Development and experimental verification of self-centering shear walls with disc spring devices

Abstract A new type of self-centering shear wall (SC-SW) with disc spring devices (DSDs) symmetrically installed at the foot of the wall panel is developed in this study. The SC-SWs with DSDs are designed to reduce the amount of damage to the main part of the wall and to minimize the residual displacement of the structure. To examine the seismic performance of the SC-SWs with DSDs, cyclic loading tests were conducted on two DSDs, one conventional shear wall, and two SC-SWs. The hysteretic behavior and failure process of the specimens are analyzed, and a comparison is conducted between the conventional shear wall and the SC-SWs with DSDs. Experimental results indicate that the DSDs exhibit stable mechanical behavior and excellent self-centering capability and the SC-SWs exhibit stable energy dissipation and excellent self-centering capabilities. The bearing capacity of the SC-SWs is lower than that of the conventional shear wall, whereas the residual drift ratios are significantly lower and the ductility coefficients are significantly higher for the SC-SWs than for the conventional shear wall. Furthermore, the damage of the SC-SWs with DSDs is significantly reduced and the main parts of the wall panel are well protected.