Seismic performance of RC short-leg shear walls reinforced with HF-ECC: Experimental and numerical investigations

Reinforced concrete (RC) short-leg shear walls are commonly used in seismic designs owing to their structural efficiency. However, these walls often experience significant damage, particularly in plastic-hinge zones, during strong seismic events. This study investigates the seismic performance of RC short-leg shear walls reinforced with a hybrid fiber-engineered cementitious composite (HF-ECC), incorporating both Japanese and Chinese polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and steel fibers. Six shear wall specimens were constructed, including four HF-ECC walls (HF-ECCW1–4) and two control RC walls (RCW1 and RCW2), all of which were subjected to cyclic loading tests. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was used to assess the parametric influences on the seismic performance of these walls. The experimental results revealed that the HF-ECC walls exhibited significantly superior crack control, characterized by densely spaced microcracks, which effectively mitigated damage in the plastic hinge zone and enhanced the post-cyclic recovery of the structure. Compared to the control RC walls, the seismic performance of the HF-ECC walls was notably superior, with improvements in damage tolerance, load-bearing capacity, ductility, deformation capacity, and energy dissipation. The HF-ECC walls were able to sustain lateral drift ratios exceeding 2.5 % without substantial loss in lateral strength, with drift capacities reaching 2.7 %, even under high axial load ratios of 0.76. FEA results indicated that increasing the HF-ECC zone height beyond 0.3 times the wall height had minimal impact on both the load-bearing and deformation capacities. This study highlights the effectiveness of HF-ECC in enhancing the seismic performance of RC short-leg shear walls, providing valuable insights for seismic-resistant design strategies.