Finite element method

Shell (structure)

Structural engineering

Bending

Engineering

OpenSees

Shear wall

Composite material

Materials science

Shear (geology)

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls is one of the most widely used lateral force-resisting members of high-rise buildings. This research developed a multi-layer shell element on an open-source FE code of OpenSees for shear walls. The multi-layer shell element can simulate the coupled in-plane/out-of-plane bending as well as the in-plane shear and coupled bending-shear behavior of RC shear walls, and it comprehensively reflects the spatial mechanical behavior of the shell structures. The simulation of rectangular walls, flanged walls and coupled walls under pseudo-static loading was conducted. The simulated results agree well with the experimental results, which validates the rationality and reliability of the proposed model. The nonlinear seismic analyses of a super-tall building - namely, Shanghai Tower with a height of 632 m - were conducted based on the fiber beam and multi-layer shell elements. Good agreement was achieved between the analytical results of OpenSees and MSC.Marc. The outcome of this study provides an effective tool and a useful reference for the simulation of high-rise buildings using OpenSees.

Multi-Layer Shell Element for Shear Walls in OpenSees