Dynamic non‐linear analysis of reinforced concrete shear wall by finite element method with explicit analytical procedure

A numerical procedure for a dynamic non‐linear finite element analysis is proposed here to analyse three‐dimensional reinforced concrete shear wall structures subjected to earthquake motions. A shear wall is modelled as a quasi‐three dimensional structure which is composed of plane elements considering the in‐plane stiffness of orthogonal flange panels. The proposed constitutive model is based on the non‐linearity of reinforcement and concrete in which the tension stiffening in tension and the degradation of stiffness and strength in compression of concrete after cracking are considered. The acceleration‐pulse method, which is a kind of explicit analytical procedure, is employed to solve the non‐linear dynamic equations, where the dynamic equation can be solved without stiffness matrix and so the iterative procedure is not necessary for descending portion of stress–strain relationship caused by cracking and softening after compressive strength in concrete. The damping effect is considered by assuming equivalent viscous damping which can give good cyclic behaviours of inertia force vs. displacement relationships. This analytical method was applied to a test specimen of a reinforced concrete shear wall with a H‐shaped section which was vibrated up to failure by using a large‐scale shaking table with high ‐performance in Japan. The test was performed as one of the dynamic model tests for evaluation of seismic behaviour of nuclear reactor buildings. The calculations were performed sequentially from the elastic range to failure. The comparison with the test results shows that this approach has good accuracy. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd