In this study, the cyclic behaviors of low rise concrete shear walls using recycled coarse or fine aggregates were investigated. Eight low rise Recycled Aggregates Concrete (RAC) shear wall specimens were designed and tested under a cyclic loading. The following parameters were varied: replacement percentages of recycled coarse or fine aggregates, reinforcement ratio, axial force ratio and X-shaped rebars brace. The failure characteristics, hysteretic behavior, strength and deformation capacity, strain characteristics and stiffness were studied. Test results showed that the using of the Recycled Coarse Aggregates (RCA) and its replacement ratio had almost no influence on the mechanical behavior of the shear wall; however, the using of Recycled Fine Aggregates (RFA) had a certain influence on the ductility of the shear wall. When the reinforcement ratio increased, the strength and ductility also increased. By increasing the axial force ratio, the strength increased but the ductility decreased significantly. The encased brace had a significant effect on enhancing the RAC shear walls. The experimental maximum strengths were evaluated with existing design codes, it was indicated that the strength evaluation of the low rise RAC shear walls can follow the existing design codes of the conventional concrete shear walls.

In order to meet the architecture and construction needs of high rise buildings, the special-shaped columns are becoming more and more widely used. In this study, cyclic tests on seven special-shaped bifurcated Concrete Filled Steel Tube (CFST) columns are carried out. Test variables are the column cross section types and the loading directions. The strength, ductility, hysteretic behavior, energy dissipation ability, failure modes and seismic mechanisms are analyzed. Test results show that: the cross-section type of the column is the main factor influencing the seismic behavior of the specimens. Compared with the basic cross section type, the strength, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the strengthened cross section type all significantly increased. The cross sections with the inserted angle steel or circular steel tube have the best comprehensive seismic behavior. Also, the loading direction has a considerable influence on the seismic behavior. Compares with the short axis loading specimen C1-Y, the strength of the long axis specimen C1-X and 45° axis C1-Z increase by 92.5 % and 44.0 %, respectively, indicating that the differences in loading direction should be taken into consideration in the seismic design. Based on the test results, the FEM analysis are also carried out. The FEM results show a satisfactory agreement with experimental results. The concrete constitutive relationship and modelling method proposed is suitable for the simulation of special-shaped bifurcated CFST columns with multiple cavities.