Study on the seismic performance of a new straw ecological composite wall structure

Abstract

Considering the deficiencies of fabricated multiribbed composite wall structures, such as significant deformation in later stages, rapid stiffness degradation, and poor energy-saving effects, a new ecological composite wall structure assembled from straw boards to ribbed grids is proposed. To study the seismic performance, three new wall specimens with a scale ratio of 1:2 were designed and manufactured. This study combined low-cyclic loading tests with finite element simulations. The test results indicate that the failure mode of the new straw ecological composite wall structure is essentially identical to that of traditional cement-based multiribbed composite walls with the same shear span ratio. The primary failure mode is general shear failure. Replacing lightweight cement-based inserts with straw boards can effectively improve the ductility, hysteretic performance, and energy dissipation capacity of composite wall structures, similar to the action of a flexible material damping energy dissipation system. The addition of straw fibres to the regions of ribbed grids can significantly increase the peak displacement and energy dissipation of the composite wall structure. The equivalent viscous damping coefficient can be increased 0.91 times compared to that of an ordinary cement-based composite wall. Finally, ABAQUS software was used to establish the finite element model of the component, and the simulation results were found to be consistent with the test results. This study provides experimental and theoretical support for the popularization and application of this new straw ecological composite wall structure.