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Shear Wall - Its Types and Positioning

Shear walls are used to limit the lateral deflection of tall buildings by providing stiffness and stability. There are two main types - rigid moment frames that increase costs for buildings over 7-8 stories, and flexible frames with stiff shear walls like external walls or walls around core areas. Shear walls are classified by their height to depth ratio and can be plane, flanged, or coupled sections. The optimal positioning of shear walls is in the center of each half of the building to provide flexural stiffness in both directions, but other arrangements may be necessary due to practical constraints.

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89 views6 pages

Shear Wall - Its Types and Positioning

Shear walls are used to limit the lateral deflection of tall buildings by providing stiffness and stability. There are two main types - rigid moment frames that increase costs for buildings over 7-8 stories, and flexible frames with stiff shear walls like external walls or walls around core areas. Shear walls are classified by their height to depth ratio and can be plane, flanged, or coupled sections. The optimal positioning of shear walls is in the center of each half of the building to provide flexural stiffness in both directions, but other arrangements may be necessary due to practical constraints.

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babu1434
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SHEAR WALL ITS TYPES

AND POSITIONING
SHEAR WALL
In reinforced concrete framed structuresthe effects of
wind forces increase in significance as the structure
increases in height. Codes of practice impose limits on
horizontal movement or sway.
Limits must be imposed on lateral deflection to
prevent:

Limitations on the use of building,


Adverse effects on the behavior of non-load
bearing elements,

Degradation in the appearance of the building,

Discomfort for the occupants.

Generally, the relative lateral deflection in any one


storey should not exceed the storey height divided
by 500.
The figure below shows the deflected profiles for a
shear wall and a rigid frame.

One way to limit the sway of buildings and provide


stability is to increase the section sizes of the
members to create a rigid, moment-resisting frame.
However, this method increases storey heights, thus
increasing the building cost. It is rarely used for more
than 7 or 8 storeys.
Another way is to provide stiff, shear
resisting walls liked to a flexible frame. These can be
external walls or internal walls around lift shafts and
stair wells (a core) or sometimes both are provided.

STRUCTURAL FORMS OF SHEAR WALLS:


Monolithic shear walls are classified as short, squat or
cantilever according to their height to depth ratio.

Generally shear walls are either plane or flanged in


section, while core walls consists of channel sections.

In many cases, the wall is pierced by openings. These


are called coupled shear walls because they behave as
individual continuous wall sections coupled by the
connecting beams or slabs.

Normally the walls are connected directly to the


foundations. However, in a few cases where the
lateral loads are relatively small and there no
appreciable dynamic effects, then they can be
supported on columns connected by a transfer beam
to provide clear space.

POSITIONING OF SHEAR WALLS:


The shape and plan position of the shear wall
influences the behavior of the structure considerably.
Structurally, the best position for the shear walls is in
the centre of each half of the building. This is rarely
practical, however, since it dictates the utilization of
the space, so they are positioned at the ends.

This shape and position of the walls give good flexural


stiffness in the short direction, but relies on the
stiffness of the frame in the other direction.
This arrangement provides good flexural stiffness in
both directions, but may cause problems from
restraint or shrinkage. As does this arrangement with

a single core, but which does not have the problem


from restraint of shrinkage.

However, this arrangement lacks the good torsional


stiffness of the previous arrangements due to the
eccentricity of the core.
If the core remains in this position then it must be
designed explicitly for the torsion. It is far preferable
to adopt a symmetrical arrangement to avoid this.

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