Development of a new connection for precast concrete walls subjected to cyclic loading

The Industrialized Building System （IBS） was recently introduced to minimize the time and cost of project construction. Accordingly, ensuring the integration of the connection of precast components in IBS structures is an important factor that ensures stability of buildings subjected to dynamic loads from earthquakes, vehicles, and machineries. However, structural engineers still lack knowledge on the proper connection and detailed joints o fiBS structure construction. Therefore, this study proposes a special precast concrete wall-to-wall connection system for dynamic loads that resists multidirectional imposed loads and reduces vibration effects （PI2014701723）. This system is designed to connect two adjacent precast wall panels by using two steel U-shaped channels （i.e., male and female joints）. During casting, each joint is adapted for incorporation into a respective wall panel after considering the following conditions： one side of the steel channel opens into the thickness face of the panel; a U-shaped rubber is implemented between the two channels to dissipate the vibration effect; and bolts and nuts are used to create an extension between the two U-shaped male and female steel channels. The developed finite element model of the precast wall is subjected to cyclic loads to evaluate the performance of the proposed connection during an imposed dynamic load. Connection performance is then compared with conventional connections based on the energy dissipation, stress, deformation, and concrete damage in the plastic range. The proposed precast connection is capable of exceeding the energy absorption of precast walls subjected to dynamic load, thereby improving its resistance behavior in all principal directions.

Shaking table experimental study of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures

In this study, four 1/5 scaled shaking table tests were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures with different recycled aggregates replacement rates and concealed bracing detail. The four tested structures included one normal concrete model, one recycled coarse aggregate concrete model, and two recycled coarse and fi ne aggregate concrete models with or without concealed bracings inside the shear walls. The dynamic characteristics, dynamic response and failure mode of each model were compared and analyzed. Finite element models were also developed and nonlinear time-history response analysis was conducted. The test and analysis results show that the seismic performance of the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure is slightly worse than the normal concrete structure. The seismic resistance capacity of the recycled concrete frame-shear wall structure can be greatly improved by setting up concealed bracings inside the walls. With appropriate design, the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure and recycled concrete structure with concealed bracings inside the walls can be applied in buildings.

Experimental and analytical study on seismic behavior of steel-concrete multienergy dissipation composite shear walls

In this paper, a steel-concrete multi-energy dissipation composite shear wall, comprised of steel-reinforced concrete （SRC） columns, steel plate （SP） deep beams, a concrete wall and energy dissipation strips, is proposed. In order to study the multi-energy dissipation behavior and restorability after an earthquake, two stages of low cyclic loading tests were carded out on ten test specimens. In the first stage, test on five specimens with different number of SP deep beams was carried out, and the test lasted until the displacement drift reached 2%. In the second stage, thin SPs were welded to both sides of the five specimens tested in the first stage, and the same test was carried out on the repaired specimens （designated as new specimens）. The load-bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, hysteretic behavior and failure characteristics were analyzed for both stages and the results are discussed herein. Extrapolating from these results, strength calculation models and formulas are proposed herein and simulations using ABAQUS carried out, they show good agreement with the test results. The study demonstrates that SRC columns, SP deep beams, concrete wall and energy dissipation strips cooperate well and play an important role in energy dissipation. In addition, this study shows that the shear wall has good recoverability after an earthquake, and that the welding of thin SP＇s to repair a deformed wall is a practicable technique.

Research on seismic performance of shear walls with concrete filled steel tube columns and concealed steel trusses

In order to further improve the seismic performance of RC shear walls, a new composite shear wall with concrete filled steel tube （CFT） columns and concealed steel trusses is proposed. This new shear wall is a double composite shear wall; the first composite being the use of three different force systems, CFT, steel truss and shear wall, and the second the use of two different materials, steel and concrete. Three 1/5 scaled experimental specimens： a traditional RC shear wall, a shear wall with CFT columns, and a shear wall with CFT columns and concealed steel trusses, were tested under cyclic loading and the seismic performance indices of the shear walls were comparatively analyzed. Based on the data from these experiments, a thorough elastic-plastic finite element analysis and parametric analysis of the new shear walls were carried out using ABAQUS software. The finite element results of deformation, stress distribution, and the evolution of cracks in each phase were compared with the experimental results and showed good agreement. A mechanical model was also established for calculating the load-carrying capacity of the new composite shear walls. The results show that this new type of shear wall has improved seismic performance over the other two types of shear wails tested.

