Metal wythe connectors are used in a typical precast concrete sandwich panel to tie concrete wythes together and to keep the panel intact during handling and in service. Connectors interrupt the continuous insulation layer, reducing the effectiveness of the insulation. In current practice, thermal resistance ( R -value) of such a panel is calculated from the zone method. However, the zone width parameter W used in the zone method was originally developed for metal-frame structures and an accurate R -value cannot be estimated for precast concrete sandwich panels containing metal wythe connectors. This paper proposes a new zone-width equation for use in the heR -value of precast concrete sandwich panels containing the metal wythe connectors. The proposed zone width Wn was derived from the results of a series of finite element heat-transferanalyses intended to quantify the influence of several key parameters on Wn. It was found that the zone method with the proposed zone-width equation can accurately estimate R-values of a precast concrete sandwich panel containing metal wythe connectors. Also, the proposed zone-width equation can effectively consider the effects of metal wythe connector sizes and spacing, material conductivities, and panel thicknesses in the zone method of R-value computation.
