Efficient Approach for the Stochastic Analysis and Reliability Assessment of Coupled Shear Wall Structures Using the Continuous Medium Method

Coupled shear walls (CSWs) are commonly employed in high-rise buildings to resist lateral loads. The continuous medium method (CMM) offers a rapid approximation to predict the dynamic behavior of CSW structures. This paper extends the CMM to both deterministic and stochastic dynamic analyses of CSWs and evaluates their first-passage reliability under random excitations. First, the nonhomogeneous governing dynamic equations are formulated based on the CMM formulation of CSWs. Subsequently, deterministic responses are obtained through a numerical solution of these equations, while the pseudoexcitation method is adopted to compute stochastic responses of CSWs subjected to random seismic excitations. The crossing theory is then applied to estimate the first-passage reliability of the CSW with stochastic seismic excitation. In parallel, finite-element simulations are carried out to investigate how various structural dimensions influence the accuracy of the CMM-based model. Additionally, case studies are presented to validate the proposed approach by comparing its response predictions and reliability estimates against Monte Carlo simulation results. The findings suggest that the extended CMM provides a viable and efficient framework for rapidly evaluating CSWs’ performance, particularly in preliminary design contexts.