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Experimental study on the seismic performance of thin-walled CFST superimposed shear walls with different column widths
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  • Published: 07 April 2026

Experimental study on the seismic performance of thin-walled CFST superimposed shear walls with different column widths

  • Mengqi Gao1,
  • Shibo Wang2,
  • Chunliang Zhang3,6,
  • Chenyu Lv1,
  • Hetao Hou4 &
  • …
  • Pengying Wang5 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Materials science

Abstract

Prefabricated concrete-filled steel tube shear walls leverage the advantages of both concrete and steel and have found applications in high-rise buildings and regions with high seismic activity. This paper proposes a type of thin-walled concrete-filled steel tube with superimposed shear walls (CFST-SSWs) that can be conveniently installed on-site to improve construction efficiency and quality. Four full-scale specimens were experimentally tested under constant axial forces and lateral cyclic loads to examine their seismic performance. The two main variables during tests were the end column type and the CFST column width. The X-shaped crack in the CFST-SSWs specimen only extended to the edge of the superimposed wall, while that of the cast-in-place concrete column composite shear wall specimen connected to a crack in the end column. As the widths of the CFST column increased, the ductility increased to 13.47%, and the bearing capacity increased by an average of 14.5%. The average ductility coefficients of the specimens ranged from 2.23 to 3.95, and the CFST-SSWs showed moderate ductility. Increasing the width of the CFST column had little effect on its overall energy dissipation capacity in the early stage, but helped slow the stiffness degradation and intensity degradation of CFST-SSWs. It also significantly increased the ultimate inter-story displacement angle. A calculation model was developed to predict the CFST-SSWs’ cracking load, and experimental data were used to validate the model’s accuracy.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study received funding from the Key Technology Innovation and Excellent Practice Application of Construction Engineering under Award No.HKJ2025136. The authors would like to thank the sponsor. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations presented in this article are the opinions of the authors and may not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Henan University of Engineering, Zhengzhou, 451191, China

    Mengqi Gao & Chenyu Lv

  2. Zhengzhou Urban Construction Group Investment Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Shibo Wang

  3. Shandong Construction Quality Inspection and Testing Center Co., Ltd., Jinan, 250031, China

    Chunliang Zhang

  4. School of Civil Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China

    Hetao Hou

  5. Planning Branch, Zhengzhou Transportation Planning, Survey, Design and Research Institute, Zhengzhou, 451191, China

    Pengying Wang

  6. Zhengzhou Transportation Planning, Survey, Design and Research Institute, Zhengzhou, 451191, China

    Chunliang Zhang

Authors
  1. Mengqi Gao
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  2. Shibo Wang
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  3. Chunliang Zhang
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  4. Chenyu Lv
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  5. Hetao Hou
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  6. Pengying Wang
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Contributions

Mengqi Gao: Funding acquisition, Software, Writing – original draft. Shibo Wang: Data curation, Investigation. Chunliang Zhang: Software, Formal analysis, Writing-review & editing. Lv Chenyu: Software, Data curation. Hetao Hou: Data curation, Conceptualization. Pengying Wang: Validation, Resources.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chunliang Zhang.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cite this article

Gao, M., Wang, S., Zhang, C. et al. Experimental study on the seismic performance of thin-walled CFST superimposed shear walls with different column widths. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46555-1

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  • Received: 15 September 2025

  • Accepted: 26 March 2026

  • Published: 07 April 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46555-1

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Keywords

  • Seismic performance
  • CFST-SSWs
  • CFST column widths
  • Quasi-static test
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