Influence of Concrete Confinement and Progressive Out-of-Plane Deformation on Seismic Behavior of RC Structural Wall with Enlarged Boundary Element

Abstract

Multistoried reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings are commonly used in urban housing across India, particularly in areas prone to moderate to severe earthquakes. To enhance the lateral stiffness and strength of these buildings, RC structural walls are typically placed between columns monolithically, hence resulting in a barbell-shaped crosssection. The design of slender RC structural walls with enlarged boundary elements, however, requires a thorough understanding of their seismic behaviour and potential failure modes during extreme earthquake shaking. Current seismic design guidelines in India, such as IS:13920-2016, only prescribes provisions for slender RC walls with rectangular cross-sections. Further, there has been limited research on the lateral load-lateral drift behaviour of slender RC walls with enlarged boundary elements, particularly to understand the influence of longitudinal and transverse reinforcement in the web and the boundary elements. Some studies have also pointed out out-of-plane deformations in these walls, which have yet to be comprehensively studied. This research aims to address these gaps in understanding.