Full Program »

Analysis of shear-dominiated reinforced concrete columns and masonry walls using nonlinear truss models

Shear failures in reinforced concrete or masonry components can negatively affect the lateral strength and inelastic deformation capacity of building structural systems subjected to cyclic lateral loads. Such failures can occur in both old and new construction. For example, squat or strongly coupled structural walls can experience severe shear cracking which can even lead to collapse under extreme loads, e.g., earthquakes. A number of modeling techniques, with different levels of complexity, have been proposed and used to capture shear damage in reinforced concrete and masonry structures. While nonlinear finite element models can accurately capture the effect of shear damage, they are computationally demanding and do not allow extensive parametric studies to characterize the performance of the built environment.
This study uses nonlinear truss models to capture the response of shear-dominated reinforced concrete columns and reinforced masonry walls under cyclic loading. The material laws for the concrete/masonry material and for the steel reinforcement and the procedure to establish the geometry of a truss model are described. The modeling scheme is validated using the results of quasi-static and dynamic tests on reinforced concrete columns and reinforced masonry walls, including a multi-story wall system subjected to seismic loading. The combination of accuracy, conceptual simplicity and computational efficiency establish truss models as an attractive method of assessing the performance of shear-critical structural components and systems.

Author(s):

Mohammadreza Moharrami    
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
United States

Ioannis Koutromanos    
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
United States

Marios Panagiotou    
University of California Berkeley
United States