Conception sismique des murs de refend couplés

The paper presents the different steps involved in the design of coupled walls located in seismic regions. Three aspects have been considered : (i) a review of the relevant specifications of the Canadian standards and National Building Code of Canada governing the design of coupled walls, (ii) a proposal for a classification method that avoids the need for any analysis during the calculation of the degree of coupling, and (iii) the development of a strategy for a step-by-step design, in compliance with the National Building Code of Canada and the new CSA/CAN3-A23.3-M94 standard for the design of concrete structures. The new National Building Code of Canada classifies henceforth ductile coupled walls as a function of their degree of coupling in two categories : (i) ductile partially coupled walls and (ii) fully ductile coupled walls. In this regard, this paper presents a method to evaluate the degree of coupling without need for analysis, which is particularly advantageous during predesign. This is followed by a step-by-step presentation of the design stages of partially as well as fully coupled walls. A design example is fully treated thereafter. The paper is intended for the practicing engineer and is motivated by the new aspects introduced in the new standard and the difficulties encountered by designers facing the study of systems including coupled walls.