Simplified Strut-and-Tie Model for Shear Strength Prediction of Reinforced Concrete Low-Rise Walls

In this study, an analytical model using the strut-and-tie concept was developed to predict reinforced concrete (RC) low-rise wall shear strengths. In the model, the failure mode considered was crushing of the diagonal compression strut. To accurately determine the strut area, a formula for calculating depth of compression zone at the bottom of wall was derived with the aid of nonlinear finite
element analysis. A total of 100 RC low-rise wall specimens failing in shear obtained from available literature were used to verify the accuracy of wall strength predictions of the proposed strut-and-tie model. Furthermore, strength predictions from building codes and other analytical models were also included for comparison
purposes. The analysis results show that the proposed strut-and-tie model is conservative and it has the lowest coefficient of variation as compared to other methods in predicting the shear strength of RC low-rise walls. In addition, the predictions of the proposed model are quite consistent and less scattered for wide ranges of wall height-length ratios and concrete compressive strengths.