Seismic performance of prefabricated Elematic hollow-core slab load-bearing walls with post-cast core-column connections

The prefabricated wall system assembled from Elematic hollow-core slab (EHC) components provides a potential structural solution for rapid construction of low-rise buildings (LRB). However, when EHC components are used as vertical load-bearing wall units, their seismic performance and force-resisting mechanism require further clarification. In this study, four full-scale prefabricated EHC wall specimens were designed and fabricated. Quasi-static cyclic tests were conducted to investigate the effects of shear span ratio (SSR)-related configurations and axial compressive stress (ACS) levels on the failure modes, hysteretic behavior, bearing capacity, stiffness degradation, ductility, energy dissipation capacity (EDC), and reinforcement strain development of the walls. The test results showed that all specimens exhibited flexural-shear failure dominated by diagonal cracking. The cracks were mainly concentrated at the wall base, end core columns (ECC), and core-column connection (CCC) regions. The CCC regions effectively restrained the propagation of diagonal cracks, resulting in a multiple-crack and segmented failure pattern. Compared with specimens with an SSR of 1.29, specimens with an SSR of 0.88 exhibited increases of 81.3% and 67.5% in peak bearing capacity and 64.4% and 69.6% in yield-point secant stiffness for the 2 P and 3 P series specimens, respectively, accompanied by faster post-peak strength degradation. Increasing the ACS from 0.3 MPa to 0.6 MPa further increased the peak bearing capacity of the 2 P and 3 P series specimens by 23.5% and 14.1%, respectively, but also intensified damage concentration after peak load. A three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear finite element (FE) model established based on the experimental results accurately predicted the main damage regions and peak bearing capacity (PBC) of the specimens, with a maximum error of 7.2%. Furthermore, the proposed modified shear capacity model showed good agreement with the experimental results, with relative errors within ±3%. The findings provide valuable references for the seismic design and engineering application of prefabricated EHC load-bearing wall systems.