Simplified Approach To Modeling Non-Linear Behavior of Typical Chilean Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls

Abstract eng:
In this study, a simple shear model is developed that can be used with the Multiple-Vertical-Line-Element-Model (MVLEM) to represent a shear wall in a reinforced concrete (RC) building. The MVLEM considers the inelastic axial and flexural responses of the wall represented by several vertical-parallel uniaxial elements with infinitely rigid beams at the top and bottom of the wall element, and the inelastic shear response is simulated by a single horizontal spring. One of the major problems of the MVLEM is the difficulty to estimate the shear properties when experimental results are not available. To address this issue, detailed finite element models of RC walls are used in an extensive parametric study to develop phenomenological models for characterizing shear behavior of squat and intermediate walls. This parametric study is based on the statistical data of Chilean RC walls built before and after the 1985 earthquake, but prior to the 2010 Chilean earthquake. Values of web reinforcement ratio, wall length to wall thickness ratio, aspect ratio, and level of axial load are taken as the main wall web parameters. The nonlinear response of 3960 finite element wall panel models were simulated so as to have an adequate number of data points to develop the shear model. These panels only consider the wall web, without the boundary elements, since the shear response is controlled by the properties of the web section. The results of the pushover simulations are then evaluated in order to develop shear model parameters based on the above-mentioned characteristics of the wall panel. Finally the developed shear model is validated by comparing the predicted shear response to finite element simulations for a set of representative wall panels. Based on these comparisons, it was observed that the proposed shear model works well for the majority of cases, but also exhibits a loss of accuracy for cases with a significant post-peak descending branch. Findings from the study will be useful in advancing nonlinear simulation models for analysis of shear wall structures.

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