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

摘要

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. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.