Modeling Reinforced Concrete structural walls with micro-scale and macro-scale methods

Seyedamin Mousavi, Saeed Tariverdilo

Reinforced concrete shear wall, nonlinear static analysis, OpenSees, SAP2000.

The reinforced concrete shear wall is one of the efficient structural elements in the lateral force-resisting system. Simulating the realistic behaviour of this structural member considering various aspects of its functioning is one of the challenging issues in structural engineering. Generally, all the modelling methods of simulating the RC walls can be categorized into two main groups: macro-scale and micro-scale models. In this study, three numerical models, including layered section model, multi-vertical line element (MVLE) model, and fibre section model is defined utilizing OpenSees and SAP2000 as research-oriented and commercial structural analysis software respectively. In the first step, a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the mesh and element size on the global and local responses of each model. Then, they are compared with the results of the experimental test of a typical RC wall from previous studies. Results show that all models, independent of the mesh size, provide a relatively accurate response for global load-displacement results while different results for local strain results.