Prediction of the Lateral Load-Displacement Curves for Reinforced Concrete Squat Walls Failing in Shear

Abstract

The reinforced concrete squat wall, which demonstrates high stiffness and load capacity, is one of the most effective earthquake-resisting members. It has been widely used in seismic design and retrofitting and thus is crucial to an understanding of the lateral load-displacement behavior within. Based on the strut-and-tie concept, a trilinear model is proposed to predict the lateral load-displacement curves for reinforced concrete squat walls failing in shear. This paper proposes a curve with three turning points: the cracking point associated with the apparent decrease in stiffness as the crack occurs; the strength point as the squat wall fails in shear; and the collapse point as the squat wall finally loses its axial load-carrying capacity. With a simplified calculation process, the proposed model is proven suitable for application in engineering practice and achieves successful predictions of lateral load-displacement curves for squat walls. A further comparison between the proposed model and other available models is carried out so as to further explain the differences among those models and describe their physical configurations.