Improvement of earthquake-resistant performance of squat shear walls under reversed cyclic loads

Abstract

"Six reinforced concrete(RC) walls with barbell or rectangular cross sections were tested under reversed cyclic loading to develop the reinforcing method to improve earthquake-resistant performance of low-rise shear walls for which the predominant action is shear. The results clearly indicate that it is possible to insure a predominantly ductile performance by promoting flexural yielding of the vertical reinforcement. Suitably arranged diagonal web reinforcements are found to considerably improve hysteretic response of low-rise structural walls with good energy dissipating characteristics and large deformation capacity, while web crushing limits shear capacity of barbell shaped specimens subjected to relatively high nominal shear stresses.