SHEAR WALL BUILDINGS

Er. Salman Khursheed

Assistant Professor
Building Engineering and Management
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
MERITS OF HIGH RISE BUILDINGS :

1. Feasibility of accommodating large numbers of people.

1.1 Achieving higher density.
1.2 Intensive use of land space.

2. More rentable office and commercial space available closer to city

centres and business centres.

3. Display of status symbol for advancement of technology.

DEMERITS OF HIGHRISE BUILDING :
1. Increased cost of construction /m2 of floor area.
2. Larger risk to fire, EQs, bomb attacks during war.
3. Confinement of children and grown ups affecting growth and
development. Also restricted and confined social life.
4. Congestion of vehicular traffic on roads due to very high density
of population.
5. Very heavy pressure on bulk services. i.e. Blockage of sewers,
Low water supply pressure, Extra power demand, congestion in
telecommunication services etc. due to increased load.
Definition of SHEAR WALL :

A structural RCC wall which has high in plane stiffness by virtue of its
form.

A SHEAR WALL MAY CONSIST OF :

A solid wall.
A perforated wall
A closed loop or a core.
Other such form.
EFFECIENCY OF SHEAR WALL AS LATERAL LOAD RESISTING
ELEMENT COMPARED TO A FRAME
Characteristics of the Shear Walls :

1. To Resist Horizontal Loads

2. To Control Horizontal Deflection

( Maximum horizontal deflection at top of building should not exceed

Height/500 )
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF LARGE HORIZONTAL
DEFLECTIONS IN A BUILDING:
1. Distress to glazing.
2. Distress to partitions.
3. Distress to cladding.
4. Distress to service pipes & Installations.
5. Psychological effects (feeling of insecurity and danger).
6. High allowable Horizontal deflection in a building (i.e. H/ 500).
 < H/ 500
Deflection = Max. Def. at top
of Building.
H = Total height of Building.
Criteria of Analysis :
As Horizontal loads occur occasionally and of short duration, a smaller
margin of safety is adopted for analysis for (Horizontal loads + Vertical
Loads) combination.

ANALYSIS OF A MULTI STOREYED BLDG :

Analysis of a Multi Storied building is carried out in two stages.

1. Analysis for Vertical loads i.e. (DL +LL).

2. Analysis for (Horizontal Loads + Vertical Load)
CASE 1:
1.5 Vertical Load > 1.2 (Vertical Load + Horizontal Load)

Vertical Load control the design.

No additional strengthening is needed for Horizontal loads.
(3-4 storied buildings)

CASE 2:-
1.2 (Vertical Load + Horizontal loads) > 1.5 Vertical Load

Horizontal loads control the design.

Additional strengthening is needed for Horizontal loads.
(Buildings > 3-4 storied )
QUALITATIVE ESTIMATE COST Vs .No. OF STOREYES
Additional cost due to strengthening for Hor. loads :
Increases very fast with increase in Number of Storeys and magnitude of
Horizontal loads.

Beyond 12 – 15 storeys, structural system more efficient than FRAMES

are needed to resist horizontal loads more efficiently.
Shear walls resist horizontal loads more efficiently than frames and are
accordingly provided in buildings beyond 12 – 15 storied in height.
Basic principle of Shear wall action :
Horizontal load in a building is resisted by various vertical elements in a
building ( columns and walls) in proportion to their stiffness.

More Stiff elements resist more horizontal load compared to less stiff
elements.

Shear walls have very large stiffness compared to stiffness of all

columns (50 to 100 times or even more) in a building. Hence shear walls
resist most of horizontal load relieving columns to resist primarily vertical
loads only.

