Applicability of Equivalent Linear Analysis to Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls: 3D FEM Simulation of Experiment Results of Seismic Wall Ultimate Behavior

In this study, we aim to approximately evaluate the effect of nonlinearity of reinforced concrete structures through seismic response analysis using the equivalent linear analysis method. A simulation analysis was performed for the ultimate response test of the shear wall of the reactor building used in an international competition by OECD / NEA in 1996. The equivalent stiffness and damping of the shear wall were obtained from the trilinear skeleton curves proposed by the Japan Electric Association and the hysteresis curves proposed by Cheng et al. The dominant frequency, maximum acceleration response, maximum displacement response, inertia force-displacement relationship, and acceleration response spectra of the top slab could be simulated well up to a shear strain of approximately γ ＝ 2.0 × 10 － 3 . The equivalent linear analysis used herein underestimates the maximum displacement response at the time of ultimate fracture of approximately γ ＝ 4.0 × 10 － 3 . Moreover, the maximum shear strain of the shear wall could not capture the locally occurring shear strain compared with that of the nonlinear analysis. Therefore, when employing this method to evaluate the maximum shear strain and test results, including those during the sudden increase in displacement immediately before the fracture, sufficient attention must be paid to its applicability.