Numerical Modeling Strategy for the Simulation of Nonlinear Response of Slender Reinforced Concrete Structural Walls

A three-dimensional nonlinear modeling strategy for simulating the seismic response of slender reinforced concrete structural walls with different cross-sectional shapes is presented in this paper.A combination of nonlinear multi-layer shell elements and displacement-based beam-column elements are used to model the unconfined and confined parts of the walls,respectively.A uniaxial material model for reinforcing steel bars that includes buckling and low-cyclic fatigue effects is used to model the longitudinal steel bars within the structural walls.The material model parameters related to the buckling length are defined based on an analytical expression for reinforcing steel bars embedded in reinforced concrete elements,which are developed based on beam-on-springs model,and validated with experimental tests of boundary elements of structural walls available in the literature.Six experimental case studies of reinforced concrete walls with rectangularshape,T-shape,and U-shape cross-section are used to validate the structural wall numerical modeling strategy.

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Mechanical Performance of Reinforced Concrete Short-Limb Shear Wall

On the basis of test, nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforcedconcrete (R. C) short-limb shear walls under monotonic horizontal load are carried out by ANSYSprogram in order to understand the evolution of cracking, deformation and failure course of thespecimens. At the same time, the results of numerical calculation are compared with the results oftest. The results indicate that, under monotonic horizontal load the failures of the specimens withflange wall and without flange wall all occur at the intersections of lintel bottom and limb ofwall, the failures also occur at the bottom of limb; the load-displacement curve of wall withoutflange is steeper than that of wall with flange, and the ductility is worse than that of wall withflange; the results, such as cracking, deformation, yield load and so on of finite element analysisagree well with the results of test. These results provide theoretical basis of study andapplication of R. C short-limb shear wall.

Post-fire cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete shear walls

The effects of fire exposure,reinforcement ratio and the presence of axial load under fire on the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete(RC) shear walls were investigated.Five RC shear walls were tested under low cyclic loading.Prior to the cyclic test,three specimens were exposed to fire and two of them were also subjected to a constant axial load.Test results indicate that the ultimate load of the specimen with lower reinforcement ratio is reduced by 15.8%after exposure to elevated temperatures.While the reductions in the energy dissipation and initial stiffness are 59.2%and 51.8%,respectively,which are much higher than those in the ultimate load.However,this deterioration can be slowed down by properly increasing reinforcement due to the strength and stiffness recovery of steel bars after cooling.In addition,the combined action of elevated temperatures and axial load results in more energy dissipation than the action of fire exposure alone.

Investigation on Cracking of Concrete Shear Wall under Exceeded Temperature Differences Rate

In situ, the changes of temperature, deformation, and stressing of steel bar of C40 reinforced concrete shear wall were measured, respectively. The results are obvious that the temperature change of climate is one of the most effective factors which could lead the concrete shear wall to cracking at earlier age. The temperature differences between inside and outside concrete shear wall are so large that the concrete will gain larger shrinkage. This larger shrinkage which is caused by the temperature reducing ratio will gain the strained action of head, end and reinforced steel bar of concrete shear wall. This action can lead to tensile stress on the surface and inside concrete shear wall. If the tensile stress would exceed the pull strength of concrete, the concrete shear wall would crack and cause deterioration. Thus, the enhancing curing of concrete shear wall in suit at earlier age, and controlling temperature reducing ratio and deform caused by shrinkage, will be available treatments which control occurring and developing of cracking on concrete shear wall.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF TENSILE CAPACITY OF CONCRETE IN RC SHEAR WALLS AFTER CRACKING

Through the test of 8 RC shear wall specimens and computer analysis ofstrains of steel bars with keyways in the specimens,the authors have studied the remains oftensile stress of concrete between cracks after concrete cracking and put forward a formulato calculate coefficient Ψ,the ununiform distribution factor of steel strain.This coefficientcan be used to modify the calculated steel strain in cracked zone,so as to make the resultsof using finite clement method to analyze shear walls more accurate.

Formwork lateral pressure of precast normal-concrete composite shear walls infilled with self-compacting concrete

Wall cracking and mold expanding due to concrete vibrations can be effectively solved through the application of precast normal-concrete composite shear walls infilled with self-compacting concrete(SCC). However, the high liquidity of SCC will induce a higher lateral pressure. Therefore, it is important to obtain a better understanding of the template lateral pressure. In this work, nine composite shear walls were experimentally investigated, focusing on the effects of two parameters, i.e., the casting rate and the section width of the formwork. The time-varying pressure was monitored during the SCC pouring. It is found that the increase of casting rate from 3.2 m/h to 10.3 m/h resulted in a higher maximum lateral pressure. The higher casting rate led to a longer time required for the lateral pressure to drop to a steady value. There was no correlation between the section width and the rate of decrease in the initial formwork pressure and stable value. Based on the test results, a formula considering the effect of casting speed for the calculation of SCC formwork pressure was established to fill the gap in the current standards and for engineering applications.

