BEHAVIOUR OF U-SHAPED WALLS SUBJECTED TO UNIAXIAL AND BIAXIAL CYCLIC LATERAL LOADING

This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical investigation on the behaviour of U-shaped walls subjected to lateral uniaxial and biaxial cyclic loading. The test specimens have been sized and detailed according to EC8 code. The tests aimed at studying the behaviour of a full scale U-shaped wall in uniaxial and biaxial bending and shear, and compared the alternative design requirements of two versions of EC8. A 3D multilayer thin shell finite element formulation, incorporating a concrete model with a smeared cracking capability, was used to simulate the experimental behaviour of this specimen. Comparison between numerical and experimental results shows that the model is capable of predicting with acceptable accuracy the most important characteristics of the measured global and local response. Based on the findings of both experimental and numerical results, some additional recommendations for design and analysis have resulted.