Due to its very large stiffness, a Shear wall is a very efficient lateral
load resisting element.
P = PC1 + PC2 + PC3
PC1 : PC2 : PC3 = K1 : K2 : K3
SOME TYPICAL LAYOUTS OF SHEAR WALLS IN A BUILDING
TYPICAL REINFORCEMENT DETAILS FOR A RECTANGULAR SHEAR WALL
HORIZONTAL CROSS SECTION OF STRUCTURAL WALLS
TYPES OF SHEAR WALL CONSTRUCTION :

1. CROSS WALL CONSTRUCTION :

A number of cross and long walls acting both as load bearing walls and
shear walls to resist horizontal loads.

Examples :
(i) MASONRY BUILDINGS :
Height range limited to 3-4 storeys due to weakness of masonry in
tension.
(ii) RCC SOLID WALL CONSTRUCTION
Very stiff & very efficient.
Advantages of Cross Shear Walls :
1. Very stiff system.
2. Walls can be made act both functional walls as well as
structural walls.
Disadvantages of Cross Shear Walls :
1. Walls must be permanent.
2. Large openings cannot be provided.
Suitability of Cross Shear Walls :
1. In Residential buildings which have large numbers of long and
cross walls which can be made to act as shear walls.
Example of Cross Shear Walls :
1. 29 storeys HAMILTON COURT Apartment Building at DLF Gurgaon.
This building has RCC walls acting as shear walls.
2. SHEAR WALLS ACTING WITH FRAMES :
A combination for shear walls and frames (columns).

Advantages of Shear Walls with frames :

1. Provide flexibility of planning.
2. Feasibility of providing large spans.

Suitability of Shear Walls with frames :

1. Ideal for buildings from 15 to 40 storey ht.
2. Most common form for medium height to high rise buildings,15 to 40
storeys height to be constructed in India in near future.
SHEAR (KN) TYPICAL HOR SHEAR MOMENT KN-M TYPE MOMENT TYPE MOMENT
DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN FRAMES AND DISTRIBUTION IN SHEAR WALL DISTRIBUTION IN FRAME
SHEAR WALLS

EFFECT OF SHEAR WALL FRAME INTERACTION ON DISTRIBUTION OF

FORCES BETWEEN WALL AND FRAME
 ALL WALLS ALL FRAMES

HORIZONTAL FORCE DIST.OF HORIZONTAL HORIZONTAL FORCES ON HORIZONTAL FORCES

ON BULDING. SHEAR BETWEEN FRAMES ALL SHEAR WALLS ON ALL FRAMES
& SHEAR WALLS
 VWX= HOR.SHEAR RESISTED BY
SHEAR WALLS AT ANY HEIGHT X.
VTX= TOTAL HOR.SHEAR AT ANY
HEIGHT X.
SC/ Sb= 5
SS= TOTAL STIFFNESS OF ALL
SHEAR WALLS IN THE BUILDING.
SC= - DO – ALL COLUMNS.
Sb = - DO – ALL BEAMS.

CHART FOR ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF SHEAR WALLS IN A BLDG.

SUBJECTED TO PARABOLIC(EQ) LOADING
DESIGN ASPECTS OF SHEAR WALLS :

1. Shear walls resist horizontal forces in the plane of wall.

2. Design of shear walls of structures is generally controlled by flexure
and overturning rather than shear, especially for wall of a large
(ht./length) ratio.

H/ lw >>I
Design controlled by flexure
3. Effective depth ‘d’ of shear wall is normally taken as 0.8 lw.

4. Design shear strength of wall (Vu) = shear strength provided by

concrete (Vuc + shear strength provided by shear reinforcement (Vus).

5. Minimum area of shear reinforcement = 0.25% x gross sectional area

of wall.

6. Horizontal shear reinforcement REQUIRED can be calculated in

similar manner as for beams vertical shear reinforcement depends upon
amount of horizontal reinforcement.

7. Flexure reinforcement is calculated as in case of columns.

SOME DESIRABLE FEATURES IN PLANNING & DESIGN OF
SHEAR WALLS :

LOCATION :
The Shear Walls should be so located that :
1. These act as Functional walls also.
2. Do not interfere with Architecture of the building.

