BuiM. Sci. Vol. 8, pp. 153-157. Pergamon Press 1973.

Printed in Great Britain I I I 1 [

Analysis of Multi-Bay Coupled

Shear Walls
I. A. S. ELKHOLY*
H. ROBINSONt

Presented is a method of analysis of multi-bay coupled shear walls resting on

rigid or elastic foundations. By basing the analysis on the finite difference
technique, a closed solution to the problem is achieved. This yields a set of
simultaneous finite difference equations. The solution is illustrated by numerical
examples.

NOMENCLATURE have been presented for shear walls with one band
The following notations have been used in this paper: of openings resting on elastic foundations[3].
.4j, Ij, dj cross-sectional area, moment of inertia Hussein[4] presented a method of solving the
and width of pier j governing simultaneous second order coupled
Ib, Ab, Ab*, db, b moment of inertia, area, reduced cross- differential equations for multi-bay coupled shear
sectional area, depth and span of con- walls resting on rigid foundations using the con-
necting beam.
h, n storey height, number of storeys tinuous connection technique.
H total height The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis
[(J- l )j distance between the centroids of piers of coupled shear walls with one or more bands of
j-1 andj openings resting on rigid or elastic foundations.
c,~_.j distance between the centroidal axis of The analysis is based on the finite difference
pier j - I and point of contraflexure
between piers j - 1 and j technique; an advantage of the method is that
E,G modulus of elasticity, shear modulus unequal spacing and stiffness of the connecting
~)J(J - 1 ) slip between piers j - 1 and j beams and variation in cross-section of the piers
kj(j_ ~) shear modulus for cross-beams between can be accommodated.
piers j - 1 and j
£ strain FINITE DIFFERENCE SOLUTION
qj~j- 1) shear force intensity in connecting Basic assumptions
medium
1. The walls of the coupled shear wall have equal
O shear force in connecting beam
Mj bending moment in pier j
curvature at any section.
M external applied bending moment 2. The shear connection between the walls is
T~j~ axial force in pier j provided by connecting beams which deflect
Ko, K~ foundation constants with a point of contraflexure at mid-span and
0,6 rotation and settlement of foundation do not deflect axially.
m number of piers
3. The strain distribution in each wall is linear,
INTRODUCTION however, the strain distribution, in general,
is not continuous.
IN MULTI-STOREY buildings shear walls are one
of the more economical means of providing lateral Formulation of the problem
stability against earthquake or wind loading. They
Figure 1 shows a coupled shear wall with m
are usually weakened by vertical bands of openings.
piers connected together by m - 1 systems of
Explicit solutions have been presented for the com-
connecting beams and with n storeys.
mon practical cases of unsymmetrical walls with
The equilibrium condition can be written as,
one or two bands of openings and symmetrical figure 2(a),
walls with three bands of openings using the con-
tinuous connection technique[l, 2]. Also solutions M¢i ) = Mli+M2i+ ... +M(j_l)i+Mji
+ M(j+l)i+ • . . + Mrai+[T(1)(i)112
* Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, +T(2)123+... + T(j-1)(OI~j-I)j
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
1"Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, + T ¢ . ( o l m + ~) + . . .
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. + T~m-.(ol..-,~m] (l)
153
 154 I.A.S. EIk/u)lv and H. Robin.son

I _ L ) 2 - 1 ) 23 _ 1 _ _l!(i-))~l _t_ EEl = E(I I + 1 , + . . . +1~ I)+l(i,+l,~ i)

[- I- -I- -t~ -I~ r "
/ -F . . . +/m) (3)
DD [] [] [] •
The strains, at the point of contraflexure for
p i e r s / - I and j, can be found as
FIB [] [] 71 [-1
[]r~ [] r~,[] [5, T(j 2)(i) T I j - - I 1(i) mfj--l)i(~(j-I)j
[] [] FI(,-,)Di'- [] [] "° ~:~i - ) ).i EA.i -~ EAi. ~ Eli
r-I D
D /-]
[-l(,, [--],+l i-I
[](i,,) [] l-]
l-]
D
f' T(J-I)(i)l- T(j)(i) ~PvI(j)iCI(j
°
-]) (4)
~;.i(.i- I ) -- EA j ~ q- E1 i
[] [] O~, ' [] o, [] O H

P,o~D [] O) '-~]~-"E] D If the relative displacement, 7, between the two

ends of the cross-beam connecting piers j - 1 and
,D~D D)-, DJ [] Dm j, is directly proportional to the load transmitted,
[] [] [] [] [] []
we get
7 ~:
Q i , j ( j - l ) : ki,j(j-l)Ti..i(i l)
Fi,~. I. Multi-bay coupled shear wall. where

The compatability condition, at the point of /,[ 3

bJo-I) bi(i_t) 1
- 4 GA.h. (5)
ki'flJ-I) = ] 12Elb.j(.i-i) jfj-i) "
contraflexure at mid-span of the cross-beam con-
necting the two piers j and j - 1, can be written as, The equilibrium of forces in the vertical
figure 2(b) and 2(c)[5] direction yields, figure 2(a).
~'i+l,j(j--l)--~'i, j t j - ] ) = S (~(j-I)j Qi..i,j-l) = T,i-i)(i)-Ti.i-l)(i ,) (6)
hU)
--~Sj(j_ i )) dx (2) Substitution of equations (1), (3), (4), (5), (6) in
equation (2) yields,

Tlj-i)(i-i) hli)lj(j-l) [Ttl)(i)II2+ Tt2),I)123 + . . .

pier I 2 ~/ J-I j , / rn
ki, j(j- I) YE1

tft /fi' ,,,-, fit

) T{rH ~)r~T~l(i ] T(]_~,iO )It T( ,- .... ~T {)>
J~ +T~i 3 ( i l I i - 3 ) ( j - 2 ) ] + "EAi._ j

Isu-,)l(s-,,(s- 2)1
f,
ZEI j h(i)T{.i- z)(O

'(''
Mli M2; M(i0~ M(]}, Mm,
(a) Free body dio~'am
F + +
ki. j _~) ki+l..ilJ_l) EA(i_I) EAj

(c) Deformed structure b) Strain distribution

(d) Vertical and rotational
zt.I / 'J
settlement

Fig. 2. Equilibrium, compatibility and boundary conditions. +IE-Ai

1 li(J-l)liu+l)7
~ jh(1)T(j,(i)

The condition that the piers have equal curvature _ 11( i)lj(j_ I) [Tu+ i )( i)l(j+ 1 )(j+ 2) + • • -

yields, T~EI

Mli M21 _ _ M ( j - 1 ) i _ M(j)i + T(,._,)(1)l(,._~)(r.)]-F T(s-1)(i+l)

Ell E12 El(j_ l) EIj ki+ I ,.i(J- I )

__ M ( j + l ) i __ Mmj =
h(i)lj(j- 1) M(o
EIu + i) El,, ZEI j = 2, 3 . . . . . m (7)
i= 1,2,...,n
M ~ i) - [ 7"( l )(i)ll 2 + T( 2)( i)123 + . • •
Equation (7) represents a finite difference
+ T~,._ ~)(J(,._ l ),.]
equation for panel (i), (i = 1, 2 . . . . . n), between
ZEI
two piers j and j - l , ( j = 2 , 3 . . . . . m). For a
where coupled shear wall with n storeys and m piers there
 Analysis o f Multi-Bay Coupled Shear Walls 155

are [n. ( m - 1)] such equations resulting in a set of K~ and 1(o are constants which depend upon the
In, (m- 1)] simultaneous equations. characteristics of the foundation system used.
Equation (7) can be written in matrix notation as Having obtained the axial forces Tu_l)( o,
[ j = 2,3 . . . . ,rn and i = 1,2 . . . . . n], the other
[BI{T} = (R} (8) forces and deformations of the structure can be
[B] is a band matrix with half band width equal determined.
to m. {T} is a vector. (R} is a vector.
The boundary conditions are:
NUMERICAL EXAMPLES
atx=0
To illustrate the use of the theory, a coupled
Tu_l)(o ) = 0 (9)
shear wall with 6 piers was analysed. The properties
at x = H, two different types of foundations will of the coupled shear wall are, h(i) = 10 ft (3.05m),
be considered. H = 200 ft (60.96rn), lju_l) = 25 ft (14-2m), dj =
20 ft (6.1m), bin_l) = 5 ft (1.53m), db,i(i-1) = 2 ft
1. Rigid foundations (0.61m) and thickness 1 ft (0.305m) under a lateral
uniformly distributed load of 2 kip/ft (2-98 t/m).
~n+l,j(j-1) = 0
Four cases are considered:
i.e.
1. Rigid foundation.
k,+l,j(j-1) = oo (10.1)
2. Elastic foundation with vertical movement,
2. Elastic foundations, vertical and rotational
K~ = 6 × l0 3 kip/ft.
movement, figure 2(d),
3. Elastic foundation with rotational movement,
7n+l,j(j-1) = -6"FOlj(j-1)
K o = 1 x l0 s kip-ft/rad.
where
4. Elastic foundation with vertical and rotational
movement, Ka = 6 x l 0 3 k i p / f t and K o =
1 x 105 kip-ft/rad.
X,~(j_l) Ka(j) Ka(j_ 1) K~(j)
Figures (3)-(5) show the distribution of axial
0 -- g ( J - l ) n forces in the piers, shearing forces in the con-
necting beams, internal bending moments in the
piers, deflection of the piers and the strain distri-
1 El(j_l)
bution at the base of the coupled shear wall.
- Ko(j_l) EEI (Mtn)-[T(1)(")I12
As the vertical stiffness constant for the founda-
tion, K~, decreases, the lateral deflection of the
-~-T(2)(n)123 -~- ... + T(m-1)(n)l(m-1)(m)] ~
shear wall and the internal stresses in the piers
(10.2) increase.

....... K9 = Ix I0 5 kip-ft/rod
K0 • K - o o /
---e--- KB=6xlO~ kip/ft

~Q-- K0 and KS //l

/

i
1

I 200 IIoo I 8o
, J
,4
/',h
20 0
(IOO) (50) (50)
T, kip(ton)
Pier I
2 3
Fig. 3. Influence o f vertical and rotational movements on axial forces in piers.
156 I, A. S. Elkhoh" attd H. Robinson

Ks=K =oo
---e--- Ks=6xI03 kip/ft

...... K9 =lx lO 5 k i p - f t / r a d

~ e ~ K~and K 8

,, ]'f ~ 1
0 ~
~
401
~-f "-<_4-, . . . .
0
, ~ --~J~'-~
~401
.--" ~ 40 I
Q, kip(ton) (20) (20) (20)

Between piers
1-2 2 -3 3-4

Fig,. 4. Influence o f vertical and rotational movements on shearing forces in beams.

i Vertical settlement of the foundation is more

I~ ";,,,'
,/ " significant than the rotational settlement, both for
stress and deflection considerations.
(a)M diagram Finally, it is worthwhile to study the influence of
~K~= K o =oo / e"(b)Deflecfion vertical and rotational movement of foundations
---=-- ~ K ~ 6 xlO3kip/ft
]/ /e
/ \~.t/o
resting on different types of soil. Table 1 shows this
influence on forces and deformations using the
....... Ke=ixlOSkip-ft/rad I! ' O' ./
lIJ~
ip /=/" 6 pier model analysed previously. For practical
~e~ K~and K e
(500) .--''/
,~
!/./ purposes, a foundation with vertical stiffness
/ r' / (o.o0 J greater than 4 x 1 0 6 kip/ft and a rotational stiffness
Mi, f t - k i p ( m t )
f / 0-05 greater than 1.5 x 10 a kip-ft/rad, can be treated as
Deflection, ft(m)
rigid. We may mention that the values of Ko and
K o in Table 1 are calculated for a pier of 20 ft
\; i,
width[6], assuming the foundation to have the

L
I,,
r"
\ ¶
Pier I 2 " 3 4
(e) Strain distribution at base
F&,. 5. Influence o f vertical and rotational movements on
m~, Deflection and strain distribution at base.
As the rotational stiffness constant for the foun-
dation, K 0, decreases, the lateral deflection of
the shear wall and the axial forces in the piers
increase while the moments in the piers decrease.
,,
same width as the walls.
I •
~ ',
4x10-5
CONCLUSIONS
I •
A method of analysis of multi-bay coupled shear
5 6 walls resting on rigid or elastic foundations is
presented. It is assumed that the connecting beams
have a point of contraflexure at mid-span and do
not deform axially. The method is based on a
finite difference technique. Use of the finite
difference technique enables the problem of shear
walls with variable spacing and stiffness of con-
necting beams to be solved. Variation in cross-
section of the piers can also be accommodated.
 Analysis o f Multi-Bay Coupled Shear Walls 157

Table 1. Influence of vertical and rotational stiffness on axial forces and bending moments at base, shearing forces in beams
and deflections at top

Forces (units in kip and ft.)

