Nonlinear Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Slit Shear Walls under Seismic Actions *

A reinforced concrete slit shear wall is a new breed of earthquake resistant structure recently proposed by the authors. In this paper, the seismic responses of the slit shear walls under the shake of earthquake excitation have been dealt with. Based on a simplified structural model, which is shown to have a sufficient accuracy for the real slit shear wall structure, the analysis focuses on the influence of nonlinear behavior of the connecting beams between the slits on the dynamic performance of the whole slit shear wall structure. It has been found that the yielding of connecting beams in a slit shear wall can provide significant improvement in reducing the structural responses, and by choosing an appropriate strength value for the connecting beams, it is possible to optimize the seismic response of the slit shear wall.

Post-fire cyclic behavior of reinforced concrete shear walls

The effects of fire exposure,reinforcement ratio and the presence of axial load under fire on the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete(RC) shear walls were investigated.Five RC shear walls were tested under low cyclic loading.Prior to the cyclic test,three specimens were exposed to fire and two of them were also subjected to a constant axial load.Test results indicate that the ultimate load of the specimen with lower reinforcement ratio is reduced by 15.8%after exposure to elevated temperatures.While the reductions in the energy dissipation and initial stiffness are 59.2%and 51.8%,respectively,which are much higher than those in the ultimate load.However,this deterioration can be slowed down by properly increasing reinforcement due to the strength and stiffness recovery of steel bars after cooling.In addition,the combined action of elevated temperatures and axial load results in more energy dissipation than the action of fire exposure alone.

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Mechanical Performance of Reinforced Concrete Short-Limb Shear Wall

On the basis of test, nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforcedconcrete (R. C) short-limb shear walls under monotonic horizontal load are carried out by ANSYSprogram in order to understand the evolution of cracking, deformation and failure course of thespecimens. At the same time, the results of numerical calculation are compared with the results oftest. The results indicate that, under monotonic horizontal load the failures of the specimens withflange wall and without flange wall all occur at the intersections of lintel bottom and limb ofwall, the failures also occur at the bottom of limb; the load-displacement curve of wall withoutflange is steeper than that of wall with flange, and the ductility is worse than that of wall withflange; the results, such as cracking, deformation, yield load and so on of finite element analysisagree well with the results of test. These results provide theoretical basis of study andapplication of R. C short-limb shear wall.

Performance index limits of high reinforced concrete shear wall components

The deformation performance index limits of high reinforced concrete （RC） shear wall components based on Chinese codes were discussed by the nonlinear finite element method. Two typical RC shear wall specimens in the previous work were first used to verify the correctness of the nonlinear finite element method. Then, the nonlinear finite element method was applied to study the deformability of a set of high RC shear wall components designed according to current Chinese codes and with shear span ratio λ≥2.0. Parametric studies were made on the influence of shear span ratio, axial compression ratio, ratio of flexural capacity to shear capacity and main flexural reinforcement ratio of confined botmdary members. Finally, the deformation performance index and its limits of high RC shear wall components under severe earthquakes were proposed by the finite element model results, which offers a reference in determining the performance status of RC shear wall components designed based on Chinese codes.

Experimental studies on behavior of fully grouted reinforced-concrete masonry shear walls

An experimental study is conducted on fully grouted reinforced masonry shear walls (RMSWs) made from concrete blocks with a new configuration. Ten RMSWs are tested under reversed cyclic lateral load to investigate the influence of different reinforcements and applied axial stress values on their seismic behavior. The results show that flexural strength increases with the applied axial stress, and shear strength dominated by diagonal cracking increases with both the amount of horizontal reinforcement and applied axial stress. Yield displacement, ductility, and energy dissipation capability can be improved substantially by increasing the amount of horizontal reinforcement. The critical parameters for the walls are derived from the experiment: displacement ductility values corresponding to 15% strength degradation of the walls reach up to 2.6 and 4.5 in the shear and flexure failure modes, respectively; stiffness values of flexure- and shear-dominated walls rapidly degrade to 17%–19% and 48%–57% of initial stiffness at 0.50 Dmax (displacement at peak load). The experiment suggests that RMSWs could be assigned a higher damping ratio (～14%) for collapse prevention design and a lower damping value (～7%) for a fully operational limit state or serviceability limit state.

Analysis on Construction Quality Control Technology of Reinforced Concrete Shear Wall Structure

In the process of continuous development of construction enterprises, new requirements have been put forward for construction projects. By strengthening the construction quality control of reinforced concrete shear wall structure, the construction level of reinforced concrete can be continuously improved, the construction quality can be guaranteed, and the construction project can be successfully completed, which is worthy of extensive application and promotion in construction enterprises, thus providing a broader development space for construction enterprises.

