Seismic Performance Study on Self-centering Wall Structure with Infill Walls

Self-centering (SC) precast concrete wall structures are recognized as a highly effective earthquake-resilient system, displaying remarkable structural integrity with minimal damage and manageable residual drift. However, achieving optimal seismic performance necessitates the harmonization of both structural and non-structural elements. This paper focuses on the infill wall and studies the self-centering precast concrete wall structure incorporating infill walls from two perspectives. Firstly, it provides an evaluation of SC precast concrete wall structures incorporating existing masonry infill walls, which included conventional infill walls and new slippage infill walls. The results demonstrate that while the SC wall remains undamaged, evident damage can occur in the integral system due to the condition of the attached infills. Specifically, stronger traditional infill walls tend to lead to more severe damage in the integral system, whereas the system with slippage joints exhibits the best performance in terms of damage. However, the benefit of reduced damage with slippage joint infills comes at the cost of larger drift responses compared to conventional infills. Therefore, there is a need to develop a new infill that not only effectively reduces damage and displacement but also minimizes acceleration. Secondly, in addressing the aforementioned concerns, this study introduces a novel set of infill walls that integrate sliding mechanisms and higher damping. An experimental investigation of self-centering wall structures with these new infills is conducted. The test outcomes demonstrate the remarkable qualities of the proposed infill walls, exhibiting low damage levels and substantial energy dissipation capacity.