RC Structural Walls with Staggered Door Openings

Abstract

Results are presented from an experimental study on four reduced‐scale reinforced concrete structural wall specimens. All the specimens are lightly reinforced. One test specimen has a solid web and the other three have varying amounts of horizontal stagger between door openings in successive stories. Specimens are tested in a vertical position under constant axial stress. Reversed cyclic deformations are applied at the top. Generally, ductile flexural behavior is obtained from all four specimens at average drift ratios of 1%. At this stage, there is significant yielding of vertical reinforcement, and an intersecting pattern of flexuralshear cracks has developed, but there is no indication of impending failure. At average drift ratios near 1.5%, all three walls with door openings experience a shear‐compression failure in the first story adjacent to the door opening. Principles of basic mechanics and reinforced concrete theory are used to predict the force‐displacement envelopes for all four wall specimens.