Seismic performance of precast concrete shear wall structure with improved assembly horizontal wall connections

This study focuses on the seismic performance of precast concrete shear wall (PCSW) structures with improved assembly horizontal wall (AHW) connections. An improved AHW connection in a PCSW structure is first designed; its design approach, working mechanism, and construction method are described in detail. Then, two 1/4-scaled structure models-a PCSW structure model and a cast-in situ concrete shear wall (CCSW) structure model-are designed and constructed. The dynamic properties and seismic responses of the two structure models are compared via shaking table tests. The test results reveal that under earthquakes, the PCSW structure and the CCSW structure have similar failure processes, failure shapes, absolute acceleration responses, inter-storey drift responses, shear force responses, and shear-weight ratio responses; the improved AHW connections in the PCSW structure are useful and effective and can consequently meet the seismic requirements for wall. Finally, seismic responses of the PCSW structure are numerically simulated using the OpenSees software. The calculation results show that the seismic responses of the PCSW structure can be simulated using the OpenSees software under the assumptions that the mechanical performance of the AHW connection is akin to that of the equivalent cast-in-place connection and the longitudinal rebars in the AHW connection region are continuous.