Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Shear behavior of concrete shear walls with CFRP grids under lateral cyclic T
loading
Zhen Huang , Jie Shen, Huaquan Lin, Xinyu Song, Yiming Yao
⁎

Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Structures of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is ideal for use in new construction owing to its light weight, high
Concrete strength, and linear elasticity properties. CFRP grid is a common form of reinforcement that can enhance the
Shear wall structural integrity of components. In this study, six concrete shear walls, including one steel reinforced concrete
CFRP grid (RC) wall and five walls reinforced with CFRP grids in two reinforcement configurations (vertically or hor-
Shear performance
izontally laid), were tested until failure under cyclic loading. The comparison parameters include the aspect
Grid effects
Cyclic loading
ratio, horizontal reinforcement ratio, and reinforcement configuration. The six specimens with aspect ratios of
Truss-arch model 1.0 and 1.4 experienced diagonal compression shear failure. The specimens with CFRP grids exhibited higher
shear resistance in terms of a larger lateral drift, load capacity, strain, and less residual deformation, in parti-
cular, for walls with horizontal grids compared to conventional RC shear wall. The horizontally arranged CFRP
grids significantly reduced the deformation concentration and improved the concrete confinement. Theoretical
formulas based on the truss-arch model were developed to calculate the shear capacity of the concrete shear
walls with CFRP grids.

1. Introduction walls reinforced with FRP present self-centering behavior, which re-
duces the structural damage and improves the collapse resistance. FRP
Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls are one of the most common bars and stirrups are two common forms of FRP materials used in
lateral force resisting members used in building structures. The failure concrete shear walls. Ghazizadeh et al. [15] observed that hybrid FRP-
modes of shear walls can be divided into flexural failure, and shear steel reinforced shear walls demonstrated self-centering behavior, as
failure under seismic action. Each mode is influenced by different fac- well as comparable strength, stiffness, and ductility to RC shear wall.
tors such as the shear span ratio and axial compression ratio [1,2]. Arafa et al. [16] used glass-FRP (GFRP) bars and stirrups in squat walls
Well-designed walls are typically expected to fail by ductile flexural to control shear cracks and enhance the concrete contribution to lateral
failure. However, in engineering practice, shear walls in structures with shear resistance. Mohamed et al. [17] indicated that concrete shear
large spaces on the bottom floor usually have low aspect ratios that walls reinforced with GFRP bars exhibited acceptable level of energy
make them susceptible to brittle shear failure during earthquakes [3,4]. dissipation and relatively small residual forces compared to steel-re-
It is the shear behavior that affects the failure mode of low-rise shear inforced walls. Zhao et al. [18] noted that shear walls with carbon-FRP
walls and seismic performance of the structures [5,6]. (CFRP) bars displayed pinched hysteretic curves and less energy dis-
RC shear walls designed using a well-established method and ex- sipation, but less residual deformation than RC shear walls. Although
hibiting a stable energy dissipation capacity are widely used in practice. FRP bars and stirrups can enhance the performance of walls, the
However, problems such as seismic rehabilitation and corrosion re- structural integrity, bond slip, and strength of the bend portions in
sistance remain unresolved. Recently, the application of fiber re- stirrups require further improvement.
inforced polymer (FRP) in civil engineering has rapidly developed FRP grid is another form of reinforcement that utilizes a bidirec-
[7–11]. Owing to its light weight, high strength, linear elasticity, and tional distribution of fibers. The strength of the transverse and long-
excellent resistance to corrosion and fatigue, FRP has become a pro- itudinal fibers and intersections enable the FRP grid to resist external
mising alternative to steel reinforcement [12–14]. Furthermore, shear forces from two directions. In addition, FRP grid with outstanding bond

