Macroscopic numerical model of reinforced concrete shear walls based on material properties

A macroscopic model evaluating shear behavior is necessary to simulate the failure process of shear walls under different axial compression ratios and different out-of-plane bending moments. Accordingly, based on the results of experiments and numerical simulations, a three-segment skeleton curve model was established to reflect the relationship between shear force and deformation when a reinforced concrete shear wall is subjected to axial and horizontal force. Corresponding hysteresis rules were proposed to obtain a macroscopic hysteresis model of the shear wall. Comparison between numerical and experimental results showed that the peak displacement, ductility, and hysteresis characteristics determined using the macroscopic model matched the experimental results well. The numerical results of the macroscopic shear model showed that the in-plane shear performance of a shear wall is almost unchanged when the out-of-plane displacement is very small, but if the displacement along the thickness direction increases, the in-plane shear bearing capacity and the deformation ability of a shear wall will notably decrease. The results can be used for structural design or collapse simulation.