Experimental Research on the Seismic Ductility Performance of Wavy Web PEC Beams

To improve the out-of-plane stability of partially encased composite (PEC) beam webs and enhance the synergy between concrete and section steel, a new type of wavy web PEC beam was designed and fabricated. In this study, the flange thickness and shear–span ratio were varied as key parameters. Low-cycle reversed loading tests were conducted to investigate the effects of these variables on the load-bearing capacity, failure patterns, deformation capacity, hysteretic energy dissipation capacity, and stiffness degradation of the wavy web PEC beams. Numerical simulations were performed using ABAQUS CAE2023, a finite element analysis (FEA) software, under low-cycle reversed loading conditions. The applicability of the ABAQUS software CAE2023 for the corrugated web PEC beam model was validated by comparing test results with finite element analysis results. A detailed parametric analysis was then carried out using the finite element model to further investigate the mechanical properties of the wavy web PEC beams. The research findings are as follows: the wavy web PEC beams exhibited good ductility; a larger shear–span ratio led to a transition in the failure pattern from shear failure to flexural failure; varying the flange thickness significantly affected the failure location and characteristics; and reducing the flange thickness could limit the propagation of concrete cracks, thereby improving toughness and energy dissipation capacity.