⁎
Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Structures of Ministry of Education, & School of Civil Engineering, Southeast
University, Nanjing 210096, China.
E-mail addresses: huangzhen@seu.edu.cn (Z. Huang), 220181026@seu.edu.cn (J. Shen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2020.110422
Received 7 November 2019; Received in revised form 21 February 2020; Accepted 22 February 2020
Available online 08 March 2020
0141-0296/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

behaviors can limit crack development and improve component in- (w =1000 mm) and thickness (b=100 mm) but were different in height
tegrity. These benefits are especially prominent in CFRP grid [19]. As a (h ). The height of first four members was 1000 mm, and the two re-
result of extensive studies, CFRP grid has gradually been utilized in new maining was 1400 mm (designated as "H1.0" and "H1.4" in specimen
buildings. Michael et al. [20] tested concrete columns confined with labels). A loading beam of 1200×250×400 mm was placed on the top
CFRP grids and discovered that the strength of concrete columns re- of the wall that carried the axial and lateral loads and transferred them
inforced with CFRP grids increased by approximately 10.7%. Shao et al. to the wall panel. Each specimen was placed on a foundation of
[21] compared the effects of four different fiber reinforcing materials 1900×700×400 mm with four through holes with diameter of 80 mm
on shrinkage cracking and concluded that CFRP reinforced concrete at the corners. The base was anchored with four high-strength bolts,
slabs outperformed other types in crack control. Wang et al. [22] re- and the specimens were fastened to the laboratory floor.
ported that the deformation capacity of CFRP confined concrete spe- For comparison, RC shear wall H1.0-RC was reinforced with two
cimens was prominently enhanced under axial compression. grid pieces that were composed of vertical and horizontal steel bars
Although CFRP grid has been used to improve the performance of with reinforcement ratios of 1.571% and 0.396%, respectively, and
structural members, few studies have examined the behavior of con- were connected by tie bars (Fig. 3a). Likewise, H1.0-CGV and H1.4-CGV
crete shear walls with CFRP grids. Yamakawa et al. [23] conducted were reinforced with two vertically laid CFRP grids ("CGV"), with
experimental study on the elasto-plastic behavior of shear walls re- longitudinal and transverse reinforcement ratios of 0.560% and
inforced with vertically laid CFRP grids. It was found that the shear 0.420%, respectively. The grids were 100×100 mm, spaced at every
walls fully equipped with CFRP grids exhibited lower energy dissipation 50 mm, and each grid was connected by tie bars (Fig. 3b). H1.0-CGH1,
and stiffness degradation in the early stages, while specimens partially H1.0-CGH2, and H1.4-CGH2 were reinforced with 50×50 mm hor-
configured with CFRP grids displayed higher load capacity and superior izontally laid CFRP grids (“CGH1” in H1.0-CGH1, “CGH2” in H1.0-
hysteretic behavior. CGH2, and H1.4-CGH2) with a spacing of 150 mm. The vertical re-
Considering all its excellent properties, CFRP grid can be used to inforcement ratio of the three specimens was 1.571% while the hor-
partially or fully replace the steel reinforcement in key positions of RC izontal reinforcement ratios were 0.392%, 0.196%, 0.196%, respec-
shear walls in order to not only control crack propagation and width, tively (Fig. 3c). The vertical bars of each specimen were designed to
but also improve the deformability and stress distribution. To date, only extend up to the loading beam and foundation, with sufficient length, in
a few studies on the shear performance of concrete shear walls with order to ensure the structural integrity. It should be noted that H1.0-
CFRP grid reinforcement have been conducted. Hence, it is necessary to CGV and H1.4-CGV each had a vertical reinforcement ratio of 0.560%,
carry out theoretical and experimental research to analyze the failure which was lower than other specimens owing to the standardized
mechanisms and loading characteristics of shear walls with this type of production of the grids. The lower vertical reinforcement ratio was still
