Dynamic analysis of squat shear wall using nonlinear finite element method

Shear wall has been considered as a major lateral load-resisting element in multistoried building located in windor earthquake-prone zone. The behavior of shear wall under various loading conditions has been the subject of intense research for the last few decades. The behavior of shear walls without openings is completely well understood and well documented in literature. The use of squat shear wall has been found in many low-rise buildings. On the other hand, squat shear walls may also be provided with openings due to the functional requirement such as placement of doors/windows in the building. The size and location of the opening play a significant role in the response of the shear wall. Even though it is intuitively known that the size of opening has significant effects on the behavior of a shear wall, it is desirable to know the limiting size of opening in the shear wall, beyond which the shear walls may fail or become unserviceable, especially when subjected to severe earthquake ground motions. In this study, the materially nonlinear dynamic response of the shear wall, with and without openings for different damping ratios, subjected to EL Centro earthquake has been captured. For dynamic analysis, constant acceleration Newmark β method of direct time integration has been used. From the study, it was observed that the presence of opening results in severe displacements and stresses on the shear wall and also results in stress concentration near the opening tip. Hence, the presence of damping has been considered to be vital for large opening under severe dynamic loading conditions.