Experimental and numerical investigation on the reinforced concrete boundary beam-wall system subjected to axial compression

PLoS One. 2024 Apr 17;19(4):e0301622. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301622. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

This paper proposes a reinforced concrete (RC) boundary beam-wall system that requires less construction material and a smaller floor height compared to the conventional RC transfer girder system. The structural performance of this system subjected to axial compression was evaluated by performing a structural test on four specimens of 1/2 scale. In addition, three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis was also performed to verify the effectiveness of the boundary beam-wall system. Three test parameters such as the lower wall length-to-upper wall length ratio, lower wall thickness, and stirrup details of the lower wall were considered. The load-displacement curve was plotted for each specimen and its failure mode was identified. The test results showed that decrease in the lower wall length-to-upper wall length ratio significantly reduced the peak strength of the boundary beam-wall system and difference in upper and lower wall thicknesses resulted in lateral bending caused by eccentricity in the out-of-plane direction. Additionally, incorporating cross-ties and reducing stirrup spacing in the lower wall significantly improved initial stiffness and peak strength, effectively minimizing stress concentration.

MeSH terms

  • Construction Materials*
  • Data Compression*
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Physical Phenomena

Grants and funding

This work was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korean government (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (Grant number: 2020R1A2C1014806 and RS-2023-00218832; Recipient: Dae-Jin Kim). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.