Seismic Behavior and Ductility of Squat Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls with Nonseismic Detailing

Abstract

This study investigates the seismic performance and available displacement ductility of squat reinforced concrete shear walls that were designed and detailed without explicitly considering seismic design requirements. In the study, large-scale shear walls with aspect ratios of 1.0 and 1.5, as practiced in low to moderate probability of seismic occurrence regions, are tested under reversed cyclic loading. Emphasis is placed on the inherent displacement ductility of the walls with nonseismic standard and improved reinforcement details. Experimental results show that the inherent displacement ductility factor of 2.5 to 3 is commonly achieved with the current nonseismic design practice and that of 4.5 to 5 with minor modifications in the reinforcement detailing techniques. These findings indicate that although an ordinary squat shear wall with nonseismic design and detailing may not possess sufficient ductility to respond adequately to an unexpected moderate earthquake, minor modifications to the detailing techniques can effectively lead to a reasonable improvement of ductile response behavior.