Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

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Thin-Walled Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tws

The V-MVLE model for cyclic failure behavior simulation of planar RC

members
Hongmei Zhang a , Yi Fang a , Yuanfeng Duan a ,∗, Gongbang Du b
a Department of Civil Engineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
b Jsti Group, Nanjing, 210017, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: As a widely used planar structural component, the reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall in service is usually
Vector mechanics subjected to axial, bending and shear loading, possessing high dissymmetry damage mechanics of concrete and
Vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) failure mode of steel bars. To obtain a satisfactory level of simulation accuracy for the cyclic failure behavior
Shear wall
of RC shear walls, progresses were made both in microscopic and macroscopic modeling method. In this study,
Macroscopic model
a hybrid planar model based on vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) and macroscopic multi-vertical
Multi-vertical line element (MVLE)
Nonlinear analysis
line element (MVLE) was proposed, which combined the merits of detailed response of the microscopic model
Hybrid model and high calculation efficiency of the macroscopic model. Owing to particle-based formulation along the path
element, no assembling of a global stiffness matrix was required by the VFIFE method, which attributed the
advantages in large deformation and reinforcement fracture behavior analysis for the proposed model during
cyclic failure phase. Via the proposed hybrid model of MVLE, the RC shear walls with various parameters,
involving axial compression ratios and height–weight ratios, were simulated to allow comparison between the
experimental and analytical results in reversed cyclic tests, which demonstrated good agreement and satisfied
calculation efficiency.

1. Introduction To achieve an efficiency analysis results, the passed two decades

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls significantly improve the lat-
eral force-resisting capacity for high-rise buildings [1]. The finite ele-
ment modeling approaches for nonlinear analysis on wall/panel struc-
tures with 2D elements are popularly applied [2]. Micro model is based
on the assumption of elasticity and boundary state of stress by using
solid element or plate element to conduct the simulation directly [3–
5]. Although fine mesh element leads to relatively accurate results,
it makes the numerical simulations of coupled systems or integral
buildings almost impractical to be carried out due to the high com-
putational cost and complexity in structural analysis [2]. Moreover,
the illness of global stiffness matrices calculation induced from large
deformation analysis of concrete makes the nonlinear cyclic or dynamic
differential equations difficult to be solved [6]. The nonlinear analysis
for microscopic finite element often encounters converge problem when
involving strength loss problem. The failure behavior of the RC shear
walls includes the steel bar breaking and concrete cracking or crushing,
which makes the accurate simulation remain a challenge. Kolozvari
et al. [7] compared five microscopic modeling approaches and found
that the investigated models were uncapable of accurately predicting
the failure modes and deformations of the RC shear wall specimens.
witnessed improvement on the modeling method on the macro mod-
els [8–16] including the shell model [8,9], the multi-layer model, the
equivalent beam model, the equivalent truss model, the three-vertical
bar model, the multi-vertical line element (MVLE) model and the
corresponding modified models [10–12]. Among which, the MVLE is
usually adopted in analysis of shear walls [13–16], which is efficient in
computational cost and can also obtain a satisfactory level of accuracy,
as well as the accuracy of global behavior into account, they are
advantageous over the sophisticated microscopic models [17]. With
empirical formulas and experiment-based simplified derivations, this
method can reflect the partial non-linearity of shear wall roughly.
However, due to the strict assumption of macro model (such as a plane-
section assumption, continuum theory-based assumption of the bending
deformation and shear deformation, etc.), the nonlinear dynamics is
highly inaccurate, and the simulation of structural response usually
remains semi-empirical [18].
The assembled multi-vertical bar elements were proposed to show
more detailed responses [19]. In this model, the shear walls are pre-
sented by assembled MVLEs, where the elements share the same nodes,
the nodal position can be obtained by global kinematic calculation,
and the plane section assumption do not need to be strictly conformed

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ceyfduan@zju.edu.cn (Y. Duan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2022.110159
Received 15 February 2022; Received in revised form 10 August 2022; Accepted 14 September 2022
Available online 29 September 2022
0263-8231/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Fig. 1. The discrete model by limited particles.

to [20]. However, the effectiveness of the model is hindered by the con-

tinuum theory and the corresponding assumptions. The nodal response
is obtained through iterations using the global stiffness matrix to satisfy
the boundary conditions, which increases the computational cost and
frequently fails by the illness of the global stiffness matrix. In addition,
the traditional finite element method is based on small deformation
assumption, which generally cause the coarse mesh element calculation
to encounter significant errors. Furthermore, the concrete damage and
reinforcement fracture during the failure process remain challenges.
Vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) was recently proposed
with a simplified and systematic solving process for structural anal-
ysis [18,21,22]. Based on Newton’s second law, response of each el-
ement particle can be obtained by independent kinematic equation.
This vector mechanics-based finite element analysis method possesses
significant advantage in solving the large deformation and fracture
problems [18,21,22]. It was developed in recent two decades and Fig. 2. Time path element.
the feasibility of the nonlinear simulation has been verified by cor-
responding studies. Ting et al. proposed the fundamental theoretical
frame [18,21,22]. Wu et al. [23] developed a VFIFE-based planar
represented by particles with mass, and the kinematic equation is
element, and successfully accomplished the large deformation analysis
balanced according to the Newton’s second law, which is different
of a flexible structure. Then Wu and Ting [24] put forward the four-
from the traditional finite element equations relating to global stiffness
node quadrilateral membrane element and simulated the nonlinear
and damping matrix. The three characters endows the advantage of
large deformation process of a membrane structure. The VFIFE-based
independent solution and avoids failure calculation in solving large
nonlinear analyses of space truss structures [25], three-dimensional
deformation or failure involved fracture behavior problem.
membrane structures [26], flexible multi-body systems [27] and shell
structures [28] have also been proposed and successfully accomplished
the complex structural behavior simulations. Duan et al. [29] developed 2.1.1. Point value description
the vector fiber model and simulated the entire process of earthquake As shown in Fig. 1, the structure is discretized into finite mass parti-
induced collapse of a mock up long-span cable-stayed bridge, which cles which are connected by massless elements, and the deformation of
greatly promote the application of VFIFE. Large deformation problem the structure is described by the motion of all the particles. The motion
and post-buckling problem simulation via the vector mechanics-based of each particle follows the Newton’s second law [18]:
method [30–32] also achieved successful application. Moreover, Zhang
𝑚𝑑̈ = 𝐹 𝑒𝑥𝑡 + 𝐹 𝑖𝑛𝑡 (1)
et al. [6] developed planar four-node isoparametric element based on
VFIFE and achieved accurate simulation results of the failure process where m is the mass of particle k; 𝑑̈ is the acceleration vector of particle
of RC shear walls, which is verified by the cyclic experiments. k at time 𝑡𝑛 ; 𝐹 𝑒𝑥𝑡 is the resultant of external force vector; 𝐹 𝑖𝑛𝑡 is the
Inspired by these studies, in this paper, a hybrid element of VFIFE resultant of internal force vector. The central difference method (CDM)
and MVLE (V-MVLE) was proposed. This element was provided on is employed to solve a set of uncoupled motion equations.
demand of efficient calculation and demonstration of local damage
caused by concrete degradation and reinforcement fracture for evalu-
2.1.2. Path element
ating the performance of RC shear wall or planar element under cyclic
The time trajectory segment is regarded as a path element (from
load, aiming to providing a sufficiently accurate and robust solution for
time 𝑡0 to time 𝑡𝑁 ), as shown in Fig. 2, wherein the particle motion
the calculation of large-scale structures. Large deformation, post-crack
is continuous, and the deformation is small. The particle motions are
degradation and even reinforcement fracture were considered for both
described by a set of time functions during the entire process, that
analyzing and design purpose. Shear walls with different parameters
is, the displacement of an arbitrary particle within a path element is
were simulated verified the efficiency and accuracy of proposed model.
donated by the same continuous time function.
2. Introduction of the V-MVLE model
2.1.3. Fictitious reverse motion
2.1. Statement of VFIFE analysis After obtaining the position vector of the particle, the fictitious
reverse motion is imposed on the deformed element to calculate the
In vector mechanics, there are three main characters including pure deformation, after that, the internal forces can be obtained by the
point value, path element and fictitious reverse motion. Objects are principle of virtual work and equilibrium condition [33].

