Seismic design and engineering practice of a 10-story self-centering precast concrete wall structure

The increasing expectation of structures capable of fulfilling the requirements of minimizing post-earthquake repair or re-occupancy has led to the emergence of damage-control technologies. In recent years, self-centering precast concrete wall systems that are characterized by low damage as well as full prefabrication have become a popular topic. Previous research has shown that the system is not only capable to reduce the construction time but also has the characteristics of small residual displacement and quick restoration of normal service function after a major earthquake event. Nevertheless, there is still much to be studied for high-rise buildings and practical engineering applications. This paper introduces the process of self-centering precast concrete wall systems from conceptual design to detailing and construction aspects of a 10-story case study building. Specifically, the hybrid type of unbonded post-tensioned wall is adopted with mild steel functioning as the energy-dissipating component. The design and construction of mild steel take into account the requirements of both building function and replaceability. In addition, the lateral resisting system is decoupled from the gravity system using isolated joints for wall-to-floor connection. Various factors such as higher mode effects, torsional effects, and wind loads are considered in the design process in order to achieve the overall high performance of the structure. Finally, the numerical model of the designed structure is established and analyzed under both static and dynamic loading. Results show that the self-centering wall structure studied in this paper has satisfactory seismic performance, i.e., each component and joint can work to achieve the function as expected, and has broad engineering application prospects in the future.