Non-linear response of reinforced concrete wall structures

Introduction- Many buildings composed of frames (beams-columns) must resort to reinforced concrete walls to provide greater lateral stiffness. The nonlinear behavior of systems with reinforced concrete walls is uncertain and, therefore, it is necessary to know adequately the structural response of these to different seismic excitations by means of suitable modeling criteria. Objective- This study aims to find an adequate modeling methodology for reinforced concrete walls considering frame type discretizations. For validation, one of the specimens presented in an experimental report is used, where tests are reported to different walls subjected to cyclic displacement loads that characterize real prototypes. Methodology- The experimental results of experimental specimen No. 6, presented in the report No. UBC/EERC-79/20 conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, are used as a calibration model. The specimen is subjected to a reversible cyclic lateral load and concentrated loads due to the upper floors, these loads are also used as excitation loads for the analytical model. The geometric characteristics and mechanical properties are taken from the report for analytical modeling. Results- With the previous methodology, it is possible to model any two-dimensional reinforced concrete wall. The results obtained in terms of basal shear and displacement on the roof are compared with those shown in the experimental report. The global hysteresis curve (delta(3) vs V-b),) is obtained by subjecting the analytical model to a reversible pseudo-static load and considering the non-linear parameters of each of the materials. Conclusions- The results obtained with the analytic model discretized in frame elements present a great approximation with those shown in the experimental study used as a comparison, therefore, this criterion can be used to model any type of reinforced concrete wall in two-dimensional space and even three-dimensional.