Performance study of precast reinforced concrete shear walls with steel columns containing friction-bearing devices

A novel structural system based on precast reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall panels mutually connected vertically using T-connectors and horizontally using friction-bearing devices (FBDs) mounted on interposed steel columns was recently proposed. To investigate the seismic performance of the proposed precast RC shear wall system, three subassembly specimens simulating a single construction modulus were constructed and tested by considering different slot length and numbers of FBDs under quasi-static cyclic loading. Ductile flexural failure at drift of around 4.2% and load of around 265 kN was attained for both specimens with long-slot FBDs, while shear failure after moderate flexural ductility was attained at drift of around 3.8% and higher load of around 368.3 kN for specimens with short-slot FBDs, showing not-direct dependence of the load capacity on the number of FBDs installed. However, the higher number of FBDs allowed for higher hysteretic damping with a 27.3% increase in dissipated energy through cycles.