Abstract
This study evaluated the material-level properties and full-scale structural response of three-layer concrete sandwich wall panels containing a rice-husk lightweight concrete (RHLC) core.Five RHLC mixtures were prepared with untreated rice husk as the lightweight organic filler by varying the water-to-cement ratio (0.45-0.55) and compaction coefficient (1.15-1.30).Mix 3, with a hardened density of 511 kg/m³, was selected for the panel core.Laboratory tests included density, cube compressive strength, thermal-conductivity screening, and freeze-thaw screening, followed by eccentric-compression tests on six full-scale panels with and without openings.The selected RHLC exhibited a cube compressive strength of 1.62 MPa, whereas the dense-concrete facings reached 17.10 MPa.Experimental-to-theoretical failure-load ratios ranged from 0.90 to 1.25; the mean absolute percentage error was 10.69%, and close agreement was obtained for WP-1-WP-4.Thermal-conductivity values across the investigated formulations ranged from 0.11 to 0.18 W/(m•K).Supplementary RHLC formulations with densities of 700-900 kg/m³ retained strength coefficients of 0.75-0.82after 35 freeze-thaw cycles; these results were not extrapolated to the 511 kg/m³ core.The study demonstrated the short-term feasibility of using RHLC as a protected, non-load-bearing insulating core, while identifying cold-climate durability and interface behavior as priorities for further validation.