2
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al.
Fig. 3. Diagram of MVLE and V-MVLE.
Based on vector mechanics, the structural analysis can be solved by
a unified procedure with independent kinematic equation, instead of
the procedure in traditional finite element analysis including elemental
stiffness matrix assemblage, matrix factorization, and matrix inversion.
Hence, the VFIFE-based method makes the calculation procedure more
efficiency.
The detailed description and theory exposition can refer to the
Refs. [18,21,22]. Based on this theory, large deformation, fracture
behavior and even collapse problem have been solved successfully,
correspondingly, a hybrid element based on VFIFE is proposed. The
improvement of computational efficiency and the acquisition of local
failure response can be considered.
2.2. Hybrid element based on VFIFE
2.2.1. The hybrid element of V-MVLE
The multi-vertical line element (MVLE) is developed based on the
three-vertical bar element model by Kabeyasawa et al. [10]. That
meets the deformation compatibility between bending spring in the
vertical direction and shearing spring in the horizontal. The bending
deformation of shear wall is independent of the shear deformation [34].
As shown in Fig. 3(a), h is the element height, c is the position
factor [11], and ch is the position of the shear spring. The rigid beam
is modeled to satisfy the plane-section assumption. A set of vertical
springs and a horizontal spring are used to simulate the bending and
shearing performance respectively. The nonlinear performance of the
model is represented by the hysteretic character of the springs, whose
parameters are determined from tests.
As literature demonstrated, the MVLE possesses high calculation
efficiency and have been incorporated into structural nonlinear pro-
grams [20]. However, this kind of element tends to be problem-based
and strictly conforms to plane section assumption. Although this assem-
bled MVLE can avoid strictly plane section assumption and obtain more
detailed structural deformation [19], the nodal force and deformation
still need to meet the boundary equilibrium condition of the wall
by iteration. In the implicit FE microscopic modeling method and
the assembled macroscopic modeling method, the nodal deformation
is obtained from the equilibrium equation via global stiffness matrix
calculation. While, this method may cause calculation error for the
global stiffness matrix illness particularly during post-peak behavior.
Furthermore, iterations are generally necessary to meet the boundary
equilibrium condition of the wall, which takes calculation resources
and hinders efficiency. Moreover, the fracture of the steel bars and
concrete damage still cannot be fully considered. These prevent the
accuracy and efficiency of the application of macro-element.
The vector mechanics-based macroscopic model (V-MVLE) is pro-
posed in this study, as Fig. 3(b) shown. In this element, the con-
ventional macroscopic model with MVLE is adopted to obtain the
3
Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159
internal force of the element, different to the assembled MVLE, the
four end nodes of the element and the connection nodes of the vertical
springs conform to the mechanical theory of VFIFE. The shear wall is
represented by the particles with concentrated mass. According to the
interpretation of VFIFE, the structural responses of those particles are
obtained from the motion equation as Eq. (1) shows by the central
difference method. As a result, the deformation of those particles is
not limited within small deformation assumption. The path element
attributes the time sequence to individual fragment to conform the
continuum-based theory. The large deformation and the fracture be-
havior take place at the nodes of the time path. The nodal force can be
obtained by the internal and external force without repeated iterations
to meet the boundary condition. The internal force can be calculated
from the pure deformation via the fictitious reverse motion interpreted
in VFIFE mechanics. With this assembled model, the large deformation,
fracture behavior, and strength soften response can be presented.
The function of MVLE in the proposed element is to calculate the
internal force of each element. According to the principle of static
equilibrium, the internal force of the element is transformed to the
particles 1∼4, as shown in Fig. 4. One shear spring is placed in the
element with m vertical springs. The force 𝐹 𝑛+1 of each particle at time
(n +1) is mainly composed of the forces provided by vertical springs
𝐹𝑏𝑛+1 , shear springs 𝐹𝑠𝑛+1 , and the rigid bars 𝐹𝑟𝑛+1 :
𝐹 𝑛+1 = 𝐹𝑏𝑛+1 + 𝐹𝑠𝑛+1 + 𝐹𝑟𝑛+1 (2)
(1) Inner forces of the vertical springs
As Fig. 4 shows, the positions of the start node s and end node t in
the 𝑗th vertical spring can be calculated from particles’ coordinates as:
𝑥𝑠𝑗 = 𝑥3 ⋅ 𝜉𝑗 + 𝑥4 ⋅ (1 − 𝜉𝑗 ) (3)
𝑦𝑠𝑗 = 𝑦3 ⋅ 𝜉𝑗 + 𝑦4 ⋅ (1 − 𝜉𝑗 ) (4)
𝑥𝑡𝑗 = 𝑥1 ⋅ 𝜉𝑗 + 𝑥2 ⋅ (1 − 𝜉𝑗 ) (5)
𝑦𝑡𝑗 = 𝑦1 ⋅ 𝜉𝑗 + 𝑦2 ⋅ (1 − 𝜉𝑗 ) (6)
in which 𝜉𝑗 is the coefficient of position, defined as the ratio of the
distance between the node t of the 𝑗th vertical spring and node 2 of
the element to the initial length of the element, here, that is to describe
the relative position of each steel bar within each hybrid element; (𝑥𝑖 ,
𝑦𝑖 ) is position of particle i, 𝑖 = 1, 2, 3, 4; (𝑥𝑠𝑗 , 𝑦𝑠𝑗 ) and (𝑥𝑡𝑗 , 𝑦𝑡𝑗 ) are the
positions of nodes s and t, respectively.
The deformation 𝛥𝑏 and inner force 𝐹𝑏 of the vertical spring can be
then represented as:
√
𝛥𝑏 = (𝑥𝑠𝑗 − 𝑥𝑡𝑗 )2 + (𝑦𝑠𝑗 − 𝑦𝑡𝑗 )2 − 𝑙𝑏𝑗 (7)
𝐹𝑏 = 𝜀𝑏 𝐸𝑏 = 𝐸𝑏 𝛥𝑏 ∕𝑙𝑏𝑗 (8)
𝑙𝑏𝑗
where is the initial length of vertical spring j; 𝜀𝑏 is the relevant strain,
which is equal to 𝛥𝑏 ∕𝑙𝑏𝑗 .
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Fig. 4. Diagram of hybrid element V-MVLE.

