Estimating Drift Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Structural Walls

Methods to proportion special reinforced concrete (RC) structural walls are based on the assumption that, unless shear failure, bond failure, or out-of-plane wall buckling control, deformation capacity is limited by: 1) the ability of concrete to deform in compression; and 2) the height of the region in which plastic deformations concentrate near the base of the wall. Reliable means to estimate these properties are not available. Additionally, failure in a wall is not always controlled by compression in the concrete, as bar buckling can also limit capacity. The height of the zone in which inelastic compression deformations concentrate is radically different from the length along which tension reinforcement yields. Moreover, estimates of drift capacity obtained on the basis of conventional assumptions deviate by large margins from laboratory test results. In this investigation, four methods to estimate the drift capacity of RC walls controlled by flexure were evaluated using results of 40 wall tests and a specific recommendation is provided.