Progressive collapse resisting capacity of reinforced concrete load bearing wall structures

Reinforced concrete(RC) load bearing wall is widely used in high-rise and mid-rise buildings. Due to the number of walls in plan and reduction in lateral force portion, this system is not only stronger against earthquakes, but also more economical. The effect of progressive collapse caused by removal of load bearing elements, in various positions in plan and stories of the RC load bearing wall system was evaluated by nonlinear dynamic and static analyses. For this purpose, three-dimensional model of 10-story structure was selected. The analysis results indicated stability, strength and stiffness of the RC load-bearing wall system against progressive collapse. It was observed that the most critical condition for removal of load bearing walls was the instantaneous removal of the surrounding walls located at the corners of the building where the sections of the load bearing elements were changed. In this case, the maximum vertical displacement was limited to 6.3 mm and the structure failed after applying the load of 10 times the axial load bored by removed elements. Comparison between the results of the nonlinear dynamic and static analyses demonstrated that the "load factor" parameter was a reasonable criterion to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of the structure.

Experimental testing of RC shear wall seismic retrofit using selective weakening,self-centering and Ultra High performance concrete

Traditional retrofit methods often focus on increasing the structure’s strength,stiffness,or both.This may in-crease seismic demand on the structure and could lead to irreparable damage during a seismic event.This paper presents a retrofit method,integrating concepts of selective weakening and self-centering(rocking)to achieve low seismic damage for non-code compliant reinforced concrete shear walls.The proposed method involves con-verting traditional cast-in-place concrete shear walls into rocking walls,which helps to lower the shear demand,while allowing re-centering.Two large-scale lateral load tests were performed to validate the retrofit concept on a concrete shear wall designed according to pre-1970s standards.The design parameters investigated were amount of energy dissipating reinforcements and confinement enhancement.Two different methods using Ultra High Performance Concrete(UHPC)were investigated to provide additional confinement to boundary elements of older shear walls.Observations from the tests showed minimized damage and enhanced recentering in the retrofitted wall specimens.Use of UHPC in the boundary elements of the retrofitted walls provided additional confinement and reduced damage in the rocking corners.

High-Rise Residential Reinforced Concrete Building Optimisation

In the last few decades structure optimisation has become a main task in a civil engineering project. As a matter of fact, due to the complexity and particularity of every structure, the great amount of variables and design criteria to considerate and many other factors, a general optimisation’s method is not simple to formulate. As a result, this paper focuses on how to provide a successful optimisation method for a particular building type, high-rise reinforced concrete buildings. The optimization method is based on decomposition of the main structure into substructures: floor system, vertical load resisting system, lateral load resisting system and foundation system;then each of the subsystems using the design criteria established at the building codes is improved. Due to the effect of the superstructure optimisation on the foundation system, vertical and lateral load resisting system is the last to be considered after the improvement of floor. Finally, as a case example, using the method explained in the paper, a 30-story-high high-rise residential building complex is analysed and optimised, achieving good results in terms of structural behaviour and diminishing the overall cost of the structure.

Experimental and analytical study on seismic behavior of steel-concrete multienergy dissipation composite shear walls

In this paper, a steel-concrete multi-energy dissipation composite shear wall, comprised of steel-reinforced concrete （SRC） columns, steel plate （SP） deep beams, a concrete wall and energy dissipation strips, is proposed. In order to study the multi-energy dissipation behavior and restorability after an earthquake, two stages of low cyclic loading tests were carded out on ten test specimens. In the first stage, test on five specimens with different number of SP deep beams was carried out, and the test lasted until the displacement drift reached 2%. In the second stage, thin SPs were welded to both sides of the five specimens tested in the first stage, and the same test was carried out on the repaired specimens （designated as new specimens）. The load-bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility, hysteretic behavior and failure characteristics were analyzed for both stages and the results are discussed herein. Extrapolating from these results, strength calculation models and formulas are proposed herein and simulations using ABAQUS carried out, they show good agreement with the test results. The study demonstrates that SRC columns, SP deep beams, concrete wall and energy dissipation strips cooperate well and play an important role in energy dissipation. In addition, this study shows that the shear wall has good recoverability after an earthquake, and that the welding of thin SP＇s to repair a deformed wall is a practicable technique.

