Experimental Study of FRP-Reinforced Slotted RC Shear Walls under Cyclic Loading

The seismic performance of slotted reinforced concrete walls strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) was investigated. This reinforcement method aims to increase the ultimate deformation capacity and avoid compressive damage to the concrete. To compare the performance of the slotted RC walls with and without FRP reinforcement, pseudostatic tests were conducted on two conventional slotted RC walls and two FRP-reinforced slotted RC walls. The slotted RC walls reinforced with FRP exhibited significantly improved deformation capacity and were able to sustain a 1∶30 drift ratio without obvious damage, while the ultimate deformation of the slotted RC wall without FRP reinforcement could only sustain a drift ratio of about 1∶50. Furthermore, a partial FRP retrofitting method can fully recover the load-bearing capacity of the wall. The results confirm the effectiveness of FRP reinforcement in a slotted RC wall. However, the initial stiffness and energy dissipation capacity were not regained completely through the FRP reinforcement.