Numerical simulation of the shake-table response of a U-shaped RC wall using the Applied Element Method

The Applied Element Method (AEM) has in the recent years been increasingly employed to assess the failure mechanisms developed by structures subjected to dynamic loading. However, its use in the detailed estimation of local response parameters such as strains, curvature, and other localised deformations of reinforced concrete (RC) elements under seismic excitation, is not common. In this context, we explore the feasibility of using the AEM to reproduce, in blind-prediction fashion, the recent shake-table axial-flexural-torsional response of a 40-ton half-scale reinforced concrete U-shaped wall specimen. The accuracy of the adopted modelling approach in capturing the experimentally observed translational-torsional structural response of the tested structure is demonstrated through the comparison between numerical predictions, obtained before the publication of the test results (and thus without post-test model improvements), and the experimental measurements, considering both global and local response quantities. On a somewhat separate note, this study also examined the manner in which currently available formulations are capable of estimating residual drifts in RC walls, and proposes an updated equation that is shown to predict, with a good degree of accuracy, post-earthquake shaking residual displacements for this type of structures.