Experimental Study on Improving Seismic Behavior of Load-Bearing Masonry Wall Made of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

To investigate the seismic behavior of autoclaved aerated concrete load-bearing masonry wall(AACLMW), a piece of control block wall without constructional measures and five pieces of block walls with different constructional measures were tested under low reversed cyclic loading which imitated low to moderate earthquake force. The seismic behavior of AACLMW with different constructional measures in terms of failure mode, hysteretic curve, deformation capacity and displacement ductility was studied and compared with that without constructional measures. The experimental results indicate that the constructional measures comprising constructional columns and horizontal concrete strips are effective for improving the seismic behavior of AACLMW. The study in this paper can provide a reliable experimental basis for further analysis and engineering application of AACLMW in the future.

Assessment of seismic design response factors of concrete wall buildings

To verify the seismic design response factors of high-rise buildings, five reference structures, varying in height from 20- to 60-stories, were selected and designed according to modern design codes to represent a wide range of concrete wall structures. Verified fiber-based analytical models for inelastic simulation were developed, considering the geometric nonlinearity and material inelasticity of the structural members. The ground motion uncertainty was accounted for by employing 20 earthquake records representing two seismic scenarios, consistent with the latest understanding of the tectonic setting and seismicity of the selected reference region （UAE）. A large number of Inelastic Pushover Analyses （IPAs） and Incremental Dynamic Collapse Analyses （IDCAs） were deployed for the reference structures to estimate the seismic design response factors. It is concluded that the factors adopted by the design code are adequately conservative. The results of this systematic assessment of seismic design response factors apply to a wide variety of contemporary concrete wall buildings with various characteristics.

Experimental studies on behavior of fully grouted reinforced-concrete masonry shear walls

An experimental study is conducted on fully grouted reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSWs) made from concrete blocks with a new configuration. Ten RMSWs are tested under reversed cyclic lateral load to investigate the influence of different reinforcements and applied axial stress values on their seismic behavior. The results show that flexural strength increases with the applied axial stress, and shear strength dominated by diagonal cracking increases with both the amount of horizontal reinforcement and applied axial stress. Yield displacement, ductility, and energy dissipation capability can be improved substantially by increasing the amount of horizontal reinforcement. The critical parameters for the walls are derived from the experiment: displacement ductility values corresponding to 15% strength degradation of the walls reach up to 2.6 and 4.5 in the shear and flexure failure modes, respectively; stiffness values of flexure- and shear-dominated walls rapidly degrade to 17%–19% and 48%–57% of initial stiffness at 0.50 Dmax (displacement at peak load). The experiment suggests that RMSWs could be assigned a higher damping ratio (～14%) for collapse prevention design and a lower damping value (～7%) for a fully operational limit state or serviceability limit state.

Performance index limits of high reinforced concrete shear wall components

The deformation performance index limits of high reinforced concrete(RC) shear wall components based on Chinese codes were discussed by the nonlinear finite element method.Two typical RC shear wall specimens in the previous work were first used to verify the correctness of the nonlinear finite element method.Then,the nonlinear finite element method was applied to study the deformability of a set of high RC shear wall components designed according to current Chinese codes and with shear span ratio λ≥2.0.Parametric studies were made on the influence of shear span ratio,axial compression ratio,ratio of flexural capacity to shear capacity and main flexural reinforcement ratio of confined boundary members.Finally,the deformation performance index and its limits of high RC shear wall components under severe earthquakes were proposed by the finite element model results,which offers a reference in determining the performance status of RC shear wall components designed based on Chinese codes.

Long-lived neutron-induced radioisotopes in OKTAVIAN facility concrete wall after 38 year-operation

