Experimental study on seismic performance of precast concrete shearing walls connected by high-strength bolts

Precast concrete structures connected by dry connection method have many advantages over traditionally constructed buildings due to off-site manufacturing resulting in reduced construction time, superior quality, efficient material and energy use, reduced environmental impact and improved occupational health and safety. Adjacent precast concrete shearing walls are quickly connected together using high strength bolts and embedded connection steel plates, which would be stacked vertically and scaled horizontally to form complete buildings. To a better understanding of the mechanical properties of dry connections, four full-scale precast walls with multiple dry connection modes, representing part of a precast structure subjected to low-cycle cyclic loading, were tested. Additionally, a cast-in-place shear wall specimen was tested following the same cyclic loading protocol as the as-built specimens. Important evaluation indicators including failure modes, hysteretic characteristics, stiffness degradation, energy dissipation capacity and dry connection performance were researched. Results indicate that the precast shearing wall with dry connection features sufficient bearing capacity, favorable ductility and satisfactory energy consumption that meets the design requirements. While dry connected precast shear walls are slightly lower stiffness than that of cast-in-place walls, this can be improved by adding dry connections at shear wall web (using distributed joints). The yield state of dry connected specimens is controlled by longitudinal reinforcement and slipping of joint bolts. The results of this study have important implications for the engineering design, as well as reasonable design should be carried out to ensure that the horizontal seams have sufficient shear slip bearing capacity to avoid shearing slip failure.