√
The axial forces on the particles are derived as: 𝐹𝑟𝑑 = ( (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2 − 𝑏) ⋅ 𝐸𝐴∕𝑏 (24)
𝐹𝑏𝑥 = (𝑥𝑠𝑗 − 𝑥𝑡𝑗 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏 ∕𝑙𝑏𝑛+1 (9) where EA is the stiffness of rigid beam.
𝐹𝑏𝑦 = (𝑦𝑠𝑗 − 𝑦𝑡𝑗 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏 ∕𝑙𝑏𝑛+1 (10) (4) Nodal forces
𝑢
𝐹𝑣𝑏𝑟2 = [(𝑥𝑡𝑗 − 𝑥1 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑥 − (𝑦𝑡𝑗 − 𝑦1 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑦 ]∕𝑏 (11) On node 4, there are components of vertical springs, shear springs
𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝑢
and rigid bars, so the force 𝐅𝟒 (𝐹4𝑥 , 𝐹4𝑦 ) in global coordinate is,
𝐹𝑣𝑏𝑟4 = −[(𝑥𝑠𝑗 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑥 − (𝑦𝑠𝑗 − 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑦 ]∕𝑏 (12)
𝑛+1 𝑢
𝑢
𝐹𝑏𝑟 = −[(𝑥4 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑥 − (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑦 ]∕𝑏 (13) 𝐹4𝑏 = 𝐹𝑏𝑟 (1 − 𝜉𝑗 ) + 0.5𝐹𝑠𝑟𝑢 − 𝐹𝑟𝑢 (25)
𝑑 𝑛+1 𝑢 𝑢
𝐹𝑏𝑟 = [(𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑥 + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑏𝑦 ]∕𝑏 (14) 𝐹4𝑣 = 𝐹𝑣𝑠𝑟4 + 𝐹𝑣𝑏𝑟4 (26)
𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
wherein 𝑙𝑏𝑛+1 means the length of vertical spring at time n +1, respec- 𝐹4𝑥 = (𝑥4 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹4𝑏 ∕𝑏 − (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹4𝑣 ∕𝑏 (27)
tively; b is the length of each rigid beam; 𝐹𝑏𝑥 and 𝐹𝑏𝑦 are the orthogonal 𝑛+1
𝐹4𝑦 = 𝑛+1
(𝑥4 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹4𝑣 ∕𝑏 − (𝑦4 𝑛+1
− 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹4𝑏 ∕𝑏 (28)
components of axial force in global coordinates; 𝐹𝑣𝑏𝑟2 𝑢 𝑢
and 𝐹𝑣𝑏𝑟4 are
the internal force components of the vertical spring along the direction in which, 𝐹𝑠𝑟𝑢 is the axial component of the shear spring force along the
perpendicular to the rigid bar at nodes 2 and 4, respectively; 𝐹𝑏𝑟 𝑢 is the upper rigid bar while 𝐹𝑠𝑟𝑑 is that of the lower rigid bar.
axial component of the inner force of vertical spring along the upper
rigid bar, while 𝐹𝑏𝑟 𝑑 is that of the lower rigid bar. 𝐹𝑠𝑟𝑢 = −(𝑥4 − 𝑥3 )∕𝑏 ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑥 − (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 )∕𝑏 ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑦 (29)

(2) Inner forces of the shear spring 𝐹𝑠𝑟𝑑 = (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )∕𝑏 ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑥 + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )∕𝑏 ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑦 (30)
The positions of nodes u and d within the shear spring, as Fig. 4 𝑛+1
Similarly, the nodal forces 𝐅𝟐 (𝐹2𝑥 𝑛+1
, 𝐹2𝑦 ) at node 2 is,
shows, can be calculated by:
𝑛+1 𝑑
𝑠𝑢𝑥 = (𝑥4 + 𝑥3 )∕2 + (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 )∕𝑏 ⋅ (1 − 𝑐) ⋅ ℎ (15) 𝐹2𝑏 = 𝐹𝑏𝑟 (1 − 𝜉𝑗 ) + 0.5𝐹𝑠𝑟𝑑 − 𝐹𝑟𝑑 (31)
𝑛+1 𝑑 𝑑
𝑠𝑢𝑦 = (𝑦4 + 𝑦3 )∕2 − (𝑥4 − 𝑥3 )∕𝑏 ⋅ (1 − 𝑐) ⋅ ℎ (16) 𝐹2𝑣 = 𝐹𝑣𝑠𝑟2 + 𝐹𝑣𝑏𝑟2 (32)
𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝑠𝑑𝑥 = 0.6𝑥2 + 0.4𝑥1 − (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )∕𝑏 ⋅ 𝑐 ⋅ ℎ (17) 𝐹2𝑥 = (𝑥4 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹2𝑏 ∕𝑏 − (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹2𝑣 ∕𝑏 (33)
𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝑠𝑑𝑦 = 0.6𝑦2 + 0.4𝑦1 + (𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )∕𝑏 ⋅ 𝑐 ⋅ ℎ (18) 𝐹2𝑦 = (𝑥4 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹2𝑣 ∕𝑏 − (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹2𝑏 ∕𝑏 (34)

Similar to the analysis of the vertical spring, the inner force of shear According to the static equilibrium principle, the nodal forces on
𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
spring 𝐹𝑠 is calculated according to the length variation of the shear node 1 𝐅1 (𝐹1𝑥 , 𝐹1𝑦 ) and node 3 𝐅2 (𝐹2𝑥 , 𝐹2𝑦 ) can be calculated as,
spring. The components (𝐹𝑠𝑥 , 𝐹𝑠𝑦 ) are given in below:
𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝐹1𝑥 = −(𝐹4𝑥 + 𝐹3𝑥 + 𝐹2𝑥 ) (35)
𝐹𝑠𝑥 = (𝑠𝑢𝑥 − 𝑠𝑑𝑥 )∕𝑙𝑠𝑛+1 ⋅ 𝐹𝑠 (19) 𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝐹1𝑦 = −(𝐹4𝑦 + 𝐹3𝑦 + 𝐹2𝑦 ) (36)
𝐹𝑠𝑦 = (𝑠𝑢𝑦 − 𝑠𝑑𝑦 )∕𝑙𝑠𝑛+1 ⋅ 𝐹𝑠 (20) 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝐹3𝑥 = −(𝐹4𝑥 + 𝐹𝑏𝑥 + 𝐹𝑠𝑥 ) (37)
where 𝑙𝑠𝑛+1 is the length of shear spring at time n +1. 𝑛+1 𝑛+1
𝐹3𝑦 = −(𝐹4𝑦 + 𝐹𝑏𝑦 + 𝐹𝑠𝑦 ) (38)
Hence, the shear force on the particles can be presented as:
𝑢
𝐹𝑣𝑠𝑟4 = −[(𝑠𝑢𝑥 − 𝑥3 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑦 − (𝑠𝑢𝑦 − 𝑦3 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑥 ]∕𝑏 (21) (5) Reinforcement fracture
𝑑
𝐹𝑣𝑠𝑟2 = [(𝑠𝑑𝑥 − 𝑥1 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑦 − (𝑠𝑑𝑦 − 𝑦1 ) ⋅ 𝐹𝑠𝑥 ]∕𝑏 (22) For the currently used MVLE, the constitutive models of concrete
and reinforcement are based on the continuum material theory. While
(3) Inner forces of the rigid beams the reinforcement fracture at post-peak stage significantly impacts the
The forces induced by the two rigid beams can be computed as: failure behavior of RC shear wall. In this study, the end nodes of the
√ vertical bars are set to break if the strain is beyond the ultimate value,
𝑢
𝐹𝑟 = ( (𝑥4 − 𝑥3 )2 + (𝑦4 − 𝑦3 )2 − 𝑏) ⋅ 𝐸𝐴∕𝑏 (23) which is conformed to the actual failure pattern.

