Behavior and modeling of tessellated shear walls in a structural frame system

This paper studies the behavior of a reinforced concrete (RC) structural frame employing a tessellated structural-architectural (TeSA) shear wall as the lateral-load resisting element. TeSA walls are made of interlocking modules (tiles) that provide easier repairability and replaceability. A nonlinear finite element model of a TeSA wall with tiles interlocking in one direction (1-D interlocking) is validated using test data. An RC frame from a building is modeled with a 1-D interlocking TeSA shear wall. The effects of varying rigidity of the wall-frame connections (rigid, hinged, slotted) on the lateral strength of the system and the axial load demands of the gravity-load resisting systems are evaluated. Finally, the effect of connection details on the damage of the TeSA wall is also studied. The study shows that the lateral strength of the system is the highest with a rigid connection between the wall and the system, followed by the system with hinged connections. Slotted connections, which provided no vertical coupling between the wall and the frame result in the lowest lateral strength. TeSA wall experienced “slight damage” up to a drift ratio of 2%. The system with rigid connections between the wall and the frame experienced the most damage, followed by system with hinged and slotted connections.