A Study of the Effect of FRP-Composite Layouts on the Lateral Load Capacity of Concrete Shear Walls with Boundary Elements

In this study, non-linear finite element analysis with LS-Dyna was used to evaluate CFRP-strengthened shear walls with versatile layouts subjected to lateral loadings. It was assumed that CFRP reinforcements were applied symmetrically on the walls and the slippage between CFRP and the concrete could be neglected. The results showed that the ductility of the most CFRP-strengthened models increased with the increase of shear wall lateral strength. Furthermore, the findings suggested that a simultaneous combination of flexural strengthening of two sides of the walls, along with confining of the boundary elements and cross diagonal bracing is the most effective strategy for applying CFRP reinforcements. Finally, using an inappropriate FRP wrapping layout not only did not improve the lateral load capacity and ductility of the wall, but could also result in lower values compared to the non-strengthened specimens.