Lecture 39 Lateral Load Resisting Systems Shear Walls

In addition to the diagonal braced frames and moment-resisting connections, shear walls are used to resist lateral loads. Essentially, a shear wall is a rigid vertical plate that is oriented parallel with the direction of force that acts like a vertical cantilever beam as shown below.

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An accurate stress analysis of a shear wall is quite complex and involves using finite element analysis methods. A computer-generated diagram of stress contours of a 2-story shear wall analysis is shown below:

A simplified shear wall pier analysis is often used instead of the more accurate finite element analysis to give approximate results. In this approach, wall segments are modeled as individual rectangular piers from the floor up to the point of load as shown in the figure below, and as shown in IBC Figure 2305.3.4:

Door

Lateral Load

Window

Elevation

Pier 1

Door

Window

Pier 2

Pier 3

Elevation Shear wall piers

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Height

Lateral Load

The sum of the capacity of the individual shear wall piers would have to be greater that the applied lateral force. Types of Shear Walls: 1. Wood Framed Shear Walls: This type of shear wall is commonly used for residential construction and incorporates wood wall studs with a plywood (or OSB) sheathing nailed to the studs as shown below: Top Diaphragm boundary (top plate)

Studs

Lateral Force

Bottom Diaphragm boundary (bottom plate)

Sheathing nailed to studs and top & bottom plates

The strength of the wall is a function of the following: Stiffness of sheathing material (OSB, Plywood) Thickness of sheathing Aspect ratio (ratio of height-to-width of pier) See figures below Orientation of sheathing to studs (see IBC Table 2306.2.1) Size and type of nails fastening sheathing to plywood Penetration depth of nails into studs Spacing of nails into studs and top & bottom plates Connection capacity of bottom plate into floor

Depending on the above factors, wood shear walls have lateral capacities ranging from about 110 PLF up to about 870 PLF. See IBC Table 2306.3.

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There are also proprietary systems of wood shear walls developed by various manufacturers. An example of a Simpson Strongwall system is shown below, along with corresponding table of allowable shear wall values:

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2. Metal Stud Framed Shear Walls: These types of shear walls are very similar to wood shear walls except that that metal studs are used in lieu of wood studs. Shear wall capacities are typically larger than for comparable wood shear walls and range from about 390 PLF up to about 2190 PLF. See below for typical metal stud shear wall capacities:

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3. Masonry Shear Walls: Masonry shear walls are used in applications where high shear capacities are required. A typical wall is shown below:

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Typical masonry shear wall capacities are as shown below: Masonry Shear Wall Capacities (fm = 1500 PSI, Grade 60 bars) Nom. Vert. Bar Vertical Bar Shear Capacity, lb per foot Wall Size: Spacing: Width: 16 2159 8 #4 24 2192 32 2212 48 2238 16 2118 #5 24 2156 32 2180 48 2210 16 3344 12 #4 24 3386 32 3413 48 3445 16 3328 #5 24 3339 32 3371 48 3409

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Placement of Shear Walls: Ideally, shear walls should be placed symmetrically around the outermost walls of buildings. Non-symmetric shear walls will create uneven loadings and possible undesirable torsional effects. Below are a few plans showing various locations of shear walls for a rectangular building:

Good

Fair

Good

Poor

Fair

Poor

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Example GIVEN: The symmetric one-story flat-roof building as shown below. A seismic analysis of the building was performed and a story shear of 19 kips applied at the roof (from any direction) has been determined. REQUIRED: 1) Design the 2x6 wood-framed shear walls for the east and west walls assuming that Structural I Grade panel sheathing is to be used. 2) Design the 8 nominal masonry shear walls for the north and south walls assuming fm = 1500 PSI and #4 vertical bars. 3 4-0 wide windows centered along wall

10-0

11-0 wide doors (typ.)

7-0 46-0 7-0

28-0

West

North

South

East

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Step 1 - Determine available length of shear walls for East and West walls: Wood Shear walls (shaded)

19 kips

7-0

10-0 46-0 Plan View

7-0

Total length of available shear walls = 2 walls(7 + 10 + 7) Total length of available shear walls = 48-0 Step 2 Determine the shear force distributed on available shear walls: Distributed shear force = LateralForce AvailableLength

19000 Lbs. 48'0"

= 396 PLF

Step 3 Check maximum height-width ratio: The maximum allowable height-width ratio < 2:1 (from IBC Table 2305.3.3) Maximum actual height-width ratio =

10'0" 7'0"

= 1.43 < 2 acceptable

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Step 4 Design wood shear wall: From IBC Table 2306.3, choose: Panel Grade = Structural I Min. nom. panel thickness = 15/32 Min. Fastener Penetration in framing = 13/8 Nail size = 8d Panel applied direct to framing at 4 at panel edge Allow. Shear = 430 lb/ft > 396 lb/ft

Step 5 Determine available length of shear walls for North and South walls:

Masonry Shear walls (shaded)

28-0

4-0 (typ.) 19 kips Plan View Total length of available shear walls = 2 walls(4 + 4 + 4 + 4) Total length of available shear walls = 32-0 Step 6 - Determine the shear force distributed on available shear walls: Distributed shear force =

LateralForce AvailableLength
19000 Lbs. 32'0"

= 594 PLF

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Step 7 Design masonry shear wall: From table above, use 8 nominal wall w/ #4 vertical bars spaced 48 o.c. allowable shear = 2238 PLF > 594 PLF acceptable

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