reinforcement and establish a feasible design method. sufficient to resist the flexural action, and flexural failure was avoided
The purpose of this study is to assess the shear behavior of concrete in the finite element simulation. Moreover, the loading beam and
shear walls reinforced with CFRP grids from the perspective of ex- foundation were heavily reinforced. Parameters such as the thickness
perimental research and theoretical analysis. Six shear walls, including and reinforcement ratios of each specimen met the requirements of the
one RC wall and five walls reinforced with CFRP grids in two config- design codes, including ACI-318 [24] and Chinese standard GB 50010-
urations, were tested under cyclic loading. The failure modes, crack 2010 [25].
distributions, hysteretic responses, envelope curves, residual deforma-
tions, and strain distributions were analyzed to evaluate the shear 2.2. Material properties
performance of the walls. Moreover, theoretical formulas based on the
truss-arch model were built to calculate the shear capacity of concrete The specimens were constructed using normal-weight, ready-mixed
shear walls with CFRP grids. concrete. Six 150×150×150 mm concrete cube specimens and
150×150×300 mm concrete prismatic blocks were tested. The cubic
2. Experimental programs compressive strength was 31.8 MPa and the prism compressive strength
was 24.6 MPa. The steel bars were tested in accordance with GB/T
2.1. Test specimens 228.1-2010 [26], and the mechanical properties are listed in Table 2.
The tensile properties of single CFRP bars with three or four layers
The six shear walls (one RC shear wall and five shear walls re- of carbon fiber laminates (see Fig. 1) are summarized in Table 2. The
inforced with CFRP grids in two configurations) were tested until table also shows the average cross-sectional area, ultimate tensile
failure. Parameters including reinforcement configuration, horizontal strength, and elastic modulus according to GB/T 1446-2005 [27] and
reinforcement ratio, and aspect ratio were taken into consideration. To GB/T 36262-2018 [28].
ensure an accurate comparison to the RC shear wall, the steel rebars
were partially or fully replaced with CFRP grids by keeping total re- 2.3. Test setup and loading procedure
inforcement ratio constant. Fig. 1 illustrates the two types of replace-
ment configurations. Type 1 was a vertical replacement, where the steel A schematic drawing of the test setup for the shear walls is illu-
reinforcements were completely replaced by vertically laid CFRP grids. strated in Fig. 4. Reversed cyclic lateral loading was applied on the
The vertical CFRP bars were composed of four layers of carbon fiber cross-sectional centroid of the loading beam by a 100-ton MTS hy-
laminates, while the horizontal CFRP bars were composed of three draulic actuator with a maximum displacement of ± 250 mm. The
layers of laminates (designated as "CGV"). Type 2 was a horizontal re- force and displacement responses of the actuator were collected in real
placement, where the horizontal reinforcements, stirrups, and tie bars time by transducers connected to a computer. An axial load of 10% of
were replaced by horizontally laid CFRP grids. In this configuration, the the design compressive strength was applied by the jack to the spe-
bars along the wall width were composed of either two or four layers of cimen. A roller bearing was fixed on the steel beam above the jack to
carbon laminates, while those along the wall thickness were composed ensure smooth movement of the axial loading jack in horizontal di-
of three layers of laminates (designated as "CGH1" for four layers and rection under lateral load. A steel beam was placed under the jack to
"CGH2" for two layers of laminates along the wall width direction). transfer and distribute the axial load. Four high-strength steel bolts with
Table 1 and Fig. 2 outline the dimensions and reinforcement details diameter of 70 mm were used to anchor the specimen to the ground.
of the wall specimens. Six specimens shared the same width The shear sliding of the pedestal was confined by a screw jack fixed on

