Shaking Table Tests of Lightly RC Walls: Numerical Simulations

Abstract

In the framework of the European consortium ECOLEADER, a seismic research project has been performed on specimens tested on a shaking table. The specimens were representative of reinforced concrete buildings with bearing walls. The mock-up studied in particular in this article is composed of two parallel walls linked with a perpendicular one that has openings. The walls are reinforced according to the current design practice in France with a small amount of reinforcement. Two kinds of finite element simulations have been performed: a refined one using a detailed 3D description of the specimen and a simplified one, based on multifiber beams. The comparison between the experimental and numerical results not only demonstrates the accuracy of the time-history analysis models, but also allows obtaining more detailed information about the behavior of the specimen for more complex seismic excitations. It is shown that both models are able to describe quantitatively the global and qualitatively the local behavior of the structure. The simplified model is furthermore used to investigate the behavior of the specimen under a 3D earthquake loading.

Keywords:

• Wall
• Multifiber Beam
• Shaking Table
• Concrete

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the European Community, the ECOLEADER consortium and the LNEC laboratory in Portugal for the experiments, la Fédération Française du Bâtiment (FFB) for providing the experts for the design of the French specimen and the French National Ministry for the Equipment (DRAST) for financing the numerical simulations. They are also grateful to A. Coin for his valuable advises that helped to improve the quality of the paper. They would finally like to thank the French research network RNVO for its financial support.

Notes

Ghavamian, S., Davenne, L, and Gatuingt F. [2002] Elément de poutre multifiber (droite). Fascicule R3.08 - Document Code Aster.

PS92 [1995] Règles de construction parasismique, Règles PS applicables aux bâtiments, dites Règles PS92. Norme française, AFNOR, 217p.