Experimental Evaluation of the Seismic Resistance of Reinforced Concrete Walls with Reduced Thickness in Low-rise Residential Buildings

Abstract

Currently in Latin America, the regular construction of reinforced concrete walls for structures up to two stories is analogous to the method used in high-rise buildings. The walls are designed with a double layer of horizontal and vertical steel mesh. However, the use of double mesh reinforcement involves a much larger amount of steel than necessary for low-rise structure wall designs. The objective of this study is to experimentally evaluate the seismic performance of thin reinforced concrete walls with a single central reinforcing mesh. The experimental plan considered a test of 6 walls in a 1:1 ratio. From WSL1 to WSL6, the walls have a length of 1600 mm (l_w), a height of 1600 mm (h_w), and a thickness of 100 mm (t_w), all samples were constructed with a top beam to apply horizontal loads and a bottom beam to hold the walls to the ground. It has been observed from experimental tests that the behavior and failure of the walls are controlled by shear. Most of the first cracks observed in the sample are diagonal cracks. The variables studied in the results analysis were: amount of reinforcing mesh, type of steel (mesh or corrugated reinforcement), and amount of vertical edge reinforcements. Additionally, the experimental results were analyzed to evaluate the effect of edge reinforcement, amount of welded mesh, type of steel, and amount of conventional reinforcements.