conventional building for instance, it is not forbid- den to consider wall based structures (even irregular) for conven- tional applications. One of the originalities of the research exposed in this paper resides in this key point. In addition, the fact of assessing the seismic response of a RC structure equipped with thermal break components that exhibits torsional effects is also a key point since the thermal break components have not been ini- tially designed to withstand torsion. Within the framework of the European research project Seismic Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies (SERIES) financially sup- ported by the 7th frame research program, experimental and numerical studies of the seismic behavior of an asymmetric half- scaled mock-up equipped with thermal break components have been carried out. The objectives of this research project are (i) to http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2015.03.017 0141-0296/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: Benjamin.Richard@cea.fr (B. Richard). Engineering Structures 92 (2015) 29–45 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Engineering Structures journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct