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Effect of the selected seismic energy dissipation capacity on the materials quantity for reinforced concrete walls
Authors: José Miguel Benjumea Royero, Fredy Saúl Sotelo Monroy, Camilo Eduardo Celis Melo, Gustavo Chio Cho
Number of views: 310
Context: Regarding their design of reinforced concrete
structural walls, the Colombian seismic design
building code allows the engineer to select one of the three seismic energy dissipation capacity (ordinary,
moderate, and special) depending on the seismic
hazard of the site. Despite this, it is a common
practice to choose the minor requirement for the site
because it is thought that selecting a higher requirement
will lead to larger structural materials amounts
and, therefore, cost increments.
Method: In this work, an analytical study was performed
in order to determine the effect of the selected
energy dissipation capacity on the quantity of
materials and ductility displacement capacity of R/C
walls. The study was done for a region with low seismic
hazard, mainly because this permitted to explore
and compare the use of the three seismic energy
dissipations capacities. The effect of different parameters
such as the wall total height and thickness,
the tributary loaded area, and the minimum volumetric
steel ratio were studied.
Results: The total amount of steel required for the
walls with moderate and special energy dissipation
capacity corresponds, on average, to 77% and 89%,
respectively, of the quantity required for walls with
minimum capacity.
Conclusions: it is possible to achieve reductions in
the total steel required weight when adopting either
moderated or special seismic energy dissipation
instead of the minimum capacity. Additionally, a
significant increment in the seismic ductility displacements
capacity of the wall was obtained