Effect of SMA bars on cyclic behaviour of low-rise shear walls

Past RC panel tests performed at the University of Houston show that reinforced concrete membrane elements under reversed cyclic loading have much greater ductility when steel bars are provided in the direction of principal tensile stress. In order to improve the ductility of low-rise shear walls under earthquake loading, high seismic performance shear walls have been proposed to have steel bars in the same direction as the tensile principal direction of applied stresses in the critical region of shear walls. This paper presents the results of reversed cyclic tests on three low-rise shear walls with SMA bars. The height, width, and thickness of the designed shear walls are 1.0 m, 2.0 m, and 0.12 m, respectively. SMA bars are provided in the directions of 27 degrees to the horizontal that are in the diagonal direction. The reinforcing bars of the shear walls are in vertical and horizontal directions. The ratios of both SMA and reinforcing bars are 0.24%. The main parameter used in the study is the type of SMA bar, namely Superelastic and Martensite SMA bars. The test results from the walls with SMA bars are also compared to a conventional wall without SMA bars. Test results also show that the maximum shear strengths of the tested walls are affected by the SMA bars. It was found that the shear wall with Martensite SMA bars has greater residual displacement. In contrast, the shear wall with superelastic SMA bars has less residual displacement. At the ultimate state, one of the four superelastic SMA bars buckled, resulting in less energy dissipation capacity than the expected value. Preventing buckling of SMA bars is the research focus in the near future.