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Fig. 1. Replacement configurations of steel reinforcement by CFRP grids: (a) Type 1: vertical replacement and (b) Type 2: horizontal replacement.

the ground. Meanwhile, two brackets with rollers were set up on each
side of the wall to prevent out-of-plane displacement.
A displacement-controlled loading procedure that utilized a gradual
increase was applied, and the walls were cycled twice at each actuator
displacement level with increment of 1 mm until failure. Additionally,
once the measured load dropped to 85% of the ultimate capacity, the
loading procedure was ended and the specimen was designated as
failure.

2.4. Instrumentation

Linear variable differential transducers (LVDTs) and strain gauges

were used to record the deformation responses of the specimens
(Fig. 5). One LVDT (L1) was mounted laterally on the loading beam to
check the lateral displacement, another (L2) was used to monitor the
sliding deformation at the bottom pedestal, and two others (L3 and L4)
were mounted vertically on the top of the base to monitor whether the
base was well-fixed.
Fig. 2. Dimensions of specimens.
Fig. 5 also depicts the placement of the strain gauges located on the
steel bars and CFRP grids. Four gauges were mounted on the vertical
bars 100 mm from the bottom of the wall panel to measure the strain 3. Experimental results and discussion
distribution. In H1.0-CGV and H1.4-CGV, nine horizontal gauges were
mounted at the center of the wall to monitor the maximum strain at 3.1. Failure progression and crack pattern
heights of 250 mm, 350 mm, and 450 mm, where the shear effect was
the most obvious. The other four specimens with the same interval of In general, the failure progressions of the specimens included the
horizontal reinforcement were configured with nine horizontal gauges development of flexural and shear cracks, vertical and horizontal steel-
at 200 mm, 350 mm, and 500 mm from the wall base. Moreover, bars yielding, concrete cover splitting and crushing, fracture of the bars,
members with the configuration of horizontal CFRP grids (H1.0-CGH1, and rupture of the CFRP grids. Fig. 6 illustrates the crack patterns of the
H1.0-CGH2, and H1.4-CGH2) had two extra horizontal gauges (G1 and six specimens, and Fig. 7 illustrates the localized damage of the walls.
G2) on the grids 50 mm from the wall base to evaluate the effect of The test results are summarized in Table 3.
concrete confinement. The six specimens experienced similar damage progressions, which

Table 1
Dimensions and reinforcement details.

Dimension h ×w ×b (mm) Wall ID Aspect ratio Reinforcement configuration Reinforcement ratio (%)

Vertical Horizontal Vertical Horizontal

1000 × 1000 × 100 H1.0-RC 1.0 10@100 6@150 1.571 0.396

H1.0-CGV 1.0 CGV@50 0.560 0.420
H1.0-CGH1 1.0 10@100 CGH1@150 1.571 0.392
H1.0-CGH2 1.0 10@100 CGH2@150 1.571 0.196

1400 × 1000 × 100 H1.4-CGV 1.4 CGV@50 0.560 0.420

H1.4-CGH2 1.4 10@100 CGH2@150 1.571 0.196

Notes: For example, “10@100” means steel bars with 10 mm diameter and spaced at 100 mm; “CGV@50” means vertically laid CFRP grid spaced at 50 mm;
“CGH1(H2)@150” means horizontally laid CFRP grid with horizontal reinforcement ratio of 0.392% (0.196%) spaced at 150 mm.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

