Influence of openings on the structural response of shear wall

Abstract

Shear wall has been conferred as a major lateral load resisting element in abuilding structure in any seismic prone zone. It is essential to determine the behavior of shear wall in the pre-elastic and post-elastic stage. Shear walls may also be provided with openings due to the functional requirement of the building. The size andlocation of opening may play a significant role in the response of the shear wall. Nonlinear finite element analysis has been performed using degenerated shell element with assumed strain approach to predict the displacement response of reinforced concrete shear wall with and without openings, subjected to monotonic as well as dynamic loading conditions. Material non-linearity has been considered using plasticity approach. A five parameter Willam-Warnke failure criterion is considered to define the yielding/crushing of the concrete with tensile cut-off. The ductility ratio has been calculated for different opening cases with various locations of openings in the shear wall. The shear wall with central opening resulted in less displacement in comparison to other shear walls. It is recommended that openings should not be located too close tothe boundary, as evident from the poor performance of such shear walls during severe shaking.