An overview of modeling of RC shear walls: advantages and limitations

Modern multi-story reinforced concrete (RC) structures with RC walls are designed considering severe earthquakes loads, however this does not necessarily mean that the seismic response of the wall members is clearly understood and accurately incorporated in design. A reliable numerical model should simulate both global response of the whole structure and important local behavior of the wall member. Furthermore, the endeavor of accurately modeling the seismic response should require reasonable amount of computational and modelling effort. This paper is written with the objective of conducting an extensive survey on the chronological development of modeling strategies of RC shear walls. From an earthquake engineering point of view, be classified in three major model scales; micro models, meso-scale models and macro models. The macro models, which are commonly used in practice, were examined in more detail in this study. Advantages and limitations are pointed out to understand which model can be properly used during different modelling approaches.