SUITABLE LOCATIONS :
1. Enclosures around lift wells
2. Staircase walls
3. External walls
4. Some of partition walls can be made to act as shear walls.
2. ALONG BOTH AXES :

As horizontal force due to wind or EQ may act from either direction, shear
walls should be provided along both axes to provide resistance along both
axes.

P
3. SYMMETRIC ABOUT BOTH AXIS :

Shear walls must be placed symmetrically about both axes to avoid

torsion.
1. Eccentrically placed shear walls may cause inducing large stresses
due to torsion and may damage the bldg.

2. THIS ASPECT IS VERY IMP. IN PLANNING THE LAYOUT OF

SHEAR WALLS IN A BUILDINGS.
A BLDG.WITH UNSYMMETRY WITH RESPECT TO RIGIDITY IN PLAN WILL TEND
TO ROTATE ABOUT CENTRE OF RIGIDITY.
TORSIONAL RESPONSE OF A BUILDING.
ADOPT AVOID
4. WELL DISTRIBUTED ALONG BOTH AXES :
AVOID NARROW CORE AT CENTRE OF BUILDING.

Shear walls should preferably be well distributed about both axes to

provide adequate resistance against Torsion.
RESISTANCE ALONG BOTH AXIS UNSYMM. LAYOUT OF SHEAR WALLS
(ADOPT) TORSION (AVOID)

UNSYMM. LAYOUT OF SHEAR UNSYMM. LAYOUT OF SHEAR WALLS

WALLS TORSION (AVOID) TORSION (AVOID)

SOME FEATURES IN LAYOUT OF SHEAR WALLS (SCHEMATIC)

SYMM. LAYOUT OF SHEAR WALLS SHEAR WALLS WELL DISTRIBUTED
ABOUT BOTH AXIS (ADOPT) ALONG BOTH AXIS (ADOPT)

SHEAR WALL NARROW CORE

INADEQUATE TORSIONAL
RESISTANCE (AVOID)

SOME FEATURES IN LAYOUT OF SHEAR WALLS (SCHEMATIC)

5. TO RECEIVE SUFFICIENT VERTICAL LOAD TO ACHIEVE IN
DESIGN :

1. Shear wall design is most economical if

Tension is avoided. This can be achieved by adding sufficient vertical
load on the shear wall.

6. CONTINUTITY :

Shear walls, when provided, should be continued upto foundations.

These should not be discontinued in the lower storeys.
 OLIVE VEW HOSPITAL SANFERNADO
DISTRESS IN BUILDING DUE TO SHEAR WALLS DISCONTINUED AT G.F.
 OLIVE VEW HOSPITAL SANFERNADO
DISTRESS IN BUILDING DUE TO SHEAR WALL DISCONTINUED AT G.F
16 STOREYED BANCO CENTRAL 18 STOREYED BANCO DE
BUILDING AMERICA BUILDING
BANCO CENTRAL TYPICAL FLOOR
BANCO DE AMERICA TYPICAL FLOOR
7. DUCTILE DETAILING :

Shear walls should be designed and detailed for

ductility and brittle
failure should be avoided.
Some Case Studies :

1. 14 storied Delhi Administration office Bldg. at I.T.O. New Delhi.

