Shear Wall

Shear wall is a structural member used to resist lateral forces i.e. parallel to the plane of the wall.
For slender walls where the bending deformation is more, Shear wall resists the loads due to
Cantilever Action. In other words, Shear walls are vertical elements of the horizontal force
resisting system.

The shape and plan position of the shear wall influences the behavior of the structure
considerably. Structurally, the best position for the shear walls is in the center of each half of the
building. This is rarely practical, since it also utilizes the space a lot, so they are positioned at the
ends. It is better to use walls with no openings in them. So, usually, the walls around lift shafts
and stairwells are used. Also, walls on the sides of buildings that have no windows can be used.
Shear walls in buildings must be symmetrically located in plan to reduce ill-effects of twist in
buildings.
Shear walls, in particular, must be strong in themselves and also strongly connected to each other
and to the horizontal diaphragms. • In a simple building with shear walls at each end, ground
motion enters the building and creates inertial forces that move the floor diaphragms. • This
movement is resisted by the shear walls and the forces are transmitted back down to the
foundation. • While designing the walls a balance must be found in the ratio of vertical load and
ductility. • The possibility of any of the modes of failure occurring can be minimized by
increasing the vertical load on the wall.
Properly designed and detailed buildings with shear walls have shown very good performance in
past earthquakes. • In past earthquakes, even buildings with sufficient amount of walls that were
not specially detailed for seismic performance (but had enough well-distributed reinforcement)
were saved from collapse. • Shear walls are easy to construct, because reinforcement detailing of
walls is relatively straightforward and therefore easily implemented at site.

Located symmetrically to avoid ill effects of twisting

Wall thickness varies from 140 mm to 500 mm, depending on the number of stories, building age, and
thermal insulation requirements. In general, these walls are continuous throughout the building
heighReinforcement requirements are based on building code requirements specific for each country. In
general, the wall reinforcement consists of two layers of distributed reinforce ment (horizontal and
vertical) throughout the wall length (Figure 3). In addition, vertical reinforcement bars are provided close
to the door and window openings, as well as at the wall end zones (also known as boundary elements or
barbells).

A shear wall deflects predominantly in a bending mode, i.e. as a cantilever, as illustrated in Fig. 2(b).
Elevator shafts, stairwells, and reinforced concrete walls normally exhibit this behavior