<p>Although panel buildings have been constructed since before World War II, there is very little known about their ultimate capacity when subjected to lateral loads. The existing methods of analysis and design are based on tests conducted on isolated vertical and horizontal joints, and empirical relationships derived from these experiments.</p> <p>Very little attention has been paid to the influence of joint behaviour on the response of an assembly of panels. The studies of the overall behaviour of panel buildings which have been done by constructing mathematical models for panel assemblies, have not in general devised realistic models for the joints.</p> <p>Since the joints are weaker than the panels they connect, and because failure in almost every case occurs in the joints, a realistic joint representation is very important if a true prediction of lateral load response of panel buildings is to be provided.</p> <p>In this work an attempt has been made to develop a realistic model for both the horizontal and the vertical joints of the assemblies of panels forming the shear walls in panel buildings. In determining the joint model, joint details as well as existing experimental information and on-site construction techniques (and possible imperfections) were taken into account. The mathematical model was based on the finite element method of analysis. Due to practical limitations of computer storage and computation time, modifications had to be made to reduce the total number of elements used to simulate the panel assemblies.</p> <p>The results confirmed the immense importance of the realistic modelling of joints, and also illustrated the susceptibility of horizontal joints to failure due to the redistribution of gravity loads during lateral loading. It was shown that the method is capable of predicting the ultimate lateral load capacity of panel buildings.</p> <p>Recommendations were made regarding an acceptable limit for drift to height ratio (Δ/H) for panel construction. Factors of safety against collapse were also established based on the maximum allowable lateral loads to which an assembly of panels could be subjected without compromising the overall integrity of the structure, or incurring minor local failures.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/10930 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Navabi, Mani M. |
| Contributors | Drysdale, R. G., Heidebrecht, A. C., Civil Engineering |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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