Research on the mechanical characteristics and calculation method of concrete cavity shear wall

A series of non-linear analyses is presented in this article investigating the differences in mechanical characteristics of the common concrete shear wall, the concrete shear wall with concealed vertical slits, and the concrete cavity shear wall under monotonic loading. The numerical analyses define monotonic capacity curves and ductility. The results indicate that reasonable matching can be achieved in stiffness, capacity, and ductility, and non-linear behavior can be improved in cavity shear wall by changing the parameters of the cavity. A theoretical model of cavity shear wall structure is proposed to estimate the lateral displacement curve and the equivalent lateral stiffness. The effectiveness of the theoretical formula was validated by the results from numerical models with different parameters. The influence of cavity parameters on equivalent lateral stiffness is discussed, and the effect of different parameters is investigated. The results indicate that equivalent lateral stiffness of the shear wall can be reduced by increasing the length or the thickness of the cavity; the cavity’s effect on squat shear walls is significantly larger than that on slender walls