Seismic performance assessment of reinforced concrete coupled walls reinforced with different types of shape memory alloys

Novel earthquake-resistant materials are of interest to the academic community because they have the potential to reduce seismic residual displacements and, by extension, maintenance costs. Smart materials and technologies have enhanced the seismic response of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, but the effect of these advancements on issues that arise after earthquakes in RC-coupled walls has not yet been investigated. This research scrutinizes the seismic performance of RC-linked walls reinforced with NiTi, FeNCATB, and CuAlMn superelastic shape memory rebar in the boundary regions. As a part of the case study, three RC-linked wall systems with four, eight, and twelve stories were adopted. The highest critical values for the inter-story drift ratio (IDR) and the residual inter-story drift ratio (RIDR) were obtained through the OpenSees program. According to the results, RIDR markedly reduces whenever concerns about the quake's aftermath are highlighted. In accordance with findings, among the whole adopted shape memory alloy (SMA) types in this research, the RC-coupled wall based on Cu demonstrates superior results concerning RIDR and performs adequately regarding the restoring effect. As a result, seismically involved areas exposed to significant ground motions are typically recommended to use Cu-based SMA material.