Analysis of interaction between reinforced concrete walls and slabs tested on a shaking table

An analysis of the interaction between reinforced concrete walls and slabs tested on the shaking table was performed. The tested structure consisted of four walls connected by three slabs without coupling beams. Although these walls would be typically considered cantilever walls, significant coupling was observed, resulting in considerably different response mechanisms than those observed for typical cantilever walls. As observed in past earthquakes, these unexpected response mechanisms can cause walls' brittle failure. Numerical analyses were performed to study the critical parameters causing the observed response. The response was primarily influenced by the considerable slabs' effective width (EW), significantly affecting the walls' and slabs' strength ratio. Owing to the large EW, the slabs' strength was threefold larger than the standard value typically considered in the design. The slabs provided considerable coupling (CL) of walls, significantly increasing the total stiffness and the total base shear (BS) of the structure compared to standard cantilever walls. Owing to the increased BS and redistribution of the demand between wall piers caused by large CL, the maximum shear forces in the piers were more than doubled than that observed in the cantilever walls. The compression axial forces in piers were also considerably increased, causing the buckling of the longitudinal reinforcement.