Seismic Performance of Insulated Ribbed Composite Walls with Openings: Quasi-Static Tests, FE Modeling, and Parametric Evaluation

Abstract

Ultralightweight insulated ribbed composite walls (IRCWs) offer a promising solution for prefabricated energy-efficient construction. However, seismic design principles for walls with openings, which are commonly required in practice, remain poorly defined. This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations to address this gap. Quasi-static tests of four specimens revealed the effects of the opening area ratio and aspect ratio on the failure mechanisms and mechanical properties. The results show that increasing the opening area ratio from 0% to 11.54% transitions the failure mode from flexure-dominated to flexural-shear, reducing the peak load by 17% and cumulative energy dissipation by 60%. The opening aspect ratio significantly influenced the deformation patterns, and the specimen with an aspect ratio of 0.75 reached its peak displacement at a drift 50% larger than that of the specimen with an aspect ratio of 1.33. A finite-element (FE) model validated against test data accurately reproduced the observed responses. Subsequent parametric analysis identified the influential roles of the opening configuration, reinforcement details, and geometric parameters. Based on these findings, an empirical model is proposed to predict the lateral load–bearing reduction factor by incorporating the combined effects of key design parameters. The proposed model reasonably captured the parameter-dependent trends within the investigated range and provides a preliminary estimation approach for the seismic design of IRCWs with openings.