4
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Table 1
Parameters of shear walls with various axial compression ratios.
No. Size (H × W × D) (mm) Height–width ratio Width of confined zone (mm) Axial compression ratio Longitudinal steel bar (mm) Stirrup (mm)
SW1-1 2000 × 1000 × 125 2.0 200 0.1 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80
SW1-2 2000 × 1000 × 125 2.0 200 0.2 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80
SW1-3 2000 × 1000 × 125 2.0 200 0.3 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80
SW1-4 2000 × 1000 × 125 2.0 200 0.4 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80

when invoking the current external forces. The pure deformation can
be calculated by the following fictitious reverse motion based on VFIFE.
According to the geometry relation and constitutive model, the de-
formation and inner forces of springs can be obtained. The adopted
constitutive models for vertical spring, shear spring and reinforcement
are presented in Appendix. The nodal forces can be assembled by the
static equilibrium principle. During that process, there is no necessary
to calculate the global stiffness matrices, which makes the structural
response analysis computation greatly simplified and convergence with
improved efficiency.

3. Example validation

3.1. Experimental specimens

In this paper, the proposed V-MVLE is utilized to simulate a series of

reversed cyclic tests of shear wall conducted in Tongji University [4],
so as to verify the effectiveness of the developed hybrid element.
The RC shear walls studied can be divided into two groups: shear
walls with various axial compression ratios and various height–width
ratios. The strength grades of concrete in the two groups were C30 and
C40 respectively. Specific experimental data is shown in Tables 1 and
2. Taking SW1-2 as an example, the configuration of the shear wall
SW1-2 is shown in Fig. 6, which is similar with other specimens. The
loading beam and foundation beam were settled at the top and bottom
of the shear wall. Specific parameters of reinforcement and concrete
are shown in Tables 3 and 4.

Fig. 5. Flowchart of V-MVLE calculation.

3.2. Modeling of the shear walls

According to the specimen diagram, the tested shear walls were

As above stated, the advantages and characteristics of the assembled
hybrid V-MVLE model presented in this paper include: no strict plane-
section limit for the separate rigid arms of the element to consider the
local deformation of the shear wall; avoiding global stiffness matrix
assembling, so to achieve converged results even in post-peak phase;
avoiding iterative calculation to improve the efficiency of solution; the
large deformation, fracture behavior, strength soften response can be
presented. Additionally, it is easy to coordinate the deformation of
structural components, and to accomplish failure process simulation for
large scale entire structures.
2.2.2. Flowchart design
The execution procedure of proposed element was compiled in
Fortran 90. Preprocessing module contains the model information read-
ing and parameters preparation including time, material, and initial
condition, and so on. The calculation module consists of three parts:
particle value computation, internal force estimation and external load
input. The main process of point value computation is to calculate the
position of nodes at time (n +1) by CDM with the position at time n,
the internal and external forces. The internal and external forces are
respectively invoked from the relevant subroutines. The post-processing
conducts the results output, involving hysteretic curve, nodal force, and
nodal displacement, et al.
The computational flowchart of the proposed hybrid element is
shown in Fig. 5. After initializing parameters and meshing the struc-
tural model, the CDM method is applied to predict nodal position
modeled as a stack of V-MVLE. Referring to the previous study about
the numerical simulation of shear wall using macroscopic model [35],
the models of the shear walls in this study were divided into 4 parts
along the vertical direction and meshed into 3 elements as recom-
mended along the horizontal direction, where a total of 12 elements
were shown in Fig. 7. The mass of the shear wall was dispersed to the
nodes of each element. A more refined description of the shear wall can
be obtained by increasing the number of spring elements [36], whereas,
in this study, we adopted 10 springs in each V-MVLE. The position
parameter 𝑐 = 0.4, which was recommended by Vulcano et al. [11].
3.3. Loading sequence and boundary condition
To scrutinize further the accuracy of the simulated results using the
proposed V-MVLE model, the cyclic loading was applied to all models
under the same test condition. The vertical load and horizontal load
were applied on the top loading beam, lasting 1320 s. The vertical
load increased from zero to the prescribed value within 10 s. After an
interval of 5 s, the cyclic reversed-horizontal load was applied to the
loading beam gradually from 15 s to 1320 s, which was controlled by
displacement, as shown in Fig. 8. The analysis time step was chosen as
10−4 s.
3.4. Assemble strategy
To find a feasible element division for the RC shear walls, the
simulations with horizontal and vertical divisions were carried out in

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H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Fig. 6. Detailed diagram of test specimen (unit: mm).

