NONLINEAR FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF RC SHEAR PANELS AND WALLS. DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE

A discussion of an earlier paper with the aforementioned title by A. Ayoub and F.C. Filippou, published in this journal (Volume 124, Number 3, March 1998), is presented. The discusser commends the original authors for providing additional insight into factors influencing nonlinear analysis of reinforced-concrete (RC) elements. In particular, their findings relative to the importance of mechanisms such as compression softening and tension stiffening are useful and consistent with observations made at various research institutions. However, 2 points are raised concerning certain aspects of the original research. Closure by the authors is provided.