Shear Wall

What are a Shear Wall? Buildings are always subjected to lateral loading. To restrict the lateral deformation of building, some members must be designed to counteract the lateral forces in each directions. One technic is to design shear walls.

In simple words, a shear wall is a structural member with high bending stiffness that strengthen the structure against lateral loading. They are usually made of reinforced concrete. The behavior of shear walls in high-rise buildings must be studied under many considerations to ensure the safety of the structure.

There are many considerations related to design of the shear walls including openings, shape and plan position. Each decision about these matters must be made in a justifiable manner. In ETABS video coarse we have covered many tips and hint related to different part of the buildings including shear walls. Proper designing, cannot guarantee the safety of the building if construction process is not carried out properly. In some cases, construction mistakes sharply reduces the efficiency of the shear wall.

Shear Wall Failure Modes

Typical failure mechanisms are shown in the following Figure. The behavior and failure modes of shear walls are a function of several factors including the type of loading, aspect ratio, type of construction, properties of materials and reinforcement detailing.