can be summarized in several stages. In the initial phase of loading, the

behavior was dominated by flexural action, with horizontal cracks
forming in the lower part of the walls that ranged from 0 cm to 45 cm in
height. During the load increasing, the initial flexural cracks widened
and extended towards the middle of the walls and several new hor-
izontal cracks appeared. The flexural cracks then tended to incline, and
diagonal shear cracks formed and propagated abruptly within the next
few cycles. As the load increased, the position of the shear cracks gra-
dually moved upwards, while the existing shear cracks intersected and
extended to the bottom of the opposite side. The major diagonal cracks
became wider and stopped developing in a later stage when the lateral
force continued, suggesting the stiffness degradation of the specimens.
With the decreasing depth of the compression zone, the concrete cover
started to split and spall due to the initiation of vertical cracks at the
bottom of the wall, which indicated that the specimens were ap-
proaching their ultimate load capacity. When the load was lower than
85% of the ultimate lateral strength after degradation, the specimens
were regarded as failures. Owing to sufficient boundary confinement,
no specimen experienced shear sliding failure.
The initial flexural crack in the RC shear wall specimen was formed
at lateral drift of 0.60%, and the wall experienced a maximum load of
266 kN corresponding to a lateral drift of 1.20% (Table 3). During
lateral loading, the distribution of cracks was sparse, as shown in
Fig. 6a. When the diagonal shear cracks extended to the bottom, the
concrete cover began to split, and the specimen approached its ultimate
load capacity. After reaching the maximum load capacity, a major
lateral crack became suddenly wider and resulted in spalling of the
concrete cover (Fig. 7a). The shear failure occurred with diagonal
compression at the lateral drift of 1.40%. In addition, slight sliding of
the foundation contributed to the asymmetry of the crack pattern and
could be reflected in the value of the displacement transducer as well.
The slip displacement was subtracted in Fig. 8a. To prevent this pro-
blem from recurring, the bolts and jack were checked at intervals in the
following specimen tests.
Although H1.0-CGV and H1.4-CGV shared the same reinforcement
configuration, different failure characteristics were observed. H1.0-
CGV experienced typical shear failure with diagonal compression, while
H1.4-CGV experienced failure with the characteristics of both shear and
flexural responses by exhibiting diagonal cracks and horizontally dis-
tributed cracks owing to the different aspect ratios. H1.4-CGV, with a
height of 1400 mm, was subjected to such additional flexural de-
formation than H1.0-CGV that it led to more flexural response. The
emergence of the initial crack in H1.0-CGV (lateral drift of 0.50%)
occurred earlier than H1.0-RC, but the ultimate drift of 1.60% was
larger, which showed the improved ductility of the specimen reinforced
with CFRP grids (Table 3). Fig. 7c depicts the spalling of the concrete
cover after H1.4-CGV reached the peak load. Compared to H1.0-RC, the
number of major cracks in H1.0-CGV and H1.4-CGV were similar.
However, the widths of the major cracks of these two specimens were
smaller than that of H1.0-RC and more hairline cracks around the major
cracks were observed during loading. In general, the test results in-
dicated that utilizing vertical CFRP grids could improve the ductility,
limit the width of cracks, and reduce deformation concentration.
H1.0-CGH1, H1.0-CGH2, and H1.4-CGH2 had horizontal CFRP grids
and experienced shear failure with diagonal compression. When the
grids were horizontally laid, the changes were more pronounced in
terms of the crack pattern (see Fig. 8c, d, and f) and drift ratio (see
Table 3). Specifically, specimen H1.0-CGH1 exhibited a fully extended
crack pattern with considerable major cracks along with equally subtle
Fig. 3. Reinforcement details: (a) reinforcement of H1.0-RC, (b) reinforcement cracks around them, which was consistent with a higher load capacity
of H1.0-CGV, H1.4-CGV, and (c) reinforcement of H1.0-CGH1, H1.0-CGH2, (309 kN) and lateral drift (2.50%) than H1.0-RC or H1.0-CGV. H1.0-
H1.4-CGH2. CGH1 failed when diagonal cracks extended to the the bottom of the
wall where the concrete cover had spalled under diagonal compression
(Fig. 7b). In addition, it is worth mentioning that the initial cracks in
the horizontally laid grids configuration appeared earlier, but the shear
cracks were delayed, compared to H1.0-RC. Owing to the elasticity of

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Table 2
Mechanical properties of steel bars and CFRP grids.
Material Diameter (mm) layers of laminate Af (mm2) f y (MPa) fu (MPa) E (GPa) y or u

Steel bar 6 – 28.27 390 550 196.87 0.0020

10 – 78.54 425 495 203.48 0.0021

CFRP grid – 3 21.73 – 2293 122.69 0.0187

– 4 28.15 – 2109 121.76 0.0173

Notes: Af = average cross-sectional area; fy = yield strength; fu = ultimate tensile strength; E = elastic modulus in tension; y = yield strain of steel bars; u= ultimate
tensile strain of CFRP grids.

