Seismic damage analysis of self-centering concrete wall structure during earthquake

Post-tensioned self-centering concrete walls are well-developed resilient structures. Prior structure-level tests indicate components around the self-centering walls could experience severe damage due to the displacement incompatibility. A self-centering wall-frame building was designed with explicit control of the structure-level damage by considering the low-damage detailing of wall base, wall-to-floor connection, wall/ column-to-foundation connection and beam-column/ wall joints. A shaking table test was conducted on the designed building at full-scale to verify its structure-level response and resilience. The buildings with different configurations and design drifts were subjected to 39 tests with a range of intensity ground motions. A maximum peak ground acceleration of 1. 0g and a maximum drift of 3. 3% were observed during the test. The damage progression of the whole structure, including local components, connections and joints were recorded and analyzed quantitatively. Results show that the structural damage under earthquake can be effectively controlled, the structure does not have obvious damage during frequent earthquake and fortified earthquake. Damage during rare earthquake is concentrated at wall toe with maximum spalling area of 400 cm2, floors with maximum crack of 1. 2 mm and beam ends with no obvious spalling. It is concluded that a combination of self-centering walls and slotted beams can form an excellent low-damage structure and achieve the performance objectives of no damage for frequent and fortified earthquakes and immediate occupancy following rare earthquakes. The connections designed can successfully address the displacement incompatibility issues and improve the structure level resilience significantly. © 2024 Science Press. All rights reserved.