Type Ko ~ 0
of Kn (kip-ft/ Deflection Mt~_~) t,) (ft (rad
soil (kip-ft) rad) (ft x 10- 2) T~j_t) ~,) in piers Ql. j~j-l~ × 10- 3) × 10- 4)
in piers at base at base in connecting beams

1 2 3 1-2 2-3 3-4

Sound granite 9× 106 3 x 10 s 0-972 214 84'0 23.8 1050 19.2 23.9 24.8 0.023 0'034
4 x 106 oo 0"959 211 84-4 24"0 1101 19.0 23.7 24.9 0.052 0
Sandstone oo 1-5 x 10 s 0-985 216 83'6 23.6 1002 19.3 24'0 25.0 0 0'066
4× 106 1.5 x 10 s 1-000 215 85.0 24.1 1015 19.2 24.0 25-0 0 " 0 5 3 0.070
3× 104 oo 2"389 142 90-6 29"7 2431 16.1 21.8 23.5 5-09 0
Densesand oo 1 × 106 1.357 257 89-1 24.8 75-3 27.9 29-9 30.3 0 0.753
3 × 104 1 × 106 4.235 226 125 40.4 213 21.2 29.7 32.1 7.12 21.3
Stiffsoil oo ~ 0'945 212 83-1 23'5 1087 19'1 2 3 " 7 24.8 0 0
3 × 103 0(3 6-294 9"2 31-5 11-2 6022 66-3 71-5 71-9 18-6 0
Loosesand oo 1 × 105 1.580 260 89.6 24.9 7.4 29.0 3 1 . 1 31-4 0 0-793
3 × 103 1 x 105 30.3 224 132 43.7 1519 21-4 29.3 34.0 70'5 15.2
Weak plastic clay 6x 10 z ~ 7-977 47 45'0 24"5 7569 89-4 98.5 99.9 24"4 0
oo 2 x 104 1'865 261 89"6 24.9 1.63 29.2 31.2 31.6 0 0.816
6× 102 2x 104 141.7 224 133 44.1 142 21.4 31.3 34.2 342 70.9

REFERENCES
1. R. ROSMAN, Approximate analysis of shear walls subjected to lateral loads, ACIJournal,
717 (1964).
2. A. COULL and N. SUBEDI, Coupled shear walls with two and three bands of openings,
Build. Sci. 7, 81 (1972).
3. A. COULL, Interaction of coupled shear walls with elastic foundations, ACI Journal, 456
(1971).
4. W. HtJSSEIN, Analysis of multi-bay shear wall structures by the shear connection method,
Build. Sci. 7, 69 (1972).
5. F. ST/2SSI, Zusammengestzte Vollwandriiger, Publications, International Association of
Bridge and Structural Engineering, Vol. VIII, pp. 249-263, 1947.
6. G. A. LEONARDS, Foundation Engineering, pp. 566 & 789. McGraw-Hill, New York,
(1962).
7. I . A . S . ELKHOLV, Static analysis of plane coupled shear walls, M. Eng. Thesis, McMaster
University, Hamilton, Ontario, December 1971.

O n p r 6 s e n t e une m 6 t h o d e d ' a n a l y s e de p a r o i s de c i s a i l l e m e n t a c c o u p l 6 e s m u l t i - b a i e s
r e p o s a n t sur des f o n d a t i o n s rigides o u 61astiques. E n b a s a n t l ' a n a l y s e sur la t e c h n i q u e
de diff6rence finie, u n e s o l u t i o n close d u p r o b l ~ m e est achev6e. Celle-ci d o n n e un
e n s e m b l e d ' 6 q u a t i o n s simultan6es de diff6rence finie. L a s o l u t i o n est illustr6e p a r des
exemples num6riques.

Es w i r d eine M e t h o d e d e r A n a l y s e v o n g e k u p p e l t e n Vielfeldversteifungsw~inden
dargestellt, die a u f festen o d e r e l a s t i s c h e n F u n d a m e n t e n r u h e n . I n d e m m a n der
A n a l y s e die e n d l i c h e D i f f e r e n z m e t h o d e zu G r u n d e legt, erh/ilt m a n eine a b g e s c h l o s -
sene L S s u n g fiJr das P r o b l e m . D i e s e e r g i b t e i n e n S a t z s i m u l t a n e r , e n d l i c h e r D i f -
f e r e n z g l e i c h u n g e n . D i e L 6 s u n g e n w e r d e n m i t z a h l e n m / i s s i g e n Beispielen v e r a n s c h a u l i c h t .