Experimental Analysis of Seismic Behavior of Squat Shear Walls with Different Axial Load Ratios

The majority of existing experimental studies on the seismic performance of squat shear walls have primarily focused on small-scale specimens with low axial load ratios. To investigate the seismic behavior of squat reinforced concrete shear walls subjected to high axial load ratios, quasi-static tests were conducted on six large-scale squat shear walls with varying axial load ratios. The failure modes, hysteresis curves, skeleton curves, energy dissipation characteristics, stiffness degradation, and crack widths of these specimens were thoroughly analyzed. A numerical simulation of the experimental process was carried out using ABAQUS, and the validity of the finite element model and the accuracy of the numerical analysis results were verified through comparison with the experimental measurements. From the experimental results, it is determined that the axial load ratio is an important parameter affecting the specimens and that the squat shear walls show obvious shear slip failure. Furthermore, the axial load ratio is inversely proportional to the horizontal bearing capacity, stiffness, and ductility. ABAQUS is shown to simulate the stress state of the squat shear wall well, providing a reasonable theoretical analysis model and calculation parameters.