Shear-Sliding Model of Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls with Construction Joints under Cyclic Lateral Loading

In reinforced concrete walls with low aspect ratios and construction joints, shear-sliding is a critical failure mode under earthquake loading. In this study, a backbone curve model was developed to capture the nonlinear response of walls with shear-sliding failure mode. The shear-sliding strength was defined as the sum of shear-friction strength in the compression zone and dowel action strength in the tension zone, considering the effect of flexural moment. Deformation capacity was defined as the sum of flexural, shear, and shear-sliding components, with shear-sliding displacement limited by reinforcement fracture due to catenary action in the tension zone. The proposed model was validated using existing test results from 43 wall specimens with construction joints. The model predicted both the shear-sliding strength and deformation capacity of the walls with reasonable accuracy.