Table 2
Parameters of shear walls with various height–width ratios.
No. Size (H × W × D) (mm) Height–width ratio Width of confined zone (mm) Designed axial compression ratio Longitudinal steel bar (mm) Stirrup (mm)
SW2-1 1000 × 1000 × 125 1.0 200 0.3 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80
SW2-2 1500 × 1000 × 125 1.5 200 0.3 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80
SW2-3 2000 × 1000 × 125 2.0 200 0.3 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80
SW2-4 2500 × 1000 × 125 2.5 200 0.3 6 ϕ 10 𝜙6@80

Table 3
Properties of reinforcement.
Reinforcement Diameter (mm) Yielding strength (MPa) Ultimate strength (MPa) Elastic modulus (GPa)
𝜙6 6.46 334 452 200.6
ϕ10 9.74 478 570 181.2

Table 4
Properties of concrete.
Concrete Cubic compressive strength (MPa) Prism compressive strength (MPa) Designed strength (MPa)
C30 19.7 20.7 18.2
C40 37.7 37.7 28.3

Table 5
Different divisions in vertical and horizontal direction.
Divisions Model Number of horizontal elements Number of vertical elements
H1V4 1 4
H1V5 1 5
Vertical divisions
H1V6 1 6
H1V7 1 7
H1V4 1 4
H2V4 2 4
Horizontal divisions
H3V4 3 4
H4V4 4 4

this paper, as shown in Table 5. The geometric and material parameters
are referred to the specimen SW1-1 (given in next part). Vertical
divisions are carried out in 1/4 parts at the bottom.
As can be seen from Fig. 9(a), the skeleton curve of the simulated
results does not show better conformity to the tested results when
the horizontal deviation is 1. The simulated skeleton curve shows best
conforming effect as shown in Fig. 9(b) for the horizontal and vertical
partition are 3 and 4 respectively when the horizontal partition ranges
from 1 to 4. Thus, the partition of the target RC shear wall adopted 3
and 4 in horizontal and vertical direction respectively in the following
analysis.
3.5. Simulation results
3.5.1. Hysteretic loop
By applying the cyclic loading protocol, eight hysteresis loops of
various axial compression ratios and height–width ratios were obtained
by V-MVLE, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Except for the experimental
process calculation, the simulation also accomplished with the predic-
tion of failure process. The simulation efficiency can be observed by
the comparison with the experimental results. Based on that, we can
also evaluate the structural performance and failure development via

6
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al.
Fig. 7. Macroscopic model of shear wall (unit: mm).
Fig. 8. Loading regime.
this simulation results. A good agreement between the test results and
the simulated results of the developed macro-model is observed.
For the RC shear walls with different axial compression ratios and
different height–width ratios, as observed from Fig. 11, the hysteretic
loops of proposed model match the tested results well. Limited by the
test equipment, the shear walls were terminated at its ultimate state.
While through the more complete simulation loops, we can find that
the failure tends to be more abrupt when the axial ratio increases; the
hysteretic behavior of the shear wall with height–width ratio of 1.0
tends to be shear failure and that is shear–flexure failure when the
height–width ratio is of 1.5; when the height–width ratio is over 2.0,
the lateral bearing and deformation capacity demonstrate as flexure
failure.
As demonstrated in current microscopic and macroscopic model,
reinforcement fracture and concrete damage induced strength degra-
dation at post-peak phase is difficult to simulate. For comparison,
in the plate–shell model, the steel and concrete composed laminate
7
Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159
materials assume that the degradation due to concrete micro-cracking
can be represented by the variations of the elastic properties [37]. The
progress of this study was the accomplishment of the entire failure
process simulation and the buckling and even fracture of the reinforce-
ment at post-peak phase was exactly simulated via nodal departure
based on VFIFE. Thus, a comprehensive planar structural model based
on isotropic damage mechanics was proposed, which was in good
agreement with experimental data up to failure.
Additionally, the simulated hysteretic curves are not totally symmet-
ric, the main reason for that is the tensile and compressive property of
concrete are significantly different, and the residual deformation also
causes the shear walls with different cyclic behavior. The experimental
results are asymmetric for the loading actuator is generally added at
one end, which may lead to different boundary conditions for the
pulling and pushing sides.
3.5.2. Skeleton curve
The comparisons of skeleton curves between test and V-MVLE sim-
ulation are shown in Figs. 12 and 13. Moreover, Table 6 evaluates the
deviation between the test and simulation by determination coefficient
𝑅2 and correlation coefficient R. The correlation coefficient R ranges
from 0 to 1, which means that the larger the correlation coefficient is,
the better the simulated result is.
The relevant formulae are given as:
∑𝑁
𝑖=1 (𝐹 exp _𝑖 −𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑚_𝑖 )2
𝑅2 = 1 − ∑𝑁 (39)
𝑖=1 (𝐹 exp _𝑖 −𝐹 exp _𝑎𝑣𝑔 )2
∑𝑁
𝑖=1 (𝐹 exp _𝑖 −𝐹 exp _𝑎𝑣𝑔 )(𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑚_𝑖 −𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑚_𝑎𝑣𝑔 )
𝑅= √ (40)
∑𝑁
𝑖=1 (𝐹 exp _𝑖 −𝐹 exp _𝑎𝑣𝑔 )2 (𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑚_𝑖 −𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑚_𝑎𝑣𝑔 )2
where N means the number of data point, i is the 𝑖th data point,
𝐹 exp _𝑖 and 𝐹 sim_𝑖 represent the results from test and V-MVLE model
respectively, 𝐹 exp _𝑎𝑣𝑔 and 𝐹 sim_𝑎𝑣𝑔 are the average value of the two data
set.
For the consistency and smoothness, the proposed element based on
material constitutive model conforms to the test. Compared with the
test, the determination coefficient of the two groups based on V-MVLE
model is greater than 0.97 and the correlation coefficient is greater
than 0.99. It is evident that the reversed cyclic test of RC shear wall
can be well simulated by the proposed vector mechanics-based model,
especially in strength and ductility.
3.5.3. Curvature distribution along the height
The V-MVLE was proposed to present a good agreement with ex-
perimental result up to failure, particularly to present a fine simulation
result on local response, the deformation of the shear wall along the
height was analyzed. To obtain a refined comparison, the bottom
segment of the target shear wall (SW1-1) was subdivided into three
partitions along the height. The deformation in the comparison was
expressed as curvature along the height, which was also measured
during the test.
Fig. 14 shows the comparison of the curvature development along
the height of shear wall (SW1-1) between the test measurement and V-
MVLE simulation, subjected to different lateral drift angles of 1/1000,
1/800, 1/400, 1/120. These four drift angles are regarded as to present
the state of ‘‘Immediate Occupancy’’, ‘‘Repair’’, ‘‘Life Safety’’, and ‘‘Col-
lapse’’, respectively [38]. The curvature distribution was obtained from
the strain measurement at the steel bars on both sides of the shear wall.
As Fig. 14 shows, both the tested and simulated curvatures along
the shear wall at different heights increases with increasing lateral
drift angle. The simulated curvatures of V-MVLE conform to the test
measurement basically, in which the growth rate at the bottom re-
gion is, to some extent, higher than that at the top region, which is
closer to the real case. It demonstrates that the local response can be
reasonably represented by this developed model. Moreover, this rapid
increase often leads to computation instability or non-convergence of
the traditional finite element approach, while the simulated results
demonstrates satisfied agreement both in efficiency and accuracy.
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Fig. 9. Skeleton curves from different divisions.

