Department of Civil, Construction &
Environmental Engineering


Sponsor(s)




Collaborative Research: Testing and Analyses of Nonrectangular Walls Under Multi-Directional Loads



Principal Investigator(s): Sivalingam Sritharan
Co-Principal Investigator(s): Catherine French, Ricky Lopez
Team Member(s): Jonathan Waugh
Sponsor(s): National Science Foundation (NSF)
Start Date: 12/01/2003
End Date: 12/01/2006
Keyword(s): Seismic Resistant Design of Structures, Large Scale Testing of Structures


Project Description:

This project represents a collaborative analytical, experimental and educational effort to investigate the behavior of nonrectangular structural walls subjected to the effects of multidirectional loading. Nonrectangular structural walls are often used to resist lateral loads and limit deformations in structural systems located in regions of moderate and high seismicity. Although such wall systems are intended to resist the lateral forces along the orthogonal axes of the building, past research has been limited to unidirectional studies of these systems due to limitations in experimental capabilities, as such the numerical models developed to describe their behavior have been calibrated to this limited data.

The project has a significant educational component through plans to incorporate the testing and simulation into the curriculum at the three collaborative universities including the participation of underrepresented groups. The involvement of the practicing engineer from the beginning of the project, who along with the Principal Investigator is involved in the development of the American Concrete Institute Building Code, ensures that the appropriate research findings may be translated directly into practice with improved detailing recommendations for nonrectangular structural walls. As such, this project will improve the nation's infrastructure in seismic regions. It is also anticipated that the results of this project will lead to valuable information for future remote users of the MAST system. This information will include documentation of any observed deformations of the reaction wall and crosshead, as well as the ability of the system to function under mixed mode control with large applied forces. The performance and userability evaluations of the remote participant capabilities within the MAST are intended to lead to an improved system for remote participation. The Co-PIs have a vested interest within this project to actively evaluate these capabilities as they are essential to their participation in this project. It is intended that the research data be made available to the research community through the NSF, George E. Brown Jr., NEES National Data Repository. Any hardware or instrumentation purchased at the University of Minnesota through this project will be available to future users of the MAST facility.