Experimental and numerical investigation on the behavior of reinforced concrete walls strengthened by steel members

Reinforced concrete (RC) walls are commonly used in various structural applications due to their ability to withstand lateral loads and provide increased resilience. This study primarily focuses on understanding the bending characteristics and lateral resistance of RC walls, with a specific emphasis on investigating a standard section compared to its enhancement through the incorporation of steel members. The research aims to examine the stiffness, load-carrying capacity, displacement, and failure mode of RC walls through practical experiments and subsequent numerical validation using Abaqus software. The analysis involves a scaled specimen, which, after reaching the point of failure, underwent a strengthening strategy. This approach involved attaching diagonal steel plates to the upper part of the wall and steel members to the lower portion, referred to as the second specimen. The investigation explores how strengthening the wall with steel members affects both its resilience and failure mode. Notably, the Abaqus model effectively simulates the lateral response of the analyzed specimens, with slight variations from the experimental results that fall within an acceptable range. Then, the effect of steel plate thickness on the behavior of the studied strengthened specimen was conducted numerically. The incorporation of steel members on both the upper and lower parts of the wall has successfully prevented sudden failure, reduced cracking, increased load-carrying capacity, and enhanced stiffness and ductility. Based on the presented results, this strengthening technique can be considered a practical retrofitting method that offers rapid implementation, a significant increase in the load-bearing capacity of damaged walls, and eliminates the need for building excavation.