Shear walls are preferred in RC tall buildings to provide stability to the building and also to resist both gravity and lateral loads. In nuclear power plant structures shear walls are essential components in the designs. Research efforts on structural…
Shear walls are preferred in RC tall buildings to provide stability to the building and also to resist both gravity and lateral loads. In nuclear power plant structures shear walls are essential components in the designs. Research efforts on structural walls have been increasing since the past two decades. The main aim is to understand the behaviour of RC walls using experimental and numerical modelling. Analysis of post failure response and assessment of damage quantitatively in such shear walls is of utmost concern. This paper focuses on understanding the behaviour of RC structural walls under various loading conditions and performance assessment using fractal analysis. The topography of the fracture surface of concrete in the structural shear walls is characterized by using the fractal dimension. As the failure of concrete structural walls and crack patterns can be idealized as fractals, a damage index based on fractal analysis has been developed. This damage index clearly classifies the behavioural difference of such structural shear walls in a simple approach. Damage index has been calculated for tested shear walls using various parameters. Damage index has been influenced by the aspect ratio of wall, strength of concrete, shape of wall, boundary elements, and percentage of reinforcement. A detailed classification based on performance levels of structural shear walls with respect to damage index is described.