DERIVATION OF A REFINED EQUATION FOR CALCULATING THE

ULTIMATE LOAD OF REINFORCED CONCRETE WALLS

MAGDY ABDEL MOHSEN1, TAMER ALAFANDY2

ABSTRACT
The current paper aimed to studying available equations for calculation of
vertical ultimate load of reinforced concrete (RC) walls subjected to bending in one
direction according to different codes including Egyptian Code (ECP203-07) and
comparing the results obtained by this equations with those obtained from 24 loading
tests of reinforced concrete walls having different dimensions, cross sections,
reinforcement and slenderness ratios. From this comparison we found that existing
equations given by different codes do not give accurate estimation of vertical capacity
of walls and consequently a new accurate and practical equation has been developed
and give very close results compared to experimental ones.
KEYWORDS: Concrete, Experimental Tests, Load Bearing Walls, Ultimate Load .
1. INTRODUCTION
There is big discrepancy between different codes for calculation of ultimate
vertical capacity of reinforced concrete walls.

For example the ACI318-08 and

ECP203-07 Codes neglects the effect of reinforcement in the wall. British and Euro
Codes design RC walls as columns taking into consideration the presence of
reinforcement. When comparing the results obtained from different codes with those
obtained from experimental it has been found that there is a big difference of values
obtained by different codes. A modification for one of the equations available for
1

Assist. Prof., Al-Azhar University

Assist. Prof, Housing and Building Research Center
Email: drmagdy_amb@yahoo.com
2

design of RC columns has been done to be used for design of RC walls and this
equations give a very accurate and close to the experimental ones.
2. CURRENT EQUATIONS USED FOR CALCULATING ULTIMATE LOADS
OF RC WALLS
2.1 American Code ACI318-08:
ACI 31808 empirical wall formula which is for relatively short walls with small
moments, taking into consideration an eccentricity of h/6; the equation takes the
following form:

kLc
Pu 0.55 f c` Ag 1

32h

(1)

2.2 Egyptian Code ECP203-07:

kH

Pu 0.8 0.35 f cu Ac 1

32
h

(2)

kH
0.28 f cu A c 1

32h

kH

0.35 f c`A c 1

32
h

2.3 British, Euro and Hong Kong Codes:

Pu = 0.35 fcu Ac + 0.67 fy Asc

(3)

As it has been proposed by BS, Euro and Hong Kong Codes that RC wall can be
designed as a column taking into account an eccentricity equal to 2 cm or 0.05 h
whichever is less, so we can suppose that RC wall can be designed by using column
equation given in ACI 318-08.

2.4 ACI 318-08 Tied Column Equation:

Pu= 0.8 [0.85

f c` (Ag-Ast)

+ fy Ast]

(4)

For tied column =0.65

Pu = 0.442

f c` (Ag-Ast)

+ 0.52fy Ast

(4-1)

Taking into account that f c` = 0.8 fcu

Equation (4) then becomes
Pu= 0.3536 fcu (Ag-Ast) + 0.52 fy Ast

(4-2)

If we did not take into account accidental eccentricity equation (4) takes the two
following forms:
Pu= 0.5525 f`c (Ag-Ast) + 0.65 fy Ast
Pu= 0.442 fcu (Ag-Ast) + 0.65 fy Ast

(5)
(6)

As a suggestion for our new equation the factor 0.5 were used instead of 0.5525 or
0.442, so the proposed equation takes the form
Pu= 0.5 fcu (Ag-Ast) + 0.65 fy Ast

(7)

Based on equation (7) the ultimate load of 24 tests of RC walls in one way in plane
action with an eccentricity h/6 and hinged conditions at top and bottom of the panel for
different parameters that influence the ultimate strength, which include aspect ratio
(h/L), slenderness ratio (h/t) and amounts of steel in vertical and horizontal direction
(v, h).
Typical arrangement of reinforcement is shown in Fig 1. Details of reinforcement and
yield strength of bars are shown Table 2. The load was uniformly distributed over the
length of the panel an applied at eccentricity equal to one six of the panel thickness.
The panel reinforcement was placed in two layers, symmetrically, on the two faces for
effective resistance to eccentric loading.
Calculated ultimate loads of RC panels using the different mentioned equations given
by different codes and by the new proposed equation are given in Table 3. From the
Table it is very clear that no one of the equations given by different codes match well
with the experimental results and only the new proposed equation gives an excellent
prediction of the ultimate load of RC panels. Also the proposed equation predicted

values have very strong correlation with the experimental ones as the coefficient of
correlation Rsqr = 0.953 which is almost equal to unity.
The maximum difference of the experimental values from those obtained by the
proposed equation is 18.7% and 45%, other values are practically equal and by the
ACI equation is 37% to 93% and by ACI column equation is 1% to 80% also this
difference for BS and Euro Codes are in the range of 5% to 80% and for the Egyptian
Code of Practice is 400% to 3100%.

