Comprehensive approach for examining shear-critical RC walls using detailed experimental measurements

Current design codes lack robust assessment methods for shear-critical non-slender members based on on-site crack measurements. Therefore, in this paper, a comprehensive framework is proposed for quantifying the shear resisting mechanisms of short shear-critical walls on the basis of detailed test results. This framework is applied to two full-scale shear walls loaded to shear failure. The tests were performed with detailed measurements including digital image correlation, providing displacement and strain fields across the entire face of the specimens. The results demonstrate the substantial impact of crack geometry on the relative contribution of the shear resisting mechanisms. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the shear carried by the compression zone, referred to as the critical lading zone (CLZ), has a governing contribution to the total shear. Finally, a set of hypotheses towards a crack-based assessment method are proposed on the basis of the three-parameter kinematic theory for shear walls. The method quantifies the damage state of the CLZ from geometrical and crack measurements, enabling rational on-site assessments.