Strength tests on slender reinforced concrete walls in one and two-way action

A total of nine reinforced (normal and high strength) concrete walls with and without side supports have been tested under eccentric loading. The slenderness ratios (H/tw) of these half-scale walls varied from 30 to 40. This paper highlights the experimental set-up and reports on the failure loads and typical crack patterns of the reinforced concrete walls. In addition, the strength results are compared with those predicted using the design formulas recommended in the Australian Standard AS3600-2000 and American code ACI3181999. The shortcomings of the code methods are identified.