the CFRP grid and dense crack distribution, the widths of the cracks larger lateral ratio (1.60%) but similar peak load (253 kN) compared to
were smaller than H1.0-RC during the entire loading process until the reference wall H1.0-RC (lateral ratio of 1.40% and peak load of 266
failure. The horizontal reinforcement ratio of H1.0-CGH2 was half of kN). However, the walls reinforced with horizontal CFRP grids showed
that for H1.0-CGH1, which resulted in the dominance of the shear re- superior behavior in terms of both lateral displacement and load ca-
sponse, as shown in Fig. 6d. Moreover, even though the specimen H1.4- pacity. Specifically, the lateral ratio of H1.0-CGH1 was 2.50%, nearly
CGH2 was higher than H1.0-CGH2, shear diagonal cracks extended to twice that of the RC wall, and the peak load (290 kN) was improved by
the top of the wall in H1.4-CGH2. 16.20%. When the horizontal reinforcement ratio was halved, the lat-
In general, the test results indicated that using horizontally laid eral ratio decreased to 1.70%, which suggested that the horizontal re-
CFRP grids could significantly improve the lateral load resistance. The inforcement ratio was the important parameter affecting the deform-
two types of grid configurations used to reduce the deformation con- ability of the walls. In addition, the walls with aspect ratio of 1.4
centration of cracks and limit the width of major cracks. This finding showed more pronounced flexural characteristics, which resulted in a
could be explained by the effective confinement provided by the CFRP decrease in the load capacity but an increase in lateral displacement.
grid, which delayed the appearance of concrete cover splitting and Fig. 9 depicts the envelope curves of the six specimens during the
spalling. A main advantage of CFRP reinforcement was its linear elas- test. The specimens with aspect ratio of 1.0 had a similar initial stiffness
ticity, which reduced the crack width and residual deformation com- prior to the first flexural crack (0.3% drift ratio). H1.0-CGV showed
pared to steel bar. Moreover, the lateral drift ratio increased in speci- stiffness degradation after the appearance of the first crack; however,
mens with CFRP grids indicating the ductility was enhanced. The the stiffness enhanced before the peak load was reached. It could be
failure mode of shear walls with CFRP grids was governed by the aspect interpreted that the vertical CFRP reinforcement, with a low re-
ratio and horizontal reinforcement ratio in low-rise walls. By contrast, inforcement ratio (0.560%) and elastic modulus, led to limited strain
in our experiment, specimens with horizontal reinforcement config- and low stress in the initial phase. In later stages, the high strain and
urations displayed better shear performance than the those with ver- corresponding stress of the vertical reinforcement contributed to the
tical configurations overall. However, further study of the failure me- increase in load capacity. On the other hand, the shear walls with
chanisms of concrete confined by CFRP grids is required. horizontal CFRP grids (H1.0-CGH1 and H1.0-CGH2) exhibited com-
parable level of stiffness and better performance in ductility and load
capacity. H1.0-CGH2 reached the ultimate load earlier than H1.0-CGH1
3.2. Hysteretic responses and envelope curves because the horizontal reinforcement ratio of it was half of that of H1.0-
CGH1. However, it was still later than H1.0-RC. H1.4-CGV had the same
Fig. 8 provides the experimental load-displacement hysteretic re- reinforcement configuration as H1.0-CGV but different heights, and the
sponses for each specimen. The specimens with aspect ratio of 1.0 with flexural responses of H1.4-CGV were more prominent in the displace-
horizontal reinforcement configurations (H1.0-CGH1 and H1.0-CGH2) ment and load capacity. It was observed that the stiffness and maximum
showed plumper hysteretic curves, while the other two (H1.0-RC and load declined, but the lateral displacement increased. The effect of as-
H1.0-CGV) displayed pinched loops, which indicated that the hor- pect ratio was similar to H1.0-CGH2 and H1.4-CGH2.
izontally laid configuration effectively improved the shear behavior.
The specimen with vertically laid CFRP grids (H1.0-CGV) exhibited a

Fig. 4. Setup of the walls for the cyclic loading test.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Fig. 5. Deployment of LVDTs and strain gauges.