2. Vikas Minar, New Delhi. A 21 storied DDA Head quarter office
building.
3. General Pool Office Complex at Nizam Palace, Kolkatta. A 20 storied
office building at KOLKATTA.
4. S.T.C. building at Janpath, New Delhi.
5. Engineer’s India office building at Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi.
6. Videsh Sanchar Bhawan, Baba Kharagh Singh Marg, New Delhi.
1. POLICE HEADQUARTER BUILDING AT I.T.O NEW
DELHI.
Building Details : 14 STOREYED + 1 BASEMENT
SHEARWALL FRAME BUILDING
 KEY PLAN
FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 4
14 STOREYED M.S.O BLDG. FOR Delhi ADMN. AT
INDERAPRASTHA ESTATE, New Delhi.
COLUMNS:
MIX: M25-UPTO 4TH FL, M20
4TH TO 10TH; ABOVE C1 TO
C8… FIG 1;C9,C16,C17,C24
C25,C32,C33,C41-C48. C11-
C14,C19,C22,C27, C39…FIG
3;C10,C15, C34-C38…FIG 4.
BEAMS: MIX M20
B1=450X500, B2=600X450
B3=230X600, B4=600X400
B5=450X600, B6=230X600
B7=230X450
SHEAR WALLS:
MIX: M25 UPTO 4TH FLOOR
M20-4TH TO 10TH FLOOR
M15-ABOVE 10TH FLOOR
SLABS:
MIX-MIS THICK : 140 MM
NO.OF STOREYES: 14
FIG. 5 STOREY HEIGHT:3.35 M
FOUNDATIONS: PILES
ONE BASEMENT
2. VIKAS MINAR, DDA HEAD QUARTER BUILDING
AT I.T.O NEW DELHI.
Building Details : 21 STOREYED + 1 BASEMENT
SHEARWALL FRAME BUILDING
 TOTAL HEIGHT
= 270’ ( 82.3 M )

NO. OF STOREYES
= 22 ( INCLUDING
BASEMENT )

KEY PLAN OF VIKAS MINAR BUILDING AT I.P. ESTATE NEW DELHI

 A TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN
VIKAS MINAR I.P. ESTATE New Delhi TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN 22 STOREYED
INCLUDING BASEMENT
3. General Pool OFFICE COMPLEX, AT NIZAM
PALACE, KOLKATTA.
Building Details : 20 STOREYED
SHEARWALL FRAME BUILDING
KEY PLAN OF 20 STOREYED OFFICE BUILDING
(NIZAM PALACE CALCUTA)
4. STATE TRADING CORPORATION BUILDING,
AT JANPATH, NEW DELHI
Building Details : 20 STOREYED
SHEARWALL FRAME BUILDING
 VIRENDEEL GIRDERS BETWEEN
STRUCTURAL CORES SUPPORT
THE SLABS.

PLAN OF STATE TRANSPORT CORPORATION BUILDING

SHEAR CORES

V.G.

AXONOMETRIC SHOWING STRUCTURAL CORE

STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS AND THEIR SELECTION CRITERIA
SECTION OF THE S.T.C BUILDING
CANTILEVER
VERENDIAL SHEAR CORE
GIRDER
SHEAR CORE

VERENDIAL
GIRDER

STC BUILDING JANPATH New Delhi

SHEAR CORE
SHEAR CORE
V.G
CANTILEVERED V.G
V.G
SHEAR
CORE

THE ATRIUM OF THE

COTTAGE INDUSTRIES
EMPORIUM IN THE STC.
LOCATED AT A BUSY
INTERSECTION IN New Delhi,
THE STC BUILDING
INCORPORATES
COMMERCIAL SPACE ON
THREE LOWER LEVELS, WITH
STC BUILDING JANPATH NEW DELHI OFFICES IN THE TOWER
BLOCKS.
AXONOMETRIC OF INTERNAL STRUCTURAL
SYSTEM OF S.T.C.
1. AIR HANDLING UNIT, 2. GENTS TOILET, 3. LADIES TOILET,
4. PASSENGER LIFTS, 5. SERVICE LIFT

A TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN

CUTWAY AXONOMETRIC RENDERING
 SOLID RCC
WALLS

LARGE
CANTILEVERS
PROJECTED
FROM SOLID
RCC WALLS

ENGINEERS INDIA HQ BLDG AT BHIKAJI CAMA PLACE, NEW DELHI,

THE EAST FAÇADE OF EI HOUSE
 VIDESH SANCHAR BHAWAN,
BABA KHARAK SINGH
MARG New Delhi- 8
STOREYED.
STOREY Ht. = 5.0 M
IMPOSED LOADING = 10KN/
M2

KEY PLAN