Building Code Requirements for

Structural Concrete (ACI 318M-11)

Design of Wall Structures by ACI 318

David Darwin
Vietnam Institute for Building Science and
Technology (IBST)

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

December 12-16, 2011

This morning

Slender columns
Walls
High-strength concrete
Walls (Chapters 14, 10, and 11)
Outline
Overview
Notation
General design requirements
Minimum reinforcement
Reinforcement around openings
Design of bearing walls (3 methods)
Design of shear walls
Walls can be categorized based on
Construction Design
method loading
Cast-in-place Axial load, flexure,
Precast and out-of-plane shear
Tilt-up In-plane shear
Types of Walls
Cast-in-place
Precast
Tilt-up
Walls can be categorized based on
Construction Design
method loading
Cast-in-place Axial load, flexure,
Precast and out-of-plane shear
Tilt-up In-plane shear

Bearing walls*
Shear walls*
Notation and Abbreviation
l = Vertical reinforcement ratio
t = Horizontal reinforcement ratio
c = Height of wall measured center-to-center of
supports
h = Wall thickness
hw = Total height of wall
w = Length of wall
Mcr = Cracking moment
WWR = welded wire reinforcement
General design requirements in ACI 318
Design for axial, eccentric, lateral, shear and
other loads to which the wall is subjected

Walls must be anchored to intersecting

structural elements (floors, roofs, columns)

Horizontal length of a wall considered effective

for each concentrated load
center-to center spacing of loads
bearing width + 4 wall thickness h
Outer limits of compression member built
integrally with a wall 40 mm from outside of
spiral or ties

Minimum reinforcement and reinforcement

based on the Empirical Method may be
waived if analysis shows adequate strength
and stability

Transfer force to footing at base of wall in

accordance with Chapter 15 (Footings)
Minimum reinforcement
Vertical reinforcement ratio l 0.0015
Reduce to 0.0012 for bar sizes No. 16 and
fy 420 MPa
or for WWR reinforcement sizes 16 mm

Horizontal reinforcement ratio t 0.0025

Reduce to 0.0020 for bar sizes No. 16 and
fy 420 MPa
or for WWR reinforcement sizes 16 mm
Walls more than 250 mm thick (except
basement walls):
Must have two layers of reinforcement parallel
with the faces

(a)1/2 to 2/3 of reinforcement in each direction

located between 50 mm and 1/3 of wall
thickness from exterior surface

(b) balance of reinforcement in each direction

located between 20 mm and 1/3 of wall
thickness from interior surface
Vertical and horizontal reinforcement spaced

3h

450 mm

Ties not required around vertical reinforcement

when l 0.01
Reinforcement around openings
At least 2 No. 16 bars
in walls with 2 layers
of reinforcement in
both directions

At least 1 No. 16 bar

in walls with 1 layer of
reinforcement in both
directions

Anchored to develop fy
Reinforcement around openings
Design of bearing walls

Axial load and flexure

Shear perpendicular to the wall
Design of walls for axial load and flexure
Design options:

Wall Designed as Compression Members

(subjected to P & M design as columns)

Empirical Design Method (some limitations)

Alternative Design of Slender Walls (some

limitations)
Walls designed as compression members

Design as column, including slenderness

requirements
Also meet general and minimum reinforcement
requirements for walls
Empirical Design Method
Limitations

Thickness of solid rectangular cross section

h (cor w between supports)/25

100 mm for bearing walls
190 mm for exterior basement and foundation
walls
Resultant of all factored loads
Pu
must be located within the
e h/6
middle third of the overall
wall thickness
h/6
Wall cross section

h
Design axial strength

k l c
2

Pn 0.55 fcAg 1 Pu
32h

= 0.65
Effective length factor, k
Walls braced at top and bottom against lateral
translation
Restrained against rotation at one or both
ends
k = 0.8
Unrestrained against rotation at both ends
k = 1.0

Walls not braced against lateral translation

k = 2.0
Alternative Design of Slender Walls
When flexural tension controls the out-of-plane
design, the requirements of this procedure are
considered to satisfy the slenderness requirements
for compression members
P Pu/Ag 0.06fc at
midheight
Lateral Load
Wall must be
tension-controlled