The positive effect of CFRP grids in residual deformation control

could be attributed to the characteristics of high strength and elasticity.
When external forces exceeded the yield strength, the steel reinforce-
ment yielded with plastic deformation and constant stress, while the
CFRP grid provided increasing stress owing to its high strength and
elasticity. After unloading, the steel bar displayed unrecoverable de-
formation, while the CFRP grid completely recovered. This explained
the less residual deformation and self-centering characteristics of spe-
cimens with CFRP grids compared to the RC shear wall. Meanwhile, the
deformation recovery reduced the opening of cracks after unloading,
which mitigated the damage level of the specimens and made re-
habilitation easier. To a certain extent, self-centering behavior caused
less damage to the structure and improved the collapse resistance.

3.4. Strain in the vertical reinforcement and CFRP grid

Fig. 11 presents the strain distribution of the vertical reinforcement

at different lateral drift ratios under reversed cyclic loading. Of the
vertically reinforced specimens, four were reinforced with steel rebars
(H1.0-RC, H1.0-CGH1, H1.0-CGH2, and H1.4-CGH2) and two with
Fig. 6. Crack pattern: (a) H1.0-RC, (b) H1.0-CGV, (c) H1.0-CGH1, (d) H1.0- CFRP grids (H1.0-CGV and H1.4-CGV). The strain in the six specimens
CGH2, (e) H1.4-CGV, and (f) H1.4-CGH2. showed similar trends. The applied load was mainly carried by the
concrete prior to cracking due to much larger area compared to re-
3.3. Residual deformation inforcement in the cross section, which could be characterized by the
rule of mixtures. Thus, the strain on the vertical reinforcements was
The residual deformation of the specimens with an aspect ratio of 1.0 small, with the maximum for the steel bars below 700 με, and the
is illustrated in Fig. 10. Prior to the emergence of the initial crack, the maximum for the CFRP grids below 1300 με. Once the first crack ap-
deformation of each specimen was less than 1 mm. The residual dis- peared, the vertical reinforcements started to carry additional loads
placement of H1.0-RC and H1.0-CGV had an apparent increase when the owing to the interface load transfer mechanisms. As a result, the sudden
first flexural crack and shear crack developed, while the residual dis- increase in the strain was observed (see Fig. 11). Another rapid rise in
placement of H1.0-CGH1 increased until the first shear crack appeared. the strain was associated with the occurrence of concrete spalling,
Another increase in residual deformation was observed in the concrete which indicated that the depth of the compression zone had begun to
cover spalling, which indicated that the lateral load resistance of the reduce. In this stage, concrete spalled in the compression zone, and the
concrete gradually vanished. Before the specimen failed, the residual vertical bars in the tension zone carried more and more stress until the
displacement steadily grew owing to damage accumulation. In a com- specimen failed. The strain in the vertical steel bars ranged from
parison of the first three specimens, H1.0-CGV and H1.0-CGH1 exhibited −2000 με to 2000 με, except in H1.0-CGH1. As the horizontal re-
better performance in residual deformation control. H1.0-CGH2 dis- inforcement ratio was doubled, the strain in H1.0-CGH1 showed an
played larger residual deformation after the appearance of the initial obvious improvement up to 4000 με. This indicated that the increased
crack, which implied that the horizontal reinforcement ratio remained an reinforcement ratio enhanced the concrete confinement and reduced
indispensable factor for shear walls reinforced with CFRP grids. the deformation concentration at the wall base. Hence, cracks propa-
gated to higher positions with increased strain in the vertical

