Verification of Vertically Divided Walls through Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

High-rise residential types are increasing due to the limited land area relative to the population that the global population is rapidly increasing. That is why various attempts are being made to increase the existing building to a high-rise. When the upper part of the building expands vertically, load concentration occurs in the shear wall with high rigidity. In this case, as the load increases, the wall strength increases during the shear wall flexural reinforcement. However, compared to the increased flexural strength, the flexural reinforcement method for the existing foundation is difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the load concentration and redistribute the load to secure the safety of the foundation. The distribution of the load is made by the difference in stiffness of the member that is distributed through vertical division of the wall to induce a reduction in wall stiffness. Through vertical division, it is possible to reduce the amount of reinforcement of the wall and prevent the burden on the foundation. There are limitations of the experimental approach because structural verification of various variables is required for the practical application of the method. In finite element analysis (FEA), variables can be set more freely than experiments: member specifications, load conditions, and boundary conditions. Therefore, it is possible to review various variables with less time and money than experiments. In this study, the performance of vertically divided walls is verified using the FEA program based on the experimental data performed in previous studies. Through this, it is expected that the method can be verified based on various variables by overcoming the experimental limitations.