Seismic design and response evaluation of unbonded post‐tensioned hybrid coupled wall structures

This paper presents an analytical investigation on the seismic design and response of coupled wall structures that use unbonded post‐tensioned steel coupling beams. Both monolithic cast‐in‐place reinforced concrete wall piers and precast concrete wall piers are considered. Steel top and seat angles are used at the coupling beam ends for energy dissipation. The seismic design of prototype structures to achieve target displacement‐based performance objectives is evaluated based on nonlinear static and dynamic time history analyses. Additional recommendations are provided on shear design. Comparisons with ‘conventional’ structures that use embedded steel coupling beams as well as isolated walls with no coupling are provided. The results indicate that while the peak lateral displacements of unbonded post‐tensioned coupled wall structures are larger than the peak displacements of structures with embedded beams, the residual displacements are significantly reduced as a result of the restoring effect of the post‐tensioning steel. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.