Equivalent properties of core walls and beams via the finite element method

Core walls and thin-walled beams generally comprise a series of flat segments which are joined to form a load resisting cross-sectional profile. The crosssections can be open or closed, can be hybrids combining open and closed sections, or can be perforated along the length. A majority of cross sections are unsymmetric, and in general, the shear centre of the section does not coincide with the centroid. The determination of cross-sectional properties of any cross section necessarily includes: a) the moments of inertia (Ixx,Jyy,Jxy), b) the shear areas (Ashx,Ashy), c) the warping and torsion constants (Iww, J), and d) the shear centre location (ex,ey). A simple finite element approach is presented for the determination of these properties from a series of unit load analyses.