This paper introduces a new design form for prestressed shear walls with horizontal bottom slits utilizing cast-in-place technology. Horizontal slits are placed symmetrically at the wall-foundation interface of prestressed shear walls while the concrete in the middle of the wall width remains connected with the foundation. Furthermore, unbonded prestressed tendons inside the wall are adopted to provide self-centering ability. Tests on prestressed self-centering shear walls with horizontal bottom slits under cyclic loading were conducted to investigate their seismic performance. Test results were analyzed from the tests, and a comparison was made among traditional shear wall and self-centering shear walls with horizontal bottom slits of different configurations. The experimental results indicate that the tested cast-in-place shear walls exhibit excellent self-centering ability with the lateral load capacity similar to traditional shear walls. The quantity and distribution range of the cracking in t...

In this paper, a novel and simple method for predicting the peak response of RC beams subjected to impact loading is proposed. The theoretical basis for calculating the peak impact force originates from the contact law, the principle of conservation of energy, the impulse‐momentum theorem, and the wave theory. Additionally, the conventional beam theory, in conjunction with the well‐known layered‐section approach, is utilized to obtain the force‐deflection relationship of the RC beam. Subsequently, by taking into account the strain rate effect, the maximum midspan deflection of RC beams under impact loading is determined based on the conservation of energy approach. A comparison with 143 impact tests has shown that the proposed method is able to estimate the maximum midspan deflection of RC beams under impact loading with high accuracy. The prediction of the peak impact force is shown to be slightly overestimated, which however can be used in the anti‐impact design to preclude the shear failure near the impact point.