Design and experimental testing of a concrete rocking wall structural system

The seismic design for concrete structures typically relies on the ductility of elements like beams in frame structures, ensuring occupant safety but often causing irreparable damage to the building. This damage leads to prolonged recovery times and considerable social and economic consequences. To improve resilience, alternative systems like base isolation and viscous dampers have been developed to limit damage. However, some of these solutions may be impractical or too costly for certain building types, such as precast concrete structures. For these cases, researchers have suggested using post-tensioned concrete elements that rock at their base, paired with easily replaceable external dissipative devices. These systems aim to overcome the limitations of ductility-based design by providing self-centering capabilities and facilitating easy repairs. This paper presents preliminary experimental results on the cyclic behavior of a novel PreWEC (Precast Wall with End Columns) system, which includes post-tensioned rocking concrete walls, end-columns, and steel dissipative devices. The system features a concrete wall with post-tensioned cables, two end-columns connected by beams, and hysteretic dampers between the wall and columns. The columns support the beams while their uplift is limited during base rocking due to their small cross-section. The study examines the quasi-static cyclic behavior of this system. Findings show excellent energy dissipation and minimal damage.