F. 1. Arrangement of Reinforcement in Panels

Table 1: Effective Length factors for Load -bearing walls
1- Walls braced top and bottom against translation and
(a) Restrained against rotation at one both ends (top and/or bottom) 0.80
(b) Not restrained against rotation at either end
1.0
2- For walls not braced against lateral transition
2.5

Table 2.1: details of tested panels

Variable
Considered

Panel
designation

Size of panel
hLt
(mm)

h/L

h/t

fcu
(MPa)

(a) WAR Series

Aspect
ratio

WAR-1

60090050

0.67

12

22.33

WAR-2

60060050

12

22.33

WAR-3

60040050

1.5

12

22.33

WAR-4

60030050

12

22.33

(b) WSR Series

Slenderness
ratio

WSR-1

45030050

1.50

21.67

WSR-2

60040050

1.50

12

21.67

WSR-3

90060050

1.50

18

21.67

WSR-4

135090050

1.50

27

21.67

(c) WSTV-I Series

Vertical
reinforcement

WSTV-1

60090050

0.67

12

25.17

WSTV -2

60090050

0.67

12

25.17

WSTV -3

60090050

0.67

12

25.17

WSTV -4

60090050

0.67

12

25.17

(d) WSTV-II Series

Vertical
reinforcement

WSTV-5

120080050

1.50

24

22.83

WSTV -6

120080050

1.50

24

22.83

WSTV -7

120080050

1.50

24

22.83

WSTV -8

120080050

1.50

24

2.83

(e) WSTH-I Series

Horizontal
reinforcement

WSTH-1

60090050

0.67

12

24.50

WSTH -2

60090050

0.67

12

24.50

WSTH -3

60090050

0.67

12

24.50

WSTH -4

60090050

0.67

12

24.50

(f) WSTH-II Series

Horizontal
reinforcement

WSTH-5

120080050

1.50

24

20.17

WSTH -6

120080050

1.50

24

20.17

WSTH -7

120080050

1.50

24

20.17

WSTH -8

120080050

1.50

24

20.17

Table 2.2: details of tested panels

Variable
Considered

Horizontal Steel
Bars
in
fy

one
(MPa)
(%)
layer

Failure
Load
(kN)

