Title: Shear Strength of Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Walls

Author(s): Sharon L. Wood

Publication: Structural Journal

Volume: 87

Issue: 1

Appears on pages(s): 99-107

Keywords: friction; lateral pressure; models; reinforced concrete; shear strength; shear stress; structural design; tests; walls; web reinforcement; Structural Research Sharon L. Wood

DOI: 10.14359/2951

Date: 1/1/1990

Abstract:
Results of 143 tests of low-rise reinforced concrete walls subjected to lateral loads were reviewed to evaluate the current design provisions for nominal shear strength. Procedures defined in Appendix A of ACI 318-83 were found to underestimate the strength of lightly reinforced walls and tended to overestimate the strength of walls with more than 1.5 times the minimum web reinforcement ratio. A reasonable lower bound to the shear strength of low-rise walls with minimum web reinforcement was found to be 6 û f'c. The shear strength of the walls was observed to increase when the amount of vertical reinforcement in the web and boundary elements was increased. A shear-friction model was used to evaluate the shear strength provided by the vertical reinforcement.