Seismic behavior and shear capacity of shear-dominated T-shaped RC walls under cyclic loading

Abstract

T-shaped walls are widely applied in tall buildings because of their high stiffness and the demand for structural layout, but the flange affects the shear performance of the wall. To investigate the shear failure mechanism of shear-dominated T-shaped reinforced concrete (RC) walls and the difference between the shear performance in the flange-in-tension and flange-in-compression directions, cyclic tests were carried out on three T-shaped RC walls. Numerical models were established for the parametric analysis of shear capacity in different loading directions, and the shear capacity calculation in various specifications was evaluated. The results showed that the failure regions of both specimens with flexural and shear failure were concentrated at the web tip, and the web tips of the shear failure specimens were more seriously damaged. Furthermore, reducing the shear span ratio significantly reduced ductility and energy dissipation capacity and increased the proportion of shear deformation to the total deformation in the plastic hinge area. The decrease in the horizontal distribution reinforcement ratio resulted in the slitting of the T-shaped wall, and the increase in deformation capacity owing to the slit wall compensated for the reduction in deformation capacity caused by the enhancement of the shear effect. Based on the results of the numerical simulation, the current codes failed to consider and distinguish the effect of the tensile and compressive flanges on the shear capacity of the T-shaped wall and were unable to predict the shear capacity of the T-shaped wall well.