Experimental Evaluation of the Seismic Response of Precast Wall Connections
Emanuele Brunesi1, Roberto Nascimbene1, Simone Peloso1
1 EUCENTRE, European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering
Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy
emanuele.brunesi@eucentre.it
roberto.nascimbene@eucentre.it
simone.peloso@eucentre.it
Abstract. The research described in this paper was conducted to investigate the seismic behaviour of a lightly reinforced precast concrete wall system that is typical in northern European regions characterized by little or no natural seismicity. Six full-scale panels representative of those commonly used for low- to mid-rise precast residential multi-unit terraced buildings in the Groningen region were pseudostatically tested under in-plane cyclic loads. Damage mechanisms and hysteretic capacity curves of wall assemblies with and without openings in their layout were presented to examine the seismic performance of these panels and their connections at progressively increased drift amplitudes. All specimens were found to collapse by a premature shear failure of their panel-to-panel joints, which in turn were proven to be the weakest link of the wall system tested. Trends were discussed in terms of stiffness degradation and energy dissipation with the number of applied cycles and the imposed drift level. Push-pull tests of four panel subassemblies with variable wall thickness were also performed to specifically characterize the seismic response of this type of joint under asymmetric out-of-plane loading. Visible pinching and low energy dissipation capacity were shown for this type of connection system. Noteworthy is that the cyclic tests on precast panels and connections described here are the first step of a comprehensive experimental research program that will involve also the testing of two nominally identical two-story full-scale specimens, one of them cyclically in pseudostatic fashion, and the other one dynamically on the shake table of the Eucentre laboratory.
Keywords: Prefabricated structures, Lightly reinforced walls, Wall-to-wall connections, Pseudostatic tests.
