The effects of loding history and repair methods on the structural characteristics of reinforced concrete walls was investigated. Large scale slender wall models were tested to failure, then unloaded, repaired, and retested to destruction under various regimes of cyclic horizontal loading. It was found that, while repairing only the damaged regions of the compressive zone was sufficient to fully restore wall strength, the additional use of epoxy resins to heal major flexural and inclined web cracks led only to a marginal improvement of the structural characteristics, the latter being distinctly inferior to those of the original walls. Such results are in compliance with the concept of the compressive force path and demonstrate that, in contrast to widely held views, the compressive zone is the main contributor to shear resistance.
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