Seismic design of structural concrete walls: an attempt to reduce reinforcement congestion

Non-linear finite-element analysis is used for a comparative study of the behaviour of two types of structural concrete walls: walls W1 with a value of the shear span-to-depth ratio between 1 and 2; and walls W2 with a value of the above ratio larger than 2. The walls, which are subjected to static (monotonic and cyclic) and dynamic (seismic excitation) loading, have the same geometry and vertical reinforcement details but differ in the horizontal reinforcement arrangement, the latter designed either in compliance with the earthquake-resistant design clauses of current codes or in accordance with the method of the compressive force path. The results obtained indicate that adopting the latter method yields significantly more efficient design solutions without compromising the code performance requirements.