Stringer panel approach for a strength behaviour study of a flanged shear wall

This paper presents an analytical investigation on the applicability of Stringer Panel Model (SPM) for flanged shear wall structures and compares the results with Strut and Tie Model (STM), Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and a shear wall tested in Canada. The FEA and experimental results were taken from the available literature. However, developing the optimal topology for STM requires rigorous methods like Evolutionary Structural Optimization of the FEA results. So a simple analogous frame idealisation was clubbed with the STM to get the topology. Even though the literature shows that Finite Element Method (FEM) predicts lateral load capacity, displacement and behaviour more accurately and realistically than SPM or STM, both these non-FEM models give acceptable results for design purposes. Between the two, the SPM gave a better estimate of the load capacity than the STM and was easier to practice than FEM. Based on these experiences, SPM is recommended for estimating the load capacity of flanged shear walls subjected to lateral loads.