Fig. 10. Hysteretic loops with various axial compression ratios.

Table 6
Evaluation of skeleton curves with various axial compression ratios and height–width ratios.
Specimen No. SW1-1 SW1-2 SW1-3 SW1-4 SW2-1 SW2-2 SW2-3 SW2-4
Determination coefficient 0.9955 0.9942 0.9768 0.9819 0.9936 0.9906 0.9947 0.9993
Correlation coefficient 0.9980 0.9977 0.9906 0.9928 0.9977 0.9970 0.9977 0.9932

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H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Fig. 11. Hysteretic loops with various height–width ratios.

Fig. 12. Comparison of skeleton curves between test and V-MVLE model with various axial compression ratios.

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H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Fig. 13. Comparison of skeleton curves between test and V-MVLE model with various height–width ratios.

Fig. 14. Comparison of curvature along the height for different drift angles between test and V-MVLE model: SW1-1.

3.6. Extra verification
To be more generally, the study simulated additional six RC shear
walls as published on literatures [39–42]. The basic information of
these cyclic test is listed in Table 7 as below. These specimens were con-
ducted to investigate the cyclic behavior under different axial compres-
sion ratios, height–width ratios, shear stresses, concrete types (standard
concrete and high-performance fiber-reinforced cement composite),
and different arrangements of boundary longitudinal reinforcement.
The compressive strengths of concrete in six specimens were 47.1 MPa,
48.8 MPa, 65.2 MPa, 65.2 MPa, 39.2 MPa, and 61.43 MPa, respectively.
These specimens were also divided into three elements in horizontal
direction and four elements in vertical direction, and the material
constitutive models were the same as in the previous cases.
The simulated and tested hysteretic curves are shown in Fig. 15. As
can be seen, the simulated results (V-MVLE) conforms to the tested re-
sults from literatures well. Specifically, the post-peak hysteretic behav-
ior is also presented by the simulations accurately, which is attributed

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H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al. Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159

Table 7
Basic information of the simulated shear walls in literatures.
Specimens Size (H × W × D) (mm) Axial compression ratio Height–width ratio Longitudinal steel bar (mm) References
RW-A20-P10-38 2670 × 1220 × 152 0.073 2.0 8 𝜙 12.7 T.A. Tran and J. W. Wallace [39]
RW-A15-P10-51 2060 × 1220 × 152 0.077 1.5 8 𝜙 12.7
FRCSW02 2100 × 1000 × 100 0.13 2.1 4 𝜙 12 + 4 𝜙 6.5 Z. Dang et al. [40]
FRCSW03 2100 × 1000 × 100 0.17 2.1 6 𝜙 12 + 2 𝜙 6.5
WSH3 4560 × 2000 × 150 0.0058 2.28 6 𝜙 12 A. Dazio et al. [41]
HPCW01 2000 × 1000 × 100 0.21 2.0 4 𝜙 12 + 2 𝜙 6.5 X.W. Liang et al. [42]

Fig. 15. Comparison of hysteretic loops between literatures and V-MVLE models.

