| Title |
Experimental Investigation on the Structural Performance of RC T-shaped Walls with different Confinement Effects |
| Keywords |
structural walls ; lateral confinement ; hysteretic behavior ; confined zone ; high seismic zone |
| Abstract |
The structural performance of structural walls which resist the lateral loads are influenced by various factors, like sectional shape, aspect ratio, reinforcement ratio, arrangement of reinforcement, and axial load ratio etc. This experimental study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of the structural performance of the T-shaped walls. The T-shaped walls have different structural performance depending on the loading direction. When the flange is compressed, the neutral axis of a T-shaped wall is usually located near the flange. In this case, it is seemed that majority of concrete in the flange can contribute to attain the required compression capacity. On the other hand, when the flange is subjected to tension, the compression zone of the web would be required more axial deformation capacity because the vertical reinforcement in the flange participate as a flexural reinforcement. Therefore, the objective of this study is to find the effect of lateral confinement in the web and flange which influence the structural performance of the T-shaped walls. Based on the results of this experimental study, all specimens behaved in a flexural manner, they failed by crushing of concrete in the compression zone. All specimens show the similar performance in despite of the location and quantity of lateral confinement when flange is under compression. However, when the flange is subjected to tension, the location and quantity of lateral confinement give different performance in terms of stiffness, strength, and deformation capacity. Therefore, more careful design would be necessary to confine the concrete in the web of T-shaped wall. |