New Methodology for Seismic Design of RC Shear Walls

Abstract

An analytical approach to determine the need to provide transverse reinforcement at boundaries of reinforced concrete structural walls with rectangular, T‐shaped, or barbell‐shaped cross sections is presented. By relating the expected displacement demands on the building system to the local deformations imposed on the wall cross section, the magnitude and distribution of wall normal strain is determined. The primary variables affecting the wall‐strain distribution are found to be the ratio of wall cross‐sectional area to the floor‐plan area, the wall aspect ratio and configuration, the wall axial load, and the wall‐reinforcement ratios. Based on the computed wall‐strain distribution, required transverse steel for concrete confinement and length of the wall cross section requiring concrete confinement is computed. The wall‐strain distribution is also used to evaluate required transverse reinforcement to restrain buckling of longitudinal reinforcement. The validity of the proposed analytical approach is demonstrated by comparison with an experimental study of a full‐scale building system conducted in Japan. In addition, applications of the proposed analytical approach are provided for preliminary design and for the evaluation of an existing building.