SHEAR WALL

INFLUENCES ON STRUCTURAL FORMS

 From engineer point of view, the
structural forms are selected on the basis
of : the resistance of different structural
elements to gravity and horizontal loads
 In reality, the choices of structural forms
uses is strongly influenced by:
 Internal planning
 Material and method of construction
 External architectural treatment
 The planned location and routing of the
service system
CONTI….
 It may be noted that taller and more slender is
the building; the more important is the selection
of structural factors become and more necessary
is to choose the appropriate structural forms.
WEIGHT OF STEEL IN TALL BUILDING
 The efficiency of the structures can be
roughly compared by their weight per unit
floor area.
 Weight of the floor is influenced by floor
span.
 Buildings up to ten stories can accommodate
wind loading without increase in member
sizes because of the flexibility in permissible
stresses set by the design codes.
 However, for more then ten stories the
additional materials required for wind
resistance increases non-linearly.
WEIGHT OF STEEL IN TALL BUILDING
INTRODUCTION TO SHEAR WALL
 For tall buildings, it is necessary to provide
adequate stiffness to resist the lateral forces
caused by wind and earthquake
 When such buildings are not properly designed
for these forces, there may be very high stresses,
vibrations, and side-sway when the forces occur
 The results may include not only severe damage
to the buildings but also considerable discomfort
for their occupants
 In structural engineering, a shear wall is
a structural system composed of braced panels
(also known as shear panels) to counter the
effects of lateral load acting on a
structure. Wind and seismic[1] loads are the most
common loads that shear walls are designed to
carry.
 It provide lateral stability to structures by
resisting the in-plane shears and bending
moments caused by the lateral forces
DEFINITION
 Shear Wall is a Structural Element used to resist
Lateral / Horizontal / Shear forces parallel to the
plane of the wall by:
• Cantilever Action for slender walls where the
bending deformation is dominant
• Truss action for Squat / Short Walls where the
shear deformation is dominant
 The basic requirements of shear walls designed
for high seismic forces is to ensure flexure rather
than shear-controlled design
 In reinforced concrete framed structures the
effects of wind forces increase in significance as
the structure increases in height
 Codes of practice impose limits on horizontal
movement or sway
 Limits must be imposed on lateral deflection to
prevent:
• Limitations on the use of building,
• Adverse effects on the behaviour of non-load
bearing elements,
• Degradation in the appearance of the building,
• Discomfort for the occupants
 One way to limit the sway of buildings and
provide stability is to increase the section sizes of
the members to create a rigid, moment-resisting
frame. However, this method increases storey
heights, thus increasing the building cost. It is
rarely used for more than 7 or 8 storeys
 Another way is to provide stiff, shear resisting
walls liked to a flexible frame. These can be
external walls or internal walls around lift shafts
and stair wells (a core) or sometimes both are
provided
PLACEMENT OF SHEAR WALL
 The shape and plan position of the shear wall
influences the behaviour of the structure
considerably. Structurally, the best position for
the shear walls is in the centre of each half of the
building. This is rarely practical, however, since
it dictates the utilization of the space, so they are
positioned at the ends

This shape and position of the walls give good

flexural stiffness in the short direction, but relies on
the stiffness of the frame in the other direction
This arrangement provides good flexural stiffness in both
directions.

However, this arrangement lacks the good torsional

stiffness of the previous arrangements due to the
eccentricity of the core
SHEAR WALL PLACEMENT IN BUILDING
 On most occasions, it is not possible to use shear
walls without some openings in them for doors,
windows, and penetrations for mechanical
services
 The wall sections on the sides of these openings
are tied together by beams enclosed in the walls,
by the floor slabs, or by a combination of both
 Although shear wall designs are often handled
with empirical equations, they can be appreciably
affected by the designer’s previous experience
 A structure with reinforced concrete shear walls
is going to be quite stiff and, thus, will attract
large seismic forces
 If the shear walls are brittle and fail, the rest of
the structure may not be able to take the shock
 If the shear walls are ductile, however (and they
will be if properly reinforced), they will be very
effective in resisting seismic forces
 The depth of the beam from the compression end of the
wall to the center of gravity of the tensile bars is estimated
to be about 0.8 times the wall length, lw, as per ACI
Section 11.10.4.
 The commentary (R11.9.9) says that in low walls, the
horizontal shear reinforcing is less effective, and the
vertical shear reinforcing is more effective
QUASI-STATIC TESTING OF SHEAR WALL
 RESEARCH STUDIES: PERFORMANCE-BASED
DESIGN OF SQUAT REINFORCED CONCRETE
SHEAR WALLS VIA HYBRID SIMULATION

Catherine Whyte
Postdoctoral Researcher

Bozidar Stojadinovic
Professor and Chair of Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic

Engineering
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich

nees@berkeley Workshop
May 27, 2014
OVERVIEW
 Motivation to study squat shear walls in nuclear
facility structures
 Hybrid simulation method and suitability for
testing squat shear walls
 2 hybrid simulation tests at UC Berkeley

 Comparison to quasi-static cyclic test at SUNY

Buffalo
HYBRID SIMULATION FOR SQUAT
NUCLEAR FACILITY WALLS
 Well-suited for testing walls in very massive
structures so the mass associated with the
structure can be simulated
 One physical wall component can be tested at
large scale
CONCLUSIONS
 Displacement controlled hybrid simulation using
a high-precision digital encoder for displacement
feedback is an effective way to perform large-
scale hybrid testing of stiff specimens
 Tested two walls with different ground motion
loading sequences and observed same progression
of failure modes and similar hysteretic behavior
 Hybrid simulation results were consistent with
quasi-static test results in terms of global
behavior response
ACI PROVISIONS FOR SHEAR WALLS
EXAMPLE
 Design a reinforced concrete shear wall shown in
figure, if fc’ = 3000 psi and fy = 60,000 psi
THANK YOU