Seismic performance of innovative prefabricated reinforced recycled concrete shear walls

Abstract

In this study, the seismic performance of innovative prefabricated recycled concrete shear walls has been investigated. Unlike the conventional grouting sleeve connections, the "button-head bars" grouting connections to connect the walls have been proposed. Four shear wall specimens with different construction types (two semi-prefabricated, one fully-prefabricated, and one cast-in-place) were tested under low-cyclic loading. The fully-prefabricated wall was connected to the foundation only using the proposed button-head bars; while for the semi-prefabricated walls, the two cast-in-place concealed columns were arranged at both edges of the wall. The failure modes, hysteretic behavior, skeleton curves, strength, ductility, stiffness and degradation process, energy dissipation, and strain characteristics were investigated. The influence of axial force ratio and construction type on the seismic performance of the shear walls was analyzed. The results showed that the seismic performance of semi-prefabricated shear walls and cast-in-place shear walls was similar. The shear slip for the cast-in-place, semi-prefabricated, and fully-prefabricated shear walls was 0.3 mm, 0.32 mm, and 0.78 mm, respectively. The cast-in-place concealed columns could effectively limit horizontal shear slip. An increase in the axial force ratio significantly enhanced the strength and energy dissipation capacity of semi-prefabricated specimens. The ultimate strength according to different design codes was calculated, with the Chinese GB-50010 design code providing the most accurate prediction of the strength of prefabricated shear walls.