Mechanical performance study of coupled partially encased composite shear walls with double replaceable fuse components

Abstract

The partially encased composite (PEC) shear wall is a promising resistance structure. To focus structural post-earthquake damage on replaceable components and facilitate convenient repair after an earthquake, this paper introduces replaceable footings and replaceable coupling beams into the coupled PEC shear wall, forming a double replaceable component coupled PEC (RCPEC) shear wall. The design methodology for the replaceable components is presented, emphasizing theoretical analysis to control the bearing capacity and ensure equal stiffness after replacement. The validity of the coupled PEC (CPEC) shear wall is verified through ABAQUS. Additionally, based on the coupling ratio (CR) theory, three six-story CPEC shear walls and three six-story RCPEC shear walls are designed for pushover analysis. This paper investigates the influence of the coupling ratio and replaceable components on mechanical and seismic performance. Furthermore, the post-earthquake rehabilitation of CPEC and RCPEC shear walls is evaluated, specifying the evaluation method. Based on research results, the installation of replaceable coupling beams and replaceable wall footings effectively controls damage, with the RCPEC shear walls exhibiting earlier coupling beam yielding compared to wall limb yielding. As the CR increases, the inter-story drift ratio of all shear walls gradually decreases. To ensure satisfactory structural post-earthquake recovery performance, the CR for CPEC shear walls to be 0.35, and for RCPEC shear walls to be within the range of 0.35 to 0.45 are recommended.