Seismic behaviour of anchored prefabricated wall–beam joints of bundled lipped channel-concrete composite wall structures

Abstract

The existing wall–beam joints of bundled lipped channel-concrete composite wall structures (BLC–CCWSs) are mainly fabricated by welding thin-walled steel tubes and hot-rolled steel plates; however, the application of this technology requires further improvement. In this paper, an innovative anchored prefabricated wall–beam joint was presented. The seismic behaviour of joints was studied by cyclic loading tests of four groups of full-scale specimens, and a hysteretic model of joints was established. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) standard joints fail in the ideal beam plastic hinge damage mode, resulting in a good hysteretic characteristics, energy dissipation capacity, stable bearing capacity and stiffness degradation performance. (2) The anchorage length of the embedment, circumferential weld around end plate and the anchor plate have significant influences on the seismic behaviour of the joints. Sufficient anchorage length and the inclusion of the anchor plate and circumferential weld around end plate can delay the pulling out of the embedment and improve the bearing capacity and the hysteretic performance of a joint before failure. (3) The main contributor to the nonlinear deformation of the joints is the plastic hinge rotation or the rotation caused by sliding of the embedment. (4) The beam end strain can be reduced when the flange is widened. The strain distribution of the embedments is not uniform, and the shear strain in the panel zone is small. (5) The established hysteretic model can take the degradation of stiffness and strength into consideration, and thus produces accurate results that are still conservative and that can be applied in engineering practice.