An intense 14 MeV neutron source facility named OKTAVIAN was installed in the A15 building,Osaka University in 1981.Along the operation period,new radioisotopes with various half-life have been produced as neutron activation products in its concrete wall shield.In this work,we investigated the concrete wall in the heavy irradiation room of OKTAVIAN using gamma spectrometry method to discover the presence of radioisotope having large half-life value(long-lived radioisotope)as neutron activation products.Computational simulations were performed prior to measurement to predict the presence of long-lived radioisotopes by employing MCNP5 and FISPACT codes.A pre-calibrated Germanium detector with high energy resolution was employed to measure the concrete.Several long-lived activation products have been observed such as 152 Eu,54 Mn,65 Zn,22 Na and 60 Co.The activity of each radioisotope was derived after estimating the detector efficiency using MCNP5.As a result of the measurement and analysis,the followings are concluded:(1)Though presence of activation products represents radiological risk to everyone who performs an experimental activity in the irradiation room of the OKTAVIAN facility,the present result shows that past experiments were carried out safely without any significant additional exposure dose coming from the wall for the last 38 years.(2)The approximated total fluence of D-T neutrons to the wall was successfully estimated from the produced radioisotope,152 Eu,because it has the longest half-life of 13.5 years among the observed radioisotopes.(3)From the results of(1)and(2),it could be possible to estimate the total activity of the concrete wall in the OKTAVIAN facility,which is very essential and important information,because this would be very valuable for decommissioning or disposal of the facility in the future.

Progressive collapse resisting capacity of reinforced concrete load bearing wall structures

Reinforced concrete(RC) load bearing wall is widely used in high-rise and mid-rise buildings. Due to the number of walls in plan and reduction in lateral force portion, this system is not only stronger against earthquakes, but also more economical. The effect of progressive collapse caused by removal of load bearing elements, in various positions in plan and stories of the RC load bearing wall system was evaluated by nonlinear dynamic and static analyses. For this purpose, three-dimensional model of 10-story structure was selected. The analysis results indicated stability, strength and stiffness of the RC load-bearing wall system against progressive collapse. It was observed that the most critical condition for removal of load bearing walls was the instantaneous removal of the surrounding walls located at the corners of the building where the sections of the load bearing elements were changed. In this case, the maximum vertical displacement was limited to 6.3 mm and the structure failed after applying the load of 10 times the axial load bored by removed elements. Comparison between the results of the nonlinear dynamic and static analyses demonstrated that the "load factor" parameter was a reasonable criterion to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of the structure.

Analysis on Construction Quality Control Technology of Reinforced Concrete Shear Wall Structure

In the process of continuous development of construction enterprises, new requirements have been put forward for construction projects. By strengthening the construction quality control of reinforced concrete shear wall structure, the construction level of reinforced concrete can be continuously improved, the construction quality can be guaranteed, and the construction project can be successfully completed, which is worthy of extensive application and promotion in construction enterprises, thus providing a broader development space for construction enterprises.

Elasto-plastic Analysis of High-strength Concrete Shear Wall with Boundary Columns Using Fiber Model

In this study,an experimental study and numerical calculations using fiber model were conducted for four high-strength concrete shear walls with boundary columns under low cyclic load.The boundary column and shear wall were divided into fiber elements,and PERFORM-3D finite element analysis software was used to carry out push-over analysis on the test specimens.The results show that the finite element analysis results were in good agreement with the experimental results.The proposed analysis method could perform elasto-plastic analysis on the high-strength concrete shear wall with boundary columns without distinguishing the categories of frame column and shear wall.The seismic performance of high-strength concrete shear wall with boundary columns was analyzed using the following parameters:axis compression ratio,height to width ratio,ratio of vertical reinforcement,and ratio of longitudinal reinforcement in the boundary column.The results show that the increase in the axial compression ratio causes the bearing capacity of the shear wall to increase at first and then to decrease and causes the ductility to decrease.The increase in the height to width ratio causes the bearing capacity of the shear wall to decrease and its ductility to increase.The ratio of vertical reinforcement was found to have little effect on the bearing capacity and ductility.The increase in the ratio of longitudinal reinforcement in boundary column resulted in a significant increase in the bearing capacity and caused the ductility to decrease at first and then to slowly increase.

Static behavior of semi-rigid thin-walled steel-concrete composite beam-to-column joints with bolted partial-depth flush end plate:experimental study

A new type of semi-rigid thin-walled steel-concrete composite beam-to-column joint has been proposed in this paper.Five semi-rigid composite beam-to-column joint specimens subjected to hogging moments under monotonic loading were tested to study the static behavior of this new type of joint.The main variable parameters for the five joint specimens were the longitudinal reinforcement ratio and the joint type.The experimental results designated that the magnitude of extension of the longitudinal reinforcement is the most important factor that influenced the moment-rotation characteristic of the new type of joint.The concrete slabs could resist 3.8%-19.1% of the total shear load applied to the cross-sections near the beam-to-column connection.The edge stiffened elements,such as the flange of the lipped I-section thin-walled steel beam,were capable of having considerable inelastic deformation capacity although they had comparatively large width-to-thickness ratios.The shear failure of the concrete cantilever edge strip must be taken into account in practical design because it has significant influence on the anchorage of the longitudinal reinforcement in the new type of external joints.