Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
(OP)
Dear friends, I have a box shaped shear wall in my building and I have faced a problem about designing it. I assigned all 4 walls in one pier and used section designer to model the wall and assign bars to the wall. According to etabs manuals etabs can design U,L,T shaped shear walls but I don't know if etabs can design box shaped shear walls or not. On the other hand, Should I assign my shear wall with a combination of a U shape and a single wall or I can simply assign all 4 walls in one single pier and design it with one section defined in section designer. Your help is highly appreciated.
(Note: I have an openings in one of the walls but its size is negligible comparing to the size of the shear wall.)
(Note: I have an openings in one of the walls but its size is negligible comparing to the size of the shear wall.)





RE: Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
RE: Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
Any comments are welcome.
RE: Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
As you will really have a box section, it makes sense to take advantage of it's section properties. Otherwise your design will be overly conservative, in some cases extremely overly conservative.
You can always do some simply hand calcs to verify the reinforcing. You shear will be resisted by the side walls in shear, and the overturning moment by the end walls in C/T. Once you work out what net tension you have, if any, you can verify your tension reinforcing in the end walls. You will likely find that minimum steel will cover most overturning requirements, unless you have very tall and slender box.
One concern that you have to consider is the shear transfer from wall to wall at the corners. You will need to ensure you have adequate horizontal corner reinforcing to resist the shearing. Also, the configuration of your openings may affect the behavior of your section. For instance, door openings at one side of a box in the corner may prevent the shape from acting like a box, due to the weak plane at the corner. In this case, I would look at it like a C shape.
RE: Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
How we will justify this?
Any idea what do they mean by MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS?
Thanks
RE: Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?
RE: Can etabs design box shaped shear walls?