Study on the seismic performance of precast shear walls connected by novel non‐porous grouted sleeve connectors

Abstract In the construction of traditional precast shear walls, half‐grouted sleeve connectors are typically employed, where one end is connected to the rebar using threads, while the other end is inserted into the inner cavity and secured through the injection of high‐strength grout. However, due to the limitations of construction quality, various grouting defects inevitably arise, especially grouting voids, which can impact the overall stability and load‐bearing capacity of the structure. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel non‐porous grouted sleeve connector, filled with high‐strength grout and vibrated before inserting the shear wall connection, to mitigate the risk of voids, reduce failure rates, and enhance structural reliability. Three scale shear wall specimens are designed and manufactured, including one cast‐ in situ and two precast specimens, which were subjected to low‐cycle reciprocating tests. The failure modes, crack patterns, hysteretic performance, load‐bearing performance, ductility, strength degradation, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation of the shear wall specimens are discussed on the basis of the test results. Results show that the precast shear walls with the proposed novel non‐porous grouted sleeve connectors have similar seismic performance to the cast‐ in situ shear wall. In order to understand the stress–strain conditions, failure modes, and damage development in the remaining parts of the shear wall specimens, finite element analysis using ABAQUS software was conducted to validate the test results. Findings from this study will provide valuable references for the safety performance evaluation of precast structures with novel non‐porous grouted sleeve connectors after exposure to seismic hazards.