Experimental study on seismic performance of precast hollow shear walls.

Summary: This paper puts forward a new type of the precast hollow shear wall. Focusing on seismic performance, the low‐frequency cyclic loading tests of five precast specimens and two cast‐in‐situ specimens in full size are conducted for comparison. The yielding and failure mechanism of specimens are analyzed and compared. The reliability of the vertical connection of precast hollow shear wall structure under the seismic effect is studied. The effects of axial compression ratio, single reinforcement connection in the central part, and confined stirrup for lapped reinforcements in boundary elements are also tested through experiments. The result shows that the failure mechanism of the precast specimen is basically same as the cast‐in‐situ specimen. The hysteretic curve of the precast specimen is plumper. And the energy dissipation capacity of precast specimen is superior to that of cast‐in‐situ specimen. In addition, the experimental data show that the buckled stirrup encryption for lapped steel in boundary elements will not increase the seismic performance of the proposed precast specimen. On the whole, the seismic performance of the proposed precast hollow shear wall can meet the safety requirements. Hence, it can be used in actual engineering project replacing cast‐in‐situ shear wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]