Mn Mcr
Distribution of load within wall
Provisions cover

Factored moment Mu

Out-of-plane service load deflection s

Factored moment Mu P

By iteration e

By direct solution
wu
c u
Factored moment Mu by iteration

Mu Mua Pu u
e Pu
w l
2

Mu u c
Pe Pu u
8
u Mua Pu u
= + 5Mu l 2c
u
0.75 48EcIcr
Solve by iteration
Icr = moment of inertia of cracked
section
Es Pu h l wc 3
d c
2
Icr As
Ec fy 2d 3

Es
not taken < 6
Ec
Factored moment Mu by direct solution
e Pu

Mua
Mu
5Pu l 2c
u Mua Pu u 1
= + 0.75 48EcIcr
Out-of-plane service load deflection
P Service Deflection Limit
e s c / 150

Loading
D + 0.5L + Wa or
c s
D + 0.5L + 0.7E
(per ACI Commentary and
ASCE 7-10)
Service Load Deflections
Mn
Ma
Mcr

(2/3)Mcr
Ma

s cr s n

(2/3) cr
35
Service load deflections for Ma (2/3)Mcr
P
Ma
e s cr
Ma = Service Mcr
load moment 2
5Mcr l
at midheight cr c

including P- 48EcIcr
c s
Service deflection
Find Ma by iteration
Service load deflections for Ma > (2/3)Mcr
P
e M 2 / 3 M
s 2 / 3 cr
a cr
2 / 3
M 2 / 3 M
n cr
n cr

5Mn l 2c
n
48Ec Icr
c s
Service deflection
Find Ma and Icr by iteration
Design of shear walls
Shear parallel to the wall in-plane shear
Shear wall
Design loading
Design for bending, axial load, and in-plane
shear

Bending and axial load: design as

beam or column

If hw 2w, design is permitted using a

strut-and-tie model (Appendix A)
Shear design

Vu Vn

Vn Vc Vs

Vn 0.83 fchd
Effective depth d
d 0.8hw

Larger value equal to the distance from

extreme compression fiber to center of
force of all reinforcement in tension permitted
when determined by strain compatibility
For walls subject to vertical compression,
Vc 0.17 fchd

For walls subject to vertical tension Nu ,

0.29Nu
Vc 0.17 1 fchd
Ag

Nu is negative for tension

lightweight concrete factor
Alternatively, use the lesser of
Nu d
Vc 0.27 fchd
4l w
or

Vc

0.05 fc

l w 0.1 fc 0.2Nu l w h
hd
Mu Vu l w 2

When Mu Vu l w 2 is negative, second

equation is not applicable
First equation corresponds to a principal tensile
stress of about 0.33 fc at centroid of shear-wall
cross section.

Second equation corresponds to a flexural tensile

stress of about 0.50 fc at a section l w 2 above
the section being investigated
Horizontal sections closer to the wall base
than w /2 or hw/2, whichever is less, may
be designed for the same Vc as computed
at w /2 or hw/2

Where Vu Vc/2, minimum wall

reinforcement may be used
Where Vu Vc/2, wall reinforcement must
meet the requirements described next
Horizontal shear reinforcement

Vs
Av fy d
Av
Vu Vc s
s fy d

Av
t 0.0025
hs

s l w 5, 3h, 450 mm
Vertical shear reinforcement
Ah hw
l 0.0025 0.5 2.5 t 0.0025
hs1 l w
0.0025

s1 l w 3, 3h, 450 mm
Summary
Design of walls
Notation
General design requirements
Minimum reinforcement
Reinforcement around openings
Design of bearing walls (3 methods)
Design of shear walls
50
Figures copyright 2010 by
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
1221 Avenue of the America
New York, NY 10020 USA

Duplication authorized for use with this presentation only.

Photographs and figures on bearing wall design provided

courtesy of the Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Illinois,
USA
 The University of
Kansas

David Darwin, Ph.D., P.E.

Deane E. Ackers Distinguished Professor
Director, Structural Engineering & Materials Laboratory

Dept. of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering

2142 Learned Hall
Lawrence, Kansas, 66045-7609
(785) 864-3827 Fax: (785) 864-5631

daved@ku.edu