3-4

286

0.199

484.27

WAR-2

Vertical Steel
Bars
in
fy

one
(MPa)
(%)
layer
(a) WAR Series
2297
0.173
11a
2-7
297
0.173

3-4

286

0.199

314.8

WAR-3

2-5

297

0.173

3-4

286

0.199

198.29

WAR-4

2-4

297

0.173

3-4

286

0.199

147.4

Panel
designation

WAR-1
Aspect
ratio

(b) WSR Series

Slenderness
ratio

WSR-1

2-4

297

0.165

3-3

286

0.199

214.18

WSR-2

2-5

297

0.165

3-4

286

0.199

254.1

WSR-3

2-7

297

0.165

3-6

286

0.199

298.92

WSR-4

2-11

297

0.165

3-9

286

0.199

373.65

(c) WSTV-I Series

Vertical
reinforcement

WSTV-1

2-11

297

0.173

3-4

286

0.199

N/A

WSTV -2

3-10

286

0.331

3-4

286

0.199

534.07

WSTV -3

4-9

581

0.528

3-4

286

0.199

583.52

WSTV -4

5-10

570

0.845

3-4

286

0.199

704.14

(d) WSTV-II Series

Vertical
reinforcement

WSTV-5

2-10

297

0.177

3-8

286

0.199

338.73

WSTV -6

3-9

286

0.335

3-8

286

0.199

398.56

WSTV -7

4-8

581

0.528

3-8

286

0.199

463.28

WSTV -8

5-9

570

0.856

3-8

286

0.199

503.1

(e) WSTH-I Series

Horizontal
reinforcement

WSTH-1

2-11

297

0.173

3-4

286

0.199

N/A

WSTH -2

2-11

297

0.173

4-4

581

0.352

538.10

WSTH -3

2-11

297

0.173

4-5

581

0.440

528.11

WSTH -4

2-11

297

0.173

5-4

570

0.507

528.11

(f) WSTH-II Series

Horizontal
reinforcement

WSTH-5

2-10

297

0.176

3-8

286

0.199

N/A

WSTH -6

2-10

297

0.176

4-8

581

0.352

348.74

WSTH -7

2-10

297

0.176

4-10

581

0.440

343.74

WSTH -8

2-10

297

0.176

5-8

570

0.507

348.74

Table 3.1: Analytical Failure Loads of Panels using the Available Codes(N)
Panel
designation

fcu

fy

Pv

ACI31808(1)

WAR-1

22.33 297 50

600

1.73E-03

900

11910.94

WAR-2

22.33 297 50

600

1.73E-03

600

7940.625

WAR-3

22.33 297 50

600

1.73E-03

400

5293.75

WAR-4

22.33 297 50

600

1.73E-03

300

3970.313

WSR-1

21.67 297 50

450

1.65E-03

300

4254.551

WSR-2

21.67 297 50

600

1.65E-03

400

5293.75

WSR-3

21.67 297 50

900

1.65E-03

600

6316.406

WSR-4

21.67 297 50

1350

1.65E-03

900

3992.871

WSTV-1

25.17 297 50

600

1.73E-03

900

11910.94

WSTV -2

25.17 286 50

600

3.31E-03

900

11910.94

WSTV -3

25.17 581 50

600

5.28E-03

900

11910.94

WSTV -4

25.17 570 50

600

8.45E-03

900

11910.94

WSTV-5

22.83 297 50

1200

1.77E-03

800

5390

WSTV -6

22.83 286 50

1200

3.35E-03

800

5390

WSTV -7

22.83 581 50

1200

5.28E-03

800

5390

WSTV -8

22.83 570 50

1200

8.56E-03

800

5390

WSTH-1

24.5

297 50

600

1.73E-03

900

11910.94

WSTH -2

24.5

297 50

600

1.73E-03

900

11910.94

WSTH -3

24.5

297 50

600

1.73E-03

900

11910.94

WSTH -4

24.5

297 50

600

1.73E-03

900

11910.94

WSTH-5

20.17 297 50

1200

1.76E-03

800

5390

WSTH -6

20.17 297 50

1200

1.76E-03

800

5390

WSTH -7

20.17 297 50

1200

1.76E-03

800

5390

WSTH -8

20.17 297 50

1200

1.76E-03

800

5390

Table 3.2: Analytical Failure Loads of Panels using the Available Codes (N)

Panel
designation

ECP203-07(2)

British, Euro and

Hong Kong

(3)

ACI 318-08 tied

column

(4-1)

Proposed
Equation(7)

