Experimental Investigation of Ultrahigh-Performance Concrete Shear Walls of Various Height-to-Length Ratios

Reinforced concrete (RC) is an economical choice for shear walls to withstand lateral forces due to earthquakes and winds. Normal-strength concrete (NSC) shear walls, however, face issues in providing the required capacity, overall strength, and energy dissipation, compared to alternatives, such as ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) shear walls, which offers superior strength and durability. The body of knowledge on the performance of UHPC shear walls of various height-to-length ratios is, however, limited, motivating this experimental study to examine the cyclic behavior of UHPC shear walls across a range of aspect ratios. For this purpose, three large-scale UHPC shear walls, having 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 aspect ratios, were constructed and tested to understand their performance characteristics. The investigations evaluated how the geometric aspect ratio affects key response indicators, including ductility, cumulative energy dissipation, strength, and stiffness. The recorded data also provided original information about strain development in both vertical and horizontal reinforcements. In each shear wall specimen, strain developments were evaluated in both vertical and horizontal directions on the wall surfaces and embedded reinforcing bars. In parallel, crack formation and propagation were monitored as the drift ratio increased. This led to new insights into how the geometric aspect ratio influences the cyclic behavior, strain development, crack pattern, and failure mechanism of intermediate UHPC shear walls.