Shell element for nonlinear pushover analysis of reinforced concrete structures

What is it about?

Idealization of shear walls in pushover analysis of reinforced concrete structures makes a wide use of beam elements since a few dedicated shell elements are available in the literature. While the beam approach provides acceptable approximations for the global response, it lacks of accuracy for local phenomena in presence of walls coexisting with frame elements. The paper presents the experimental validation of a dedicated two-dimensional element presented in a previous work. The element is able to model the behavior of concrete shells with steel reinforcement bars and capable to perform 3D analysis of structures with shear walls of any geometrical shape.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The employment of beam elements for modeling shear walls in common engineering structures lacks of precision in identifying internal forces inside the shear walls and at their joints with the nearby frame structure. This could result in unreliable limit state checks and inaccurate safety factors. The comparison of the numerical response computed by finite element analysis with experimental data shows the accuracy of the proposed element and its capability of modeling local mechanism in shear walls regardless of its geometry.

Perspectives