Effect of Eccentric Shear Stiffness of Walls on Structural Response of RC Frame Buildings

Current research study consists of determining the optimum location of the shear wall to get the maximum structural efficiency of a reinforced concrete frame building. It consists of a detailed analysis and design review of a seven-story reinforced concrete building to understand the effect of shear wall location on the response of reinforced concrete structures when subjected to different earthquake forces. Three trail locations of shear walls are selected and their performance is monitored in terms of structural response under different lateral loads. Required objectives are achieved by obtaining design and construction drawings of an existing reinforced concrete structure and modeling it on Finite Element Method (FEM) based computer software. The structure is redesigned and discussed with four different configurations (one without shear wall and three with shear walls). Main framing components (Beams, Columns and Shear walls) of the superstructure are designed using SAP 2000 V. 19.0 whereas substructure (foundation) of RC building was?designed using SAFE. American Concrete Institute (ACI) design specifications were used to calculate the cracked section stiffness or non-linear geometrical properties of the cracked section. Uniform Building Code (UBC-97) procedures were adopted to calculate the lateral earthquake loading on the structures. Structural response of the building was monitored at each story level for each earthquake force zone described by the UBC-97. The earthquake lateral forces were considered in both X and Y direction of the building. Each configuration of shear wall is carefully analyzed and effect of its location is calibrated by the displacement response of the structure. Eccentricity to the lateral stiffness of the building is imparted by changing the location of shear walls. Results of the study have shown that the location of shear wall significantly affects the lateral response of the structure under earthquake forces. It also motivates to carefully decide the center of lateral stiffness of building prior to deciding the location of shear walls.

Structural Analysis of a RC Shear Wall by Use of a Truss Model

Purpose of present work is to develop a reliable and simple method for structural analysis of RC Shear Walls. The shear wall is simulated by a truss model as the bar of a truss is the simplest finite element. An iterative method is used. Initially, there are only concrete bars. Repeated structural analyses are performed. After each structural analysis, every concrete bar exceeding tensile strength is replaced by a steel bar. For every concrete bar exceeding compressive strength, first its section area is increased. If this is not enough, a steel bar is placed at the side of it. For every steel bar exceeding tensile or compressive strength, its section area is increased. After the end of every structural analysis, if all concrete and steel bars fall within tensile and compressive strengths, the output data are written and the analysis is terminated. Otherwise, the structural analysis is repeated. As all the necessary conditions (static, elastic, linearized geometric) are satisfied and the stresses of ALL concrete and steel bars fall within the tensile and compressive strengths, the results are acceptable. Usually, the proposed method exhibits a fast convergence in 4 - 5 repeats of structural analysis of the RC Shear Wall.

Collapse Patterns and Their Discrimination of Reinforced Concrete Shear Wall Under Combined Stresses of Compression and Shear due to Strong Earthquake

The collapse patterns of reinforced concrete(RC)shear walls under seismic load are proposed.The crack distribution and propagation of shear walls are specifically based on the failure criterions of Mohr-Coulomb with tension cutoff.Three zones and five different corresponding failure modes of RC shear walls are determined according to the transfer path of shear stress in shear wall.These failure modes of shear walls under seismic load are verified by many experimental results and can be utilized in collapsing analysis for frame-shear wall structure.

纤维织物增强高延性混凝土加固RC短柱抗剪性能试验研究

为研究纤维织物增强高延性混凝土(TR-HDC)加固钢筋混凝土短柱的抗剪性能,设计了6根钢筋混凝土柱,包括2个对比柱和4个TR-HDC加固柱.通过低周反复荷载试验,对比分析剪跨比、纤维织物层数对试件破坏形态、变形、承载力和耗能能力的影响.结果表明:采用TR-HDC加固钢筋混凝土短柱,可显著提高其抗剪承载力;TR-HDC与原混凝土柱协同工作性能良好,加固后的混凝土柱的变形、承载力和耗能能力明显提高;增加纤维织物的层数对钢筋混凝土短柱的抗剪承载力提高幅度较小,但可大幅增强柱的耗能和变形能力;剪跨比较大时,更有利于发挥TR-HDC加固材料的力学性能.基于桁架-拱模型,提出TR-HDC加固钢筋混凝土短柱的抗剪承载力计算方法,计算结果较准确.

Limit Analysis for Reinforced Concrete Rectangular Members Under Bending, Shear and Torsion

The ultimate strength of reinforced concrete(RC) rectangular members subjected to combined bending,shear and torsion is obtained from the limit analysis proposed in the present paper. Based on a warped failure surface determined by external loads, and a reasonable assumed stress distribution balancing external loads but not violating the yield condition, the bending-shear-torsion interaction can be derived from equilibrium conditions.According to the definition of lower-bound theorem in limit analysis, the calculated ultimate loads will be carried safely by the structure. The present method is a simple approach to obtain carrying capacities for RC elements under complex external loads. After comparing with the test results, a good agreement has been observed. The present method can be extended to explain the failure mechanism of RC members subjected to axial loads, and it is possible to develop a simple unified theory of RC members for engineering.

