Seismic response of precast, posttensioned concrete jointed wall systems designed for low- to midrise buildings using the direct displacement-based approach

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of seismic performance of precast, posttensioned concrete jointed wall systems designed for five-, seven-, and ten-story buildings. These buildings were designed using the direct displacement approach to reduce the design base shear compared with the force-based design approach. Using earthquake motions of different intensities, the performance of each building was evaluated using response parameters such as the maximum transient interstory drift, floor acceleration, and residual interstory drift. The three buildings performed satisfactorily in terms of the maximum transient interstory drift and residual interstory drift for all seismic events. In some cases the maximum floor accelerations of the sevenand ten-story buildings exceeded the acceptable limits, and thus a strategy to control floor accelerations in these buildings by modifying the wall dimensions is suggested. It was identified that the low-rise building achieved transient interstory drifts closer to the acceptable limits than the taller buildings. An opposite trend was observed regarding the floor acceleration. In taller jointed wall systems, the average interstory drift of the building was less sensitive to the increase in maximum interstory drift than that in a low-rise, jointed wall system.