Experimental and Numerical Study of Strain Degree of Medium-Reinforced Prism Specimens

Abstract

Lateral instability of seismic walls is a catastrophic phenomenon which can affect severely the seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete multi-story buildings. It can even lead to the total collapse of multi-story buildings affecting human safety and having socioeconomical consequences, too. In the framework of this work, the influence of the degree of tension on the phenomenon of transverse instability of reinforced concrete seismic walls is examined. This investigation is both experimental and analytical and includes 4 test specimens. These specimens model the edges at the end of seismic walls. All columns simulate only the extreme reinforced areas of the walls, in order to study the basic mechanism of the phenomenon. The detailing of the specimens includes of 4 rebars with 8 mm diameter and 2 rebars with 10 mm diameter. The geometric dimensions are the same for all specimens. What differentiates the specimens from each other is the degree of tension they have sustained. More specifically, the tensile degrees used are 1%, 2%, 3%and 5%. Extreme earthquake action needs to be considered and that is the reason for using in the work herein large elongation degrees, e.g., 3% and 5%. The numerical investigation follows the experimental investigation using appropriate statistical software and finite elements. The resulting load-strain diagrams prove the very good correlation that exists between the test results and the analyses. The elastic branch, the yielding point and the plastic branch coincide very good for all four test specimens. Basic conclusion is that the degree of elongation is a very crucial mechanical parameter that affects tremendously the behavior of the boundary edges of structural walls. © 2022, Avestia Publishing. All rights reserved.