to the exact fracture behavior simulation of the reinforcement and the
adequate concrete damage constitutive model.
As demonstrated from Fig. 15, the hybrid V-MVLE consisting of
vector mechanics and MVLE accomplished the simulation of post-
peak hysteretic behavior including concrete damage and reinforcement
fracture, and matched well with the experimental results of shear walls
in the literatures [39–42], in which the height–width ratio ranged
from 1.5 to 2.28, and other design parameters were also different. The
satisfactory simulation results are attributed to the contribution of the
assembled partition and the damage process representation strategies.
The VFIFE-based nodal response avoids the global stiffness matrix cal-
culation, and the large deformation and fracture behavior can also be
demonstrated exactly. Without complex variational equations repeated
iteration and non-convergence problem, as a result, the computation

11
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al.
Fig. A.1. Material constitutive model.
procedure can be significantly simplified, and the nonlinearity and
failure process simulation of the planar components and the entire
structures can thus be solved efficiently and accurately.
4. Conclusions
This study proposed a vector mechanics-based macroscopic multi-
vertical line element (V-MVLE). It provided an efficient failure behavior
simulation model for planar element with local details for large-scale
structures. The significant degradation of stiffness and strength of RC
planar elements caused by concrete damage and reinforcement fracture
was successfully represented. The planar element was represented by
assembled MVLEs and the VFIFE-based nodes with independent explicit
kinematic solving procedure.
The nodal deformation along both the longitudinal and trans-
verse coordinates can also be reasonably demonstrated. The continuum
mechanics-based material model and fracture behavior were taken into
account. The numerical simulation results were verified by the cyclic
tests on the RC shear walls with variable parameters. In all cases shown,
the constitutive equations were accurate and robust enough to provide
numerical results close to the experimental results. Moreover, the
failure behavior of the RC shear walls was reasonably predicted. Since
the local failure is crucial regarding the vulnerability of the structures
for the global behavior, this study provides a potential strategy to
predict it correctly and efficiently.
The current component-level model cannot provide the necessary
information, a fine finite element model always takes huge calculation
time, and the current prediction methods are generally failed in failure
behavior simulation. With the merit of VFIFE and MVLE, the developed
model provided an efficient method to simulate the cyclic and failure
behavior of planar walls and entire structures. It can be easily applied
in structural analysis and design with satisfied efficiency and accuracy.
The application of this model is not only limited to the thin walls
but also suitable for the planar structures of mechanical engineering,
aeronautical aircraft, involving the response of the static, dynamic and
fracture problems.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Hongmei Zhang: Writing – review & editing, Project administra-
tion, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis. Yi Fang: Writing – orig-
inal draft, Software. Yuanfeng Duan: Writing – review & editing,
Supervision, Investigation. Gongbang Du: Software.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
12
Thin-Walled Structures 181 (2022) 110159
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgments
The research described in this paper was financially supported by
the National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFE0112600, 2018YF
E0125400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant
Nos. 52078459 and U1709216), and the Natural Science Foundation of
Zhejiang Province (Grant Nos. LZ22E080005).
Appendix. Material constitutive models
A.1. Constitutive model of vertical spring
In this paper, the constitutive model of vertical spring is simulated
and compared based on the material constitutive model of reinforce-
ment and concrete respectively. The modified Takeda model [43] is
adopted for the horizontal shear spring within the V-MVLE. Based
on the material constitutive model, the characteristic of steel bar and
concrete can be directly obtained from the material property as,
𝐸𝑐 𝐴𝑐 + 𝐸𝑠 𝐴𝑠
𝐸𝑞 = (A.1)
𝐴
in which, 𝐸𝑞 is equivalent modulus of model, 𝐸𝑐 and 𝐸𝑠 are the secant
moduli of concrete and reinforcement respectively, 𝐴𝑐 and 𝐴𝑠 are the
stressed areas of concrete and reinforcement respectively. A is the total
area of the spring, where 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑐 + 𝐴𝑠 . In this analysis, the modified
Kent-Park model is adopted for concrete with the linear unloading
criterion proposed by Karsan and Jirsa [44], and its constitutive skele-
ton curve is shown in Fig. A.1(a). The material constitutive model of
the reinforcement is represented by the bilinear reinforcement model
recommended by the Chinese code [45], as shown in Fig. A.1(b). The
tangent modulus of reinforcement after yielding (𝐸1 ) is settled as 1%
of the original tangent modulus 𝐸0 .
A.2. Constitutive model of shear spring
The modified Takeda model [43] adopted for horizontal shear
spring is shown in Fig. A.2, which has been extensively used in existed
research. The parameters are given in Table A.1where G is the elastic
shear modulus; 𝐴𝑤 , 𝐴𝑠 , and 𝐴𝑐 are the sectional areas of RC shear
wall, reinforcement, and concrete, respectively; 𝜒 is the shape factor
and 𝜈 means Poisson’s ratio; 𝑓𝑐 is the average compressive strength of
concrete; 𝜌𝑡 and 𝜌𝑤ℎ are the effective longitudinal and horizontal rein-
forcement ratios of shear wall, respectively, 𝑓𝑤ℎ is the tensile strength
of horizontal reinforcement; M /VL denotes the shear-span ratio; 𝜎0 is
the average compressive stress on the section of shear wall.
H. Zhang, Y. Fang, Y. Duan et al.
Fig. A.2. Modified Takeda model.
Table A.1
Parameters of Takeda model.
Parameter Description
Ks0 Initial elastic shear stiffness
Vcr Shear cracking force
Vm Maximum shear strength
𝛼s Stiffness ratio
Ksy Stiffness after yielding
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Equation
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𝛼s = 0.14+0.46 fwh 𝜌wh /fc
Ksy = 0.001Ks0
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