Analytical Models for Predicting the Lateral Response of R C Shear Walls: Evaluation of Their Reliability

摘要

Attention is focused on a wall model recently proposed by Japanese researchers. The model, based on a macroscopic approach, idealizes the generic wall member as three vertical line elements with infinitely rigid beams at the top and bottom floor levels. The two outside elements are truss elements to represent the axial stiffness of the boundary columns; the central element is a one-component model constituted by horizontal, vertical and rotational springs to represent, respectively, the shear stiffness of the wall, the vertical axial stiffness and the flexural stiffness of the central panel. Modifications of the wall model are developed in the studies reported. The main modification is aimed at improving the simulation of the hysteretic behavior of the axial elements adopted by the Japanese. These axial elements are replaced by new elements which simulate more closely the hysteretic behavior of a reinforced concrete (R C) column member under axial load reversals. In order to check the effectiveness and reliability of the modified wall model, a numerical investigation is carried out by calibrating the results against measured behavior of a series of R C structural walls that have been tested at the University of California at Berkeley. The modified wall model proves to be effective and suitable for incorporation in a practical nonlinear analysis of R C multistory structural systems.