Abstract Summary
The occurrence of moderate to high-intensity earthquakes in countries like Chile and New Zeeland, has shown damage to well-detailed reinforced concrete wall buildings designed according to seismic-resistant regulations, which leads to a questioning about the level of damage that would be expected, in intermediate and high buildings structured with industrialized reinforced concrete walls, according to construction and design practice in Colombia, especially when considering the coupling provided by the floor system acting as a diaphragm. This study presents the nonlinear analysis of an intermediate building located in Bucaramanga, Colombia, a city in a high seismic hazard zone, with concrete walls well detailed with confined edge elements whose thicknesses are between 15 and 30 cm. The model consists of a three-dimensional computational representation in the OpenSees software of the building using the Multiple-Vertical-Line-Element-Model-3D (3D-MVLEM) for modeling the walls, which are connected through a four-node finite element called ShellNLDKGQ that represents the slab. The simulation of flexure-dominated reinforced concrete wall behavior which is characteristic of intermediate and high buildings is allowed by this model. Results from static nonlinear analyses, shows a twofold shear capacity due to the coupling effect to this building. In addition, they show that axial forces vary because of the shear transferred through the slab.
