Cyclic testing of a full-scale two-storey reinforced precast concrete wall-slab-wall structure

In recent years, the phenomena of induced and triggered seismicity have attracted significant attention in countries that are not prone to hazard from natural seismicity, motivating the need for experimental testing of existing structures that are built without any particular seismic design and/or detailing criteria. This paper describes thus the pseudostatic cyclic testing of a full-scale two-storey lightly reinforced precast concrete wall-slab-wall structure, representative of a building typology that was found to be a very common form of housing in the region of Groningen (The Netherlands), where seismic events induced by reservoir depletion due to gas extraction have in the recent years occurred. Following a description of the specimen and experimental setup, the results obtained during the pseudostatic cyclic testing in the weak direction of the specimen, illustrating the response mechanism and damage evolution at progressively increased drift amplitudes, are discussed. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the specimen collapsed by a premature failure of its three-way panel-to-panel joints, seemingly indicating that this type of connection is the weakest link of the structural system tested.