Strength and Deformation of Reinforced Concrete Squat Walls with High-Strength Materials

Abstract

The behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) squat walls constructed with conventional- and high-strength materials was evaluated through tests of 10 wall specimens subjected to reversed cyclic loading. Primary variables included specimen height-to-length aspect ratio, steel grade, concrete compressive strength, and normalized shear stress demand. Specimens were generally in compliance with ACI 318-14. Test results showed that specimens containing conventional- and high-strength steel had similar strength and deformation capacities when designed to have equivalent steel force, defined as total steel area times steel yield stress. The lateral strength of walls with aspect ratios of 1.0 and 1.5 can be estimated using their nominal flexural strength when the nominal shear strength exceeds Vmn. For specimens with an aspect ratio of 0.5, the lateral strength was close to the force required to cause flexural reinforcement yielding and less than the nominal shear strength calculated per ACI 318-14. Specimen deformation capacity decreased as the normalized shear stress increased. The use of high-strength concrete, which led to a reduced normalized shear stress demand, resulted in larger specimen deformation capacity.