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A system‐level shake‐table test of a two‐story low‐damage concrete wall building was conducted in 2019. The test building consisted of unbonded post‐tensioned (UPT) walls with perimeter frames and different wall‐to‐floor connections to provide deformation compatibility. The test results highlighted that the measured lateral strength of the building notably exceeded the design value. This over‐strength was largely attributed to the compatibility deformations imposed on the floor systems. Previous simulation results from planar models also underestimated the building global response and lateral strength, so a modified model was developed to improve the accuracy by accounting for the system‐level interactions. The floor slab out‐of‐plane strength was assessed by the floor slab models using shell elements to quantify their response when subjected to deformations induced by the UPT wall uplift. In addition, the unintended effects of the beam‐to‐floor connection strength were also calculated. The strength contributions from the floor and connections were included in the planar frame models using lumped rotational springs located at the slotted‐beam joints. Lastly, the models were also updated to include flexibility in the connections of the energy dissipations at the wall bases based on test observations. Nonlinear time history analysis of the updated models for unidirectional loading cases demonstrated an improved calculation of the test results for both the global and local responses. When considering the floor interaction in the updated models, the absolute relative errors of peak overturning moments reduced from 35.4% to 15.6% averagely for the longitudinal direction, and from 23.1% to 14.1% averagely for the transverse direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To support the development of low‐damage concrete structures, a system‐level shake‐table test of a two‐story concrete wall building implementing state‐of‐the‐art design concepts was conducted using the multi‐functional shake‐table array at Tongji University as part of an international collaborative project. The test building was designed with a perimeter frame and exterior post‐tensioned concrete walls in both directions. Different floor systems and wall‐to‐floor connections were incorporated in the test building to compare a number of design concepts and construction details. A range of energy dissipation devices were installed at the wall base and/or slotted‐beam joints of the test building. To simulate the test building response during the shake‐table tests, numerical models of the test building in both the longitudinal and transverse directions were established in OpenSees. Because the test building utilized flexible and isolated wall‐to‐floor connections that specifically reduced potential wall‐to‐floor interaction, planar frame numerical models were selected to represent the test building in each direction of loading. In the models, fiber hinge elements were used to simulate the unbonded post‐tensioned walls and a modified multi‐truss spring method was adopted to simulate the slotted‐beam joints with and without dampers. Inelastic time‐history analyses of the numerical models were conducted considering three earthquake intensities and comparisons of the test and simulation responses of the building are presented. The simulation results showed that the analytical model established in this study could reasonably predict both the global and local responses of the test building under different shaking intensities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A shake-table test of a 2-story full-scale low-damage concrete wall building was conducted on the multifunctional shake-table array at Tongji University to validate the system-level dynamic response of this type of building. The test building implemented state-of-art low-damage structural systems, including post-tensioned (PT) precast concrete walls, precast concrete frames with slotted beam connections, and a variety of energy-dissipating devices. The building was subjected to 39 separate earthquake tests, consisting of a range of structural design configurations and ground motions including different intensity records, far-field and near-fault records, and short- and long-duration records. The test data and documentation recorded throughout the project have provided a significant high-quality data set for improving understanding both global and local response of post-tensioning concrete wall buildings. The data set has been published and is publicly available. The methodology of the test documentation and data collection for each stage of the project are described, and a road map for navigating the archived data set is provided to support its future use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing need to reduce damage and downtime in modern buildings has led to the development of a low‐damage design philosophy, where the earthquake loads can be resisted with damage confined to easily replaceable components. Post‐tensioned (PT) concrete walls have emerged as a popular low‐damage structural system that have been implemented in a range of buildings. In order to provide essential evidence to support the development of low‐damage concrete structures, a system‐level shake‐table test was conducted on a two‐storey low‐damage concrete wall building implementing state‐of‐art design concepts. The test building included PT rocking walls that provide the primary lateral‐load resistance in both directions, a frame that utilized slotted beam connections, and a range of alternative energy dissipation devices that were installed at wall base or/and beam‐column joints. The building was subjected to 39 tests with a range of intensity ground motions, incorporating both unidirectional and bidirectional ground motions on the structure with different combinations of wall strength and energy dissipating devices. The building performed exceptionally well during the intense series of tests, confirming the suitability of both the design methods and the connection detailing implemented. The building achieved an immediate occupancy performance objective even when subjected to maximum considered earthquake hazard shaking. The building exhibited only minor damage at the conclusion of testing, with distributed cracking in the floors and cosmetic spalling in the wall toes that did not compromise structural capacity or integrity and could be easily repaired with minimal disruption. The test has provided a rich dataset that is available for further analysis of the building response and validation of design methods and numerical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of reinforced concrete wall tests were conducted at the University of Auckland to address the lack of experimental data on flexure-dominant lightly reinforced concrete walls that are common in multistorey buildings in regions of low or moderate seismicity. The experimental program comprised 11 rectangular reinforced concrete walls that were subjected to pseudo-static cyclic loading. The tests were used to investigate minimum vertical reinforcement provisions for reinforced concrete walls and formed the basis for revisions to the New Zealand Concrete Structures Standard NZS 3101 and the US Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete ACI 318. The recorded documentation and data collected throughout the test program have provided a high-quality dataset that is a valuable resource to researchers investigating the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete walls. The dataset is published and publicly available on DesignSafe-CI with the project number PRJ-1648. The methodology of the data collection is described, and a road map for navigating the dataset is presented to support future use of the archived dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The benchmark wall formed multiple flexural cracks for even curvature distribution. • Debonding of reinforcement helped to distribute strain and delay bar buckling. • An improved debonding detail is suggested for future evaluation. • Walls with advanced cementitious materials had increased crack propagation initially. • Walls with advanced cementitious materials fell short of expectations at large drifts. As a consequence of recent earthquakes in New Zealand, many concrete buildings have been demolished due to structural damage. Observations of damage to concrete walls led to substantial research and revisions to design standards to ensure that a satisfactory ductile response was achieved. However, even when the current performance objectives of the design standards are met, reinforced concrete walls may still require extensive or costly post-earthquake repairs. The objective of this project was to evaluate simple modifications to conventional reinforced concrete walls to increase their repairability. Four modified walls were constructed and subjected to cyclic lateral in-plane loading until failure, and compared to a previously tested conventional ductile reinforced concrete benchmark wall that failed at 2.5% drift. The modifications considered included debonding of reinforcement at the wall base, substituting fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) for conventional concrete, and substituting engineered cementitious composite (ECC) for conventional concrete in the ends of the plastic hinge region (applied in two walls). Debonding delayed vertical reinforcement buckling, but failure occurred shortly thereafter (2.5% drift) due to constricted movement of the buckled bars within the debonding sleeves. The FRC and both ECC walls had increased crack propagation up to a drift demand of 0.5%, but then the cracks localized to a single dominant crack and the walls failed at drifts lower than the benchmark wall (about 1.5%). Modifications of the tested details are recommended for future test programs that investigate the repairability of concrete walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]