Performance of precast concrete walls with friction bolted connectors

Abstract

To evaluate the performance of prefabricated concrete walls with friction bolted connectors, static (cyclic) and dynamic (time history) analyses were conducted on four one‑story models, four two‑story models with simple arrangement, and four two‑story models with zigzag arrangement. One‑story models have one, two, three, and four panels, respectively. Two‑story models with simple arrangement have one, two, three, and four panels per story, respectively. Two‑story models with zigzag arrangement have two, four, six, and eight panels per story, respectively. The total effective width of panels is the same in all one‑story models and also in all two‑story models. To enhance energy dissipation and ductility, these panels are connected to each other by friction bolted connectors, and self‑centering is achieved by post‑tensioning elements (two elements embedded in each panel), with the total cross‑sectional area of post‑tensioning elements being the same in all models. Seismic performance, hysteresis curves, lateral stiffness, energy dissipation, lateral displacement, permanent lateral displacement, and damage were evaluated and compared. The results show that as panel width decreases (or the number of panels increases), lateral displacement and energy increase, while lateral stiffness, permanent lateral displacement, and damage decrease. In other words, increasing the number of panels (and thus the number of friction bolted connectors) increases the ductility of the models.