Lightly Reinforced Walls Subjected to Seismic Excitations: Interpretation of CAMUS 2000–1 and 2000–2 Dynamic Tests

In this article a study is presented of the inelastic seismic performance of two 5-story reinforced concrete wall specimens, which were tested in the context of the CAMUS 2000 program. The structure has been sized and detailed following the French PS92 code. To investigate the simplifying assumptions made in design, a 3-D refined nonlinear analysis was conducted. Particular aspects of the behavior of the two tested specimens are presented and then test results are compared with numerical predictions. The experimental-analytical comparisons not only demonstrate the accuracy of the time-history analysis model, but also allow obtaining more detailed information about the behavior of the specimen when it is subjected to seismic excitation. The significant effect of degradation of the stiffness and strength of the wall suggests that it is always important that design procedures are derived from numerical modeling and experimental observations.