Reaction Walls

There are two reaction walls on the east end of the laboratory's expansion area. The first is located adjacent to the strong floor, for both static and dynamic testing, and the other is adjacent to the trench to allow for hybrid testing with our shake tables. See the below information for dimensions and capacities of both strong walls.

Physical Data

Reaction wall next to strong floor

Reaction wall adjacent to the strong floor:

Length: 41'-0"
Height: 30'-0"
Thickness: 2'-0"

Reaction wall adjacent to the shake table trench:

Length: 23'-0"
Height: 30'-0"
Thickness: 2'0"

Capacity Data

Allowable load per strip along NUMBERED lines (based on shear)
Position	Lines	Max Force				Shear Strength	Clear Span
ft		kip/ft	kN/ft	kN/m	ton/m	ton/m	ft
1	TA TB TF TG TK TL A E F J K O P	120	544	1784	182	172	9.00
3	TC TE TH TJ B D G I L N Q S	157	712	2333	238	172	9.00
5	TD TI C H M R	226	1028	3370	343	172	9.00
Allowable concentrated load PER HOLE (based on shear strength)
Position	Lines	Max Force				Shear Strength	Clear Span
ft		kip	kN	kN	ton	ton/m	ft
1	TA TB TF TG TK TL A E F J K O P	239	1088	1088	111	172	9.00
3	TC TE TH TJ B D G I L N Q	313	1423	1423	145	172	9.00
5	TD TI C H M R	452	2055	2055	210	172	9.00
Allowable concentrated load PER HOLE (based on moments)
Position	Lines		hole @	2ft	0.61m		Gross Span
ft		kip	kN	kN	ton	ton-m/m	ft
1	TA TB TF TG TK TL A E F J K O P	241	1096	1096	112	165	10.00
3	TC TE TH TJ B D G I L N Q S	103	470	470	48	165	10.00
5	TD TI C H M R	87	395	395	40	165	10.00
Allowable concentrated load PER HOLE (based on punching shear)
Position	Lines	Max Force				Shear Strength	Clear Span
ft		kip	kN	kN	ton	kips	ft
1	TA T TF TG TK TL A E F J K O P	182	826	826	84	182	10.00
Allowable moment per strip along ALPHABETICAL lines (based on shear)
							Gross Span
		kin-in/ft	kip-ft/ft	kN-m/ft	ton-m/m	ton-m/m	ft
		4352	363	493	165	165	10.00
Allowable overturning moment per vertical strip
							Gross Span
		kin-in/ft	kin-ft/ft	kN-m/ft	ton-m/m	ton-m/m	ft
		13056	1088	1480	495	495	10.00
Allowable position for actuators
Size			Height from the floor			Mom.strip of Holes	Gross Span
ton			in	ft	m	ton-m/m	ft
50			324	27.0	8.24	302	10.00
100			237	19.8	6.03	302	10.00
200			119	9.9	3.02	302	10.00

Drawing

drawing of reaction walls.

Drawing of reaction walls

Research Projects

Bolted Splice Details for Composite Plate Shear Walls—Concrete Filled (Part I: Component Level Test)
8/28/23
This project aims to develop and validate bolted splice details for C-PSW/CF, a structural system designed for non-seismic regions like New York City and Boston. The focus is on areas where bolted splices are preferred over welded ones due to wind demands outweighing elastic seismic forces in splice design.
Seismic Retrofit of Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls to Enable Reparability
6/21/22
This project quantified the improvement in structural behavior of reinforced concrete shear walls retrofitted with a new method that allows the walls to rock over the foundation and self-center after an earthquake. The goal of the retrofit is to reduce seismic damage and allow rapid repair for resiliency.
Composite Plate Shear Walls/Concrete Filled for High-Rise Buildings
2/26/19
There is a growing interest in using coupled composite plate shear walls/ concrete-filled (CPSW/CF) for high-rise building construction, particularly to optimize the design for wind and/or seismic load combinations. This test series investigated the inelastic cyclic response of C-Shaped and T-Shaped walls typically used in core-wall structures.
Cyclic Inelastic Behavior of Concrete Filled Sandwich Panel Walls Subjected to In-Plane Flexure
2/25/19
Research was conducted on concrete filled steel sandwich panel walls (CFSSP-Walls) in order to investigate the ductility and seismic performance of this structural system under in-plane flexure.
Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Self- Centering Steel Plate Shear Walls
2/24/19
As part of an analytical and experimental study on a proposed self-centering steel plate shear wall (SC-SPSW) system, the behavior of SC-SPSWs was developed investigated using one-third scaled single-bay three-story frames subjected to quasi-static cyclic and dynamic shake-table testing.
Post-Earthquake Fire Resistance of Ductile Concrete Filled Double-Skin Tube Columns
2/23/19
The main goal in this project was to study the behavior of Concrete-Filled Double-Skin Tube (CFDST) columns subjected to fire following earthquake scenarios. For this purpose, the behavior of CFDST columns with various degrees of simulated seismic damage was examined under the standard ASTM E119 (ASTM 2012) fire, using both experimental and numerical approaches.
Structural Response of Smart Walls Subjected to Multidirectional Loads
2/23/19
An innovative structural system was proposed as a measure to provide on-demand protection against floods. Fundamental concepts were evaluated and a structural prototype was built to conduct experimental and analytical studies. This project served as the base ground for ongoing research sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Cyclic Testing of Braces Laterally Restrained by Steel Studs to Enhance Performance during Earthquakes
2/22/19
Cold formed steel studs (CFSS), typically used in nonstructural partition walls, were studied to determine if they could be used to laterally restrain braces against buckling and thus enhance their seismic performance.
Structural Fuse Concept for Bridges
2/22/19
The concept is applied to an innovative multi-column accelerated bridge construction (ABC) pier concept. Different types of structural fuses are investigated to compare the effect of each on ABC bridge bents.