Research on seismic performance of light steel keel frame-water glass modified recycled brick aggregate concrete wall panels

• Light steel keel frame-recycled brick aggregate concrete wall panels (SFRBC) were developed. • Seismic performance indicators of SFRBC wall panels were evaluated. • Equations for the seismic shear capacity of SFRBC wall panels were proposed. • The mechanical properties and sustainability of SFRBC wall panels were improved by modifying brick aggregate with water glass. To respond to the new urbanization construction in northern China and to develop a green building material wall system, this study proposes a new wall panel structure: light steel keel frame-recycled brick aggregate concrete (SFRBC) wall panels. The brick aggregate in the wall panels was strengthened using the water-glass immersion method before preparing the specimens. To study the seismic performance of SFRBC wall panels, quasi-static tests were conducted on three SFRBC wall panels of different thicknesses and cross-sectional forms: 120mm-solid (SRW-1), 120mm-hollow (SRW-2), 100mm-solid (SRW-3), and one ordinary concrete wall panel (SCW-1), and the performance of different specimens in terms of failure process, hysteresis behavior and stiffness degradation was analyzed and compared. Test results indicate that SRW-1 has a 14 % lower load-bearing capacity than SCW-1. Nonetheless, the SFRBC wall panels demonstrated strong seismic performance, providing sufficient safety and stability. The difference in stiffness loss values between SRW-1 and SCW-1 at the peak displacement is about 5.7 %, and the stiffness degradation is similar for both. As the thickness of the wall panels increased, the ultimate load capacity of SRW-1 increased by 29.7 % over SRW-3. The ductility of wall panels in solid section form was superior to that of hollow wall panels, with SRW-3 showing a 23.6 % improvement over SRW-2. Additionally, the formula for calculating the shear capacity of SFRBC wall panels was derived and validated based on a simplified mechanical model. This study provides a theoretical basis for applying SFRBC wall panels in village building structures.