COMPUTERS AND STRUCTURES, INC.

, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 2007

SHEAR WALL DESIGN ACI 318-05

Technical Note Wall Pier Boundary Elements

This Technical Note describes how the program considers the boundary element requirements for each leg of concrete wall piers using ACI 318-05. The program uses an approach based on the requirements of Section 21.7.6.3 in ACI 318-05 by default. ACI 38-05 Section 21.7.6.2 can also be adopted as alternative for boundary check in Preferences menu of Shear Wall Design when wall piers are effectively continuous from base of structure to top of wall and designed to have a single critical section for flexural and axial loads. Program does NOT perform any check on the continuity of wall piers. Note that the boundary element requirements are considered separately for each design load case that includes seismic load. Note: The program considers only the requirements of Section 21.7.6.3 of ACI 318-05 in determining boundary element requirements. Section 21.7.6.2 can be selected as alternative in Preferences menu of Shear Wall Design.

Details of Check for Boundary Element Requirements

The following information is available for the boundary element check:

The design forces Pu, Vu and Mu for the pier section. The height of the entire wall, hw, length of the wall pier, Lp, the gross area of the pier, Ag, and the net area of the pier, Acv. The net area of the pier is the area bounded by the web thickness, tp, and the length of the pier. Refer to Figure 1 of Technical Note Wall Pier Design Sections in Shear Wall Design for an illustration of the dimensions Lp and tp. Program also compute the design displacement u by multiplying the displacement from load combination with cd factor provided in Preference menu of shear Wall Design.

Details of Check for Boundary Element Requirements

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Shear Wall Design ACI 318-05

Wall Pier Boundary Elements

a. Symmetrical

c. Unsymmetrical

b. Symmetrical

d. Unsymmetrical

Figure 1

Example Plan Views of Symmetrical and Unsymmetrical Wall Piers

The area of steel in the pier, As. This area of steel is either calculated by the program or it is provided by the user. The material properties of the pier, f'c and fy. The symmetry of the wall pier (i.e., is the left side of the pier the same as the right side of the pier). Only the geometry of the pier is considered, not the reinforcing, when determining if the pier is symmetrical. Figure 1 shows some examples of symmetrical and unsymmetrical wall piers. Note that a pier defined in Section Designer is assumed to be unsymmetrical unless it is made up of a single rectangular shape.

Using this information, the program calculates the value of PO, which is the nominal axial load strength of the wall using Equation 1. PO = 0.85f'c (Ag - As) + fyAs Note: For simplified design only, if there is a flexural failure in any design load combination, the program sets As in Equation 1 to zero for all design load combinations considered for the pier. After the value of PO is known, the program calculates four quantities that are used to determine the boundary zone requirements. These quantities are: Eqn. 1

Details of Check for Boundary Element Requirements

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Shear Wall Design ACI 318-05

Wall Pier Boundary Elements

Pu PO

u /hw
c

0.2f c'

When extreme fiber compressive stress exceeds

0.2f c' , boundary elements

are required (ACI 21.7.6.3) or when neutral axial depth calculated from factored axial force and nominal moment strength consistent with design displacement, u, exceed the following limit:

600 ( u /hw )

lw

(ACI 21.7.6.2), Eqn. 2

where

u /hw 0.007 .

boundary elements are required (ACI 21.7.6.2). Program also report the largest neutral axis depth for each leg and the boundary zone length computed using ACI 21.7.6.4(a) when boundary zone is Not Needed. This information is provided so user can satisfy the requirement of ACI section 21.7.6.4(a) and 21.7.6.5 when longitudinal reinforcement ratio at the wall boundary is greater than 400/f y . If boundary elements are required, the program calculates the minimum required length of the boundary zone at each end of the wall, LBZ, according to the requirements of Section 21.7.6.4(a) in ACI 318-05. The code requires that LBZ shall not be less than c - 0.1lw and c/2 (ACI 21.7.6.4(a)). Figure 2 illustrates the boundary zone length LBZ.

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Shear Wall Design ACI 318-05

Wall Pier Boundary Elements

LBZ Lp

LBZ

Figure 2: Illustration of Boundary Zone Length, LBZ

Transverse reinforcement for Boundary Elements

Where special boundary elements are required by ACI sections 21.7.6.2 or 21.7.6.3, program compute and report the total cross-sectional area of rectangular hoop reinforcement as follows:

Ash /s = 0.09bc f c' / f yt

(ACI Eqn. 21-4), Eqn. 3

Where special boundary elements are not required by ACI sections 21.7.6.2 or 21.7.6.3, and the longitudinal reinforcement ratio at the wall boundary is greater than 400/f y user should independently satisfy the requirements of ACI section 21.4.4.1(c), 21.4.4.3 and 21.7.6.5.

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