Seismic projection of non-rectangular reinforce concrete walls

Abstract

Conveniently, RC walls have been ever present in the core of the buildings. Non-rectangular-shaped walls like L-shaped and T-shaped have been studied so to cater the needs of the engineers. These walls are designed with high shear-span ratio and well-detailed boundary elements.

During situation where seismic load may occur, the loading direction may vary. Previous studies however only focused when the load was imposed in principal loading directions. In addition, the load ratio used in the study is usually too low. Hence, there is a need to study on the behavior of walls with limited detailing when imposed with high axial load in non-orthogonal directions.

Particularly in Singapore, the seismic threat is moderately low as such the RC walls are over-designed in resisting the lateral load. Hence, a new code of standard needs to be formulated in designing RC walls that are capable to resist some lateral load in various directions. The specimens in the study are designed specifically to simulate the situation in Singapore and surrounding region.

Analysis is made when an axial load ratio of 0.1 is imposed to the specimens. It is found that the calculated result is compatible with simulated result using the programs “Opensees”. Moreover, a moment-curvature relationship is determined from the experiment which matches with the findings from the calculated result.