Study on seismic performance of PVC cavity partition wall with different connections

To explore the seismic performance of PVC cavity partition wall with different connections, three steel frame specimens with PVC cavity partition wall and one steel frame without such wall were designed and tested under quasi-static tests. The test results showed that the initial stiffness and peak load of the cast-in-place PVC cavity partition wall are large. Its stiffness degradation is obvious under small displacement due to the cracking and corner crushing of the wall at the connecting area. The failure mode of the frame under large displacement is internal splitting and out-of-plane expansion of the wall. The main energy consumption forms of the PVC cavity partition wall using L-shaped connectors are bolt slippage and yield deformation of the connectors. This kind of connector has the smallest improvement in stiffness and bearing capacity of the steel frame. Cement mortar cracking at the joint is the main failure mode. The connection mode of U-shaped and L-shaped connectors is relatively safe and reliable, which could make the steel frame and wall panel work better together under the seismic action. It could be recommended to use according to the bearing capacity requirements; walls connected by reinforcement are not recommended because of brittleness failure, poor ductility, ordinary bearing capacity and energy dissipation capacity. Based on the principle of equivalent tension and compression bar, a simplified formula for calculating the lateral stiffness of PVC cavity partition wall was proposed, and the accuracy of the calculation results was verified. © 2024 Science Press. All rights reserved.