Seismic Performance Analysis of Mid-Rise Concrete Shear Wall Buildings Reinforced with Superelastic Shape Memory Alloys

This thesis investigates the seismic performance of hybrid Shape Memory Alloy (SMA)-steel reinforced concrete shear walls containing Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) superelastic SMA as alternative reinforcement in the plastic hinge region. This wall system permits self-centering with high levels of energy dissipation and significant reduction of permanent deformations. Conventional steel-reinforced concrete shear walls were designed for a prototype 10-storey office building, assuming seismic design scenarios in eastern and western Canada. Equivalent hybrid SMA-steel reinforced concrete shear walls were defined following the designed cross-sections of the conventional walls. Full-scale, 2-D finite element models of the walls were developed and subjected to nonlinear, static and time-history analyses, employing historical and simulated ground motion records for the latter. The numerical results confirmed the superior self-centering capacity of the hybrid SMA-steel reinforced walls, showing potential to optimize the seismic performance of reinforced concrete buildings, particularly in high seismic zones, by controlling residual deformations and reducing damage.