SBC-based assessment of shear wall quantity in moment resisting frame buildings

According to Saudi Building Code (SBC) and almost all other seismic codes of the world, Reinforced Concrete (RC) shear wallmoment resisting frame buildings must satisfy the requirements of strength, stiffness and ductility if they have to be constructed in seismic prone areas. In the present study, a simple-to-apply analytical method based on “dual system” concept and SBC provisions is proposed to determine the amount of shear walls which can satisfy the strength, stiffness and ductility requirements imposed by the SBC on RC moment resisting frame buildings. The method also outlines a detailed procedure for the assessment of displacement and curvature ductility of RC shear wall-moment resisting frame buildings. This formulation is based on plastic analysis and the assumption that the plastic hinge forms at the base of the shear wall. The proposed methodology was then applied to a 10-storey RC building containing shear walls. It was shown that the amount of shear walls which is enough to satisfy the strength requirements also fulfills the stiffness criteria (i.e., story drift limitation) required by the SBC. It was also proved that the ductility requirements imposed by the SBC can easily be satisfied by using the same quantity of shear walls.