Experimental Study of Self-Centering Shear Walls with Horizontal Bottom Slits

Abstract

This paper introduces a new design form for prestressed shear walls with horizontal bottom slits utilizing cast-in-place technology. Horizontal slits are placed symmetrically at the wall-foundation interface of prestressed shear walls while the concrete in the middle of the wall width remains connected with the foundation. Furthermore, unbonded prestressed tendons inside the wall are adopted to provide self-centering ability. Tests on prestressed self-centering shear walls with horizontal bottom slits under cyclic loading were conducted to investigate their seismic performance. Test results were analyzed from the tests, and a comparison was made among traditional shear wall and self-centering shear walls with horizontal bottom slits of different configurations. The experimental results indicate that the tested cast-in-place shear walls exhibit excellent self-centering ability with the lateral load capacity similar to traditional shear walls. The quantity and distribution range of the cracking in the walls were significantly reduced, to the advantage of damage reduction. The flexural/shear deformations and the strains of the walls were limited to a very low level as the deformations were concentrated at the bottom of the shear walls. According to the results of the tests, an analysis method was presented to calculate the flexural strength of the proposed shear walls.