Hysteretic Behavior of Self-Centering Shear Wall Incorporating Superelastic Shape Memory Alloy Bars and Engineered Cementitious Composites Subjected to Cyclic Loading

Abstract

Conventional reinforced concrete shear walls are vulnerable to strong earthquakes with significant residual deformations, which substantially affect structural service and can even lead to structural collapse. Superelastic shape memory alloys (SMAs) are advanced materials that can realize strain recovery upon unloading. If SMAs can be used as reinforcing bars in structures, they can undergo large deformation without permanent deformation. This study presents a complementary and synergistic material system that integrates SMA with damage-tolerant engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) to minimize residual displacement and mitigate concrete damage. This study explored the seismic performance of shear walls using SMA and ECC in the plastic hinge region. Reverse cyclic loading tests were performed on four specimens to demonstrate the feasibility of this method. The specimens included a conventional steel-reinforced concrete shear wall (SW-R-C), steel-reinforced ECC shear wall (SW-R-ECC), SMA-reinforced concrete shear wall (SW-SMA-C), and SMA-reinforced ECC shear wall (SW-SMA-ECC). The results show that the SW-SMA-C specimen exhibited remarkable self-centering capability of more than 85% even after a large deformation, compared to SW-R-C. Furthermore, reduced damage and better ductility were observed in the SW-SMA-ECC specimen in addition to reduced residual displacement. The proposed approach indicated that SMA combined with ECC is more effective in mitigating plastic hinge damage and minimizing residual displacements, which could improve the seismic performance of shear walls.