An experimental investigation into the impacts of eccentric openings on the in-plane behavior of squat RC shear walls

Abstract

Changing the use of an existing building may require removing some portions of its structural members, such as introducing door and window openings in the existing shear walls. Imposing these changes affects the structural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls, depending on the size and position of the openings. This study investigated the structural performance of three RC shear walls containing cut-out openings, with a special focus on increasing the opening eccentricity. Moreover, one reference RC shear wall (without any opening) was used to compare the impacts of the openings and their eccentricities. RC shear walls were loaded under reversed cyclic loading conditions, and the impacts of the eccentric openings on the load carrying capacity, stiffness, and energy dissipation were studied. The results showed that the creation of openings and imposing eccentricity significantly affect the failure modes in RC shear walls. It was also revealed that RC shear walls with openings immediately entered to softening behavior at the final stage of loading. The eccentric openings in squat RC shear walls increased the ductility of the RC shear walls. Moreover, it was noticed that the creation of openings greatly reduced cumulative energy dissipation.