Flexural and Shear Deformation of Basement-Clamped Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls

Abstract

For a precise analysis of buildings under earthquake effects, the load–deformation behaviour of the bracing walls must be comprehensively known. The horizontal bracing walls are often clamped in the basement; however, less attention has been paid to these walls’ clamping parts in the past. This study presents three shear wall experiments (NW 1, NW 2, NW 3) with heights up to six meters in a scale of 1:1.5 to the real size. Measured were the force–displacement curve, the curvature distribution over the height, the crack pattern, and the crack opening and spacing. Twelve displacement transducers, an optical measurement system with eight cameras, and a manual crack measurement were utilised. Out of the measurements, the impact of the tension shift effect on the load–displacement curves could be quantified for the cantilever part of the walls. Additionally, it was found out that a sliding failure in the clamping part must be considered if the aspect ratio of H/L is equal to or less than one.