WAR-1

109905.469

3.67E+05

366723.4

4.58E+05

WAR-2

73270.3125

2.45E+05

244482.3

3.06E+05

WAR-3

48846.875

1.63E+05

162988.2

2.04E+05

WAR-4

36635.1563

1.22E+05

122241.1

1.53E+05

WSR-1

47017.9746

1.19E+05

118570.4

1.48E+05

WSR-2

47403.125

1.58E+05

158093.9

1.98E+05

WSR-3

34841.2969

2.37E+05

237140.8

2.96E+05

WSR-4

6666.06445

3.56E+05

355711.3

4.45E+05

WSTV-1

123883.594

4.12E+05

411835.3

5.15E+05

WSTV -2

123883.594

4.25E+05

421331.2

5.27E+05

WSTV -3

123883.594

4.89E+05

470174.1

5.88E+05

WSTV -4

123883.594

5.42E+05

509826.9

6.37E+05

WSTV-5

15981

3.34E+05

333270.3

4.17E+05

WSTV -6

15981

3.45E+05

341754.3

4.27E+05

WSTV -7

15981

4.02E+05

385010.3

4.81E+05

WSTV -8

15981

4.50E+05

421630.8

5.27E+05

WSTH-1

120585.938

4.01E+05

401192.7

5.01E+05

WSTH -2

120585.938

4.01E+05

401192.7

5.01E+05

WSTH -3

120585.938

4.01E+05

401192.7

5.01E+05

WSTH -4

120585.938

4.01E+05

401192.7

5.01E+05

WSTH-5

14119

2.96E+05

295655

3.70E+05

WSTH -6

14119

2.96E+05

295655

3.70E+05

WSTH -7

14119

2.96E+05

295655

3.70E+05

WSTH -8

14119

2.96E+05

295655

3.70E+05

Table 4: Ratios between Experimental and Analytical Failure Loads

Panel
designation

Experimental
(kN)

WAR-1

484.27

WAR-2

Exp/(1)

Exp/(3)

Exp/(4-2)

Exp/(6)

Exp/(7)

40.65759 4.406241

1.32

1.320532

1.20

1.06

314.8

39.64423

4.29642

1.29

1.287619

1.17

1.03

WAR-3

198.29

37.45738

4.05942

1.22

1.216591

1.10

9.73E-01

WAR-4

147.4

37.12554 4.023458

1.20

1.205813

1.09

9.65E-01

WSR-1

214.18

50.34139 4.555279

1.80

1.806353

1.63

1.45

WSR-2

254.1

5.360406

1.61

1.607273

1.45

1.29

WSR-3

298.92

47.32438 8.579474

1.26

1.260517

1.14

1.01

WSR-4

373.65

93.57928 56.05256

1.05

1.050431

9.51E-01

8.40E-01

WSTV-1

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

WSTV -2

534.07

44.83862

4.311063

1.26

1.267578

1.15

1.01

WSTV -3

583.52

48.99027 4.710228

1.19

1.241072

1.12

9.93E-01

WSTV -4

704.14

59.11709

5.683884

1.30

1.381136

1.25

1.10

WSTV-5

338.73

62.84416

21.1958

1.02

1.016382

9.20E-01

8.13E-01

WSTV -6

398.56

73.94434 24.93962

1.15

1.166218

1.06

9.33E-01

WSTV -7

463.28

85.95176 28.98942

1.15

1.203292

1.09

9.63E-01

WSTV -8

503.1

93.33952

31.48113

1.12

1.193224

1.08

9.55E-01

WSTH-1

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

WSTH -2

538.10

45.16941 4.461631

1.34

1.341026

1.21

1.07

WSTH -3

528.11

44.33824 4.379532

1.32

1.31635

1.19

1.05

WSTH -4

528.11

44.33824 4.379532

1.32

1.31635

1.19

1.05

WSTH-5

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

WSTH -6

348.74

64.7013

24.70005

1.18

1.179551

1.07

9.44E-01

WSTH -7

343.74

63.77365 24.34592

1.16

1.162639

1.05

9.30E-01

WSTH -8

348.74

64.7013

1.18

1.179551

1.07

9.44E-01

48

Exp/(2)

24.70005

CONCLUSIONS
According the discussion mentioned above, it is clear that all the existing formulas for
predicting ultimate load of RC wall are not correct at all and a new much more
accurate equation is proposed which is working properly.
REFERENCES
[1] S. Madina Saheb and Prakash Desayi, Ultimate Strength of RC Wall Panels in
One Way in Plane Action, ASCE, JSED, Vol. 115, No. 10, October, 1989
[2] Jack C McCormac, James K Nelson, "Reinforced Concrete Design",7 th edition,
2006
[3] ACI 318-08 Metric Units
[4] Reinforced Concrete Code of Practice, Housing Dept. May 2008, Hong Kong
[5] British Code of Practice of Reinforced Concrete
[6] Euro Code of Practice of Reinforced Concrete
LIST OF SYMBOLS
Pu

= Ultimate Load

= 0.7

Lc

= vertical distance between supports

= overall thickness of wall

= effective length factor determined in accordance with the values given in

Table 1.

f`c

= cylinder strength

Ag

= gross sectional area of wall section

fcu

= Cube strength

Ac

= gross sectional area of wall cross section

= vertical distance between supports

fy

= steel yield strength

Asc

= area of reinforcement steel

Ast

= area of reinforcing steel

= 0.65 for tied column

 :


24
.



.

10