Parametric Studies on Seismic Performance of New Precast Braced Concrete Shear Walls under Cyclic Loading

A new precast concrete (PC) shear wall system with diagonal-shaped or cross-shaped concealed bracing was developed and experimentally validated, owning sufficient energy-dissipation capacity, in a previous study. Given that the seismic performance of such precast braced concrete shear (PBCS) walls is not comprehensively understood, this paper numerically investigates the influences of axial load ratio (ALR) and various reinforcement ratios (RRs) on the mechanical behavior of PBCS walls under cyclic loading. For this purpose, the numerical models based on the layered-shell element are developed to analyze the PBCS walls and validated regarding the deformation capacity of experimental results. A total of 156 PBCS wall models with different ALRs, longitudinal RRs of the boundary columns and bracing, and horizontal and vertical web RRs are established and tested under cyclic loading. It is concluded that the effects of bracing RR and horizontal web RR on the hysteretic responses are negligible and thus can be designed as the minimum suggested by the codes. However, the ALR, boundary column RR, and vertical web RR can significantly affect the lateral bearing capacity and displacement ductility of PBCS walls. In addition, the ALR limits for both types of PBCS walls are presented to satisfy the ductility requirements. Moreover, the simplified formulations regarding the bearing capacity and ductility of PBCS walls are proposed, respectively, which show good agreement with the numerical results. The outcomes of this research not only provide an in-depth understanding on the seismic behavior of the PBCS walls, but also promote the design code expansion and potential engineering application of such new types of PC shear walls. STENG-11556. (c) 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Automated summary

This paper numerically investigates the influences of axial load ratio and various reinforcement ratios on the mechanical behavior of precast braced concrete shear walls. The effects of bracing ratio and horizontal web ratio on the hysteretic responses are negligible, while the axial load ratio, boundary column ratio, and vertical web ratio significantly affect the lateral bearing capacity and displacement ductility of the walls. The research provides an in-depth understanding of the seismic behavior of these walls and promotes the design code expansion and potential engineering application of such new types of shear walls.