Abstract:
Through introducing disc springs into one bolt box, a new type of shear wall structures with disc spring-bolt assembly connections was proposed in this study. This structure utilizes disc springs to provide self-centering capabilities and employs steel bolt boxes to assist with concrete compression, resulting in excellent resilience. A traditional bolted shear wall specimen with a "strong connection" (S-1) and a shear wall specimen with the new connection (S-2) were designed and fabricated. Quasi-static tests under various test conditions were conducted to the two specimens, and the seismic performance and damage patterns of the two specimens were compared and analyzed. Furthermore, the resilience of the new shear wall, as well as the impact of the axial compression ratio and disc spring type on the seismic performance of the structure was evaluated. The test results indicated that: due to the over strength of the wall panel, plastic zones appeared both near the top end of the anchorage bar of the bolt box and near the horizontal joint of specimen S-1. In these regions, the longitudinal reinforcement and high-strength bolts yielded, and the concrete was severely crushed. The damage of specimen S-2 was concentrated near the horizontal joint, while the wall panel suffered only minor damage and exhibited small residual deformation. The hysteresis curve of specimen S-2 presented a flag shape, exhibiting a smaller energy dissipation capacity compared to S-1. When specimen S-2 was subjected to repeated tests after reaching a drift ratio of 1/100, the hysteresis loops almost overlapped, indicating that the shear wall still possessed a good seismic performance even without a repair after a rare earthquake event. The post-cracking stiffness and strength at the same displacement of the test condition using Class C disc springs are lower than those using Class A disc springs.