Effect of axial-load ratio and shear-span ratio on seismic behavior of the prefabricated structures for cast-in-place RC boundary elements confined uniform hollow panels

To meet the requirements of seismic safety, energy efficiency, and convenient transport, while achieving efficient construction of low or multi-story building structures. A prefabricated structure was developed with uniform hollow panels as the main force elements and cast-in-place RC provides restraint. The safety of the connection between the elements was verified by a low cyclic loading experiment and numerical analysis. In addition, the influence of the axial-load ratio and the shear-span ratio on the seismic performance of the structure was investigated, and the damage characteristics of progressive failure were revealed. The study found that as the axial-load ratio increased from 0.15 to 0.30, the cracking of the uniform hollow panels progressed, but the cracking of the columns was delayed, and the tendency of the edge member to separate from the uniform hollow panel increased. The ultimate lateral load capacity increased by 9.96 %, but the deformation capacity decreased, and the ductility coefficient decreased from 3.19 to 2.45. As the shear-span ratio decreased from 1.35 to 0.95, the uniform hollow panel and the structural columns cracked earlier and later, respectively, and the ultimate lateral load-bearing capacity increased by 25.03 %. However, the cracks at the base of the column increased, the deformation capacity decreased, and the ductility coefficient decreased from 3.19 to 2.15. Meanwhile, it is observed that the structure exhibits a three-stage progressive failure characteristic, i.e., the joint working stage, transformation transition stage, and weak frame stage. This greatly improved the deformation and energy dissipation capacity of the structure, which maintained good stability even when the inter-story displacement angle reached 1/50. This paper also established the calculation method for the lateral load resistance of this prefabricated structure, which showed accurate and reliable results. In general, the results of this research can provide an important reference for building design code and the application of this structure.