拉-压变轴力下小剪跨比RC剪力墙受剪试验研究

近年来,高层建筑中底部剪力墙因受拉,处于拉-压变轴力和水平荷载耦合受力的问题得到了广泛的关注。为了研究拉-压变轴力下小剪跨比钢筋混凝土(RC)剪力墙的受剪性能,该文完成了3个剪跨比为1.0的RC剪力墙在拉-压变轴力下的往复受剪试验,研究参数为拉-压变轴力变化幅值和加载路径。结果表明:不同加载路径下RC墙均在压剪方向发生剪压破坏,压剪方向极限位移角为1.2%~1.4%;拉-压变轴力变化幅值改变墙体拉剪和压剪承载力,加载路径对墙体的拉剪强度有一定的影响,但对压剪强度影响很小;拉-压变轴力下剪力墙的滞回曲线呈现明显不对称现象,拉-压变轴力的变化幅值对滞回曲线的形状影响较小,但加载路径改变滞回曲线的形状;拉-压变轴力的变化幅值将增加剪力墙拉剪与压剪刚度的差别,在双肢墙结构中可能导致更多的剪力从受拉墙体转移到受压墙体;基于OpenSees建立了可准确模拟拉-压变轴力下RC剪力墙受剪行为的有限元模型。

Performance evaluation of low-rise infilled reinforced concrete frames designed by considering local effects on column shear demand

The interactions between reinforced concrete(RC)frames and infill walls play an important role in the seismic response of frames,particularly for low-rise frames.Infill walls can increase the overall lateral strength and stiffness of the frame owing to their high strength and stiffness.However,local wall-frame interactions can also lead to increased shear demand in the columns owing to the compressive diagonal strut force from the infill wall,which can result in failure or in serious situations,collapse.In this study,the effectiveness of a design strategy to consider the complex infill wall interaction was investigated.The approach was used to design example RC frames with infill walls in locations with different seismicity levels in Thailand.The performance of these frames was assessed using nonlinear static,and dynamic analyses.The performance of the frames and the failure modes were compared with those of frames designed without considering the infill wall or the local interactions.It was found that even though the overall responses of the buildings designed with and without consideration of the local interaction of the infill walls were similar in terms the overall lateral strength,the failure modes were different.The proposed method can eliminate the column shear failure from the building.Finally,the merits and limitations of this approach are discussed and summarized.

Strengthening of RC T-beams with Shear Deficiencies Using GFRP Strips

The shear performance, modes of failure, and strain analysis of simply supported reinforced concrete （RC） T-beams, externally strengthened in shear using epoxy bonded glass fiber reinforced polymer （GFRP） strips are focused in the present paper. Six RC T-beams of 2.5 m span without shear reinforcement are cast. Three beams are used as control specimens and rest three beams are strengthened in shear with GFRP strips in U-shape, side bonded at 45° and 90° to the longitudinal axis of the beam. All the beams are tested in a Universal Testing Machine. The test results demonstrate the feasibility of using an externally applied, epoxy-bonded GFRP strips to restore or increase the shear strength of RC T-beams. It is also observed that the RC T-beams strengthened by diagonal side strips outperformed those strengthened with vertical side strips.

受火RC剪力墙加固后的抗震性能试验研究

针对钢筋混凝土(RC)剪力墙受火后力学性能下降问题,对8榀RC剪力墙试件(包括4榀轴压试件和4榀低周反复加载试件)的抗震性能进行试验研究。通过低周反复荷载试验,对常温状态、四面受火后不加固、四面受火后粘贴角钢加固和四面受火后布置聚合物砂浆钢筋网加固四种工况下,试件的承载力、延性、耗能能力和刚度退化情况进行分析。结果表明:粘贴角钢加固法可显著提高剪力墙受火后的性能,加固后的耗能能力与无损剪力墙相近,但延性未能达到无损构件的水平;聚合物砂浆钢筋网加固法能在一定程度上恢复剪力墙受火的性能,但加固后的延性和耗能能力均无法达到无损构件的水平。

填充墙不规则布置对RC框架抗震性能影响试验研究

进行3榀单层两跨填充墙RC框架结构试件在水平往复荷载作用下的抗震性能试验,重点研究砌体填充墙及其布置形式对框架结构抗震性能的影响。填砌方式包括两跨均半高填砌和仅一跨全高填砌两种。通过试验结果对各试件的破坏特征、滞回曲线、骨架曲线、位移延性、刚度退化、强度退化和耗能性能等抗震性能指标进行分析。试验结果表明:①填充墙对框架具有明显的刚度效应,其存在较大地提高了框架结构的抗侧刚度和水平承载力;②填充墙对框架柱具有明显约束效应,其存在和布置方式对框架结构的破坏形态具有明显影响,带填充墙的框架柱最终均发生剪切破坏;③两跨均半高填砌的框架结构由于填充墙的约束效应,柱均发生"短柱"破坏,其延性和耗能能力均比对比框架差;④仅一跨全高填砌填充墙的框架,其填充墙的破损过程参与了框架结构的滞回耗能,虽然最终在填砌跨柱发生剪切破坏,仍具有较好的抗震性能。研究结果可为考虑填充墙和框架共同作用的弹塑性地震反应分析提供参考。