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

3.5. Strain in the horizontal reinforcement and CFRP grid

Fig. 12 shows the horizontal strain distributions at different lateral

displacements and the average horizontal reinforcement strains around
the main cracks when the specimens failed. Note that the strains in
Fig. 12 were the average tensile strains of two symmetrically arranged
gauges. The strain of the horizontal bars changed rapidly in two stages:
the emergence of the first main shear crack and the concrete spalling
marked in Fig. 12. This was similar to the vertical strain. Prior to the
appearance of the first main shear crack, the shear stress was mainly
carried by the concrete while the contribution of the horizontal re-
inforcement could be ignored. The most conspicuous increase in hor-
izontal strain occurred during the emergence of the first main diagonal
shear crack. The sudden increase in horizontal strain implied that the
horizontal reinforcement began to transfer more shear stress around the
shear cracks between cracked concrete segments. Another increase was
at the concrete spalling in the compressive zone, indicating that the
shear capacity of the concrete was in decline. In addition, the values of
the horizontal strains at different positions were consistent with the
propagation of shear cracks. Gauges H1, H2, and H3 were located along
the extended orientation of the main shear cracks that developed di-
agonally towards the bottom of the wall. This led to larger strain values
at the intersections of the cracks, while the those around the main
cracks were relatively small.
Compared to the RC shear wall, the horizontal strain in the speci-
mens with CFRP grids was higher. It should be noted that total re-
inforcement ratio was kept constant when replacing the reinforcing bar
with CFRP grid, and the elasticity modulus of the CFRP grid was lower
than that of the steel bar. In the early stages, when the load and dis-
placement of each specimen were close, the lower elasticity modulus of
the CFRP grid resulted in higher strains. With the increase in dis-
placement, the horizontal bars began to yield and continuously
widening diagonal shear cracks appeared. Owing to the plasticity of the
steel bars, deformation concentration occurred, which resulted in stress
concentration. Consequently, the specimens experienced brittle failure
after reaching the peak load. On the contrary, deformation concentra-
tion was avoided in the specimens with CFRP grids owing to the elas-
ticity of CFRP, which led to more fine cracks instead of one main crack.
This could improve the load capacity and lateral displacement and
enable the CFRP grids to reach higher levels of strain. Moreover, as seen
from Fig. 9, the envelope curve of specimen H1.0-CGV increased more
slowly after the appearance of the first crack, while those of specimens
H1.0-CGH1 and H1.0-CGH2 showed a stable increase, which indicated
that the stiffness of H1.0-CGV had begun to decrease. Although these
Fig. 7. Localized damaged parts: (a) bottom of H1.0-RC from the side, (b) two configurations both had horizontal CFRP reinforcement, the hor-
bottom of H1.0-CGH1 from the front and side, and (c) bottom of H1.4-CGV from izontally laid grids in the “CGH” configuration provided shear re-
the side. sistance in two directions (along the wall width and thickness), while
the vertically laid grids in the “CGV” configuration were connected by
reinforcements. Owing to the elasticity of the CFRP grids, the tensile tie bars which could not provide shear resistance. Thus, the “CGH”
strain in specimens H1.0-CGV and H1.4-CGV reached nearly up to specimens exhibited better performance in load capacity and lateral
10,000 με and 14,000 με, approximately 50% of the maximum tensile displacement, and the horizontal reinforcement strain of those walls
strain. increased accordingly. Specifically, the specimens with horizontal CFRP

Table 3
Failure progression of specimens.
Wall ID First crack Shear crack Concrete cover splitting Peak capacity Failure

P (kN) d (%) P (kN) d (%) P (kN) d (%) P (kN) d (%) P (kN) d (%)

H1.0-RC 176 0.60 190 0.70 249 1.00 266 1.20 177 1.40
H1.0-CGV 145 0.50 162 0.60 225 1.30 253 1.40 202 1.60
H1.0-CGH1 105 0.40 202 0.70 286 1.80 309 2.30 290 2.50
H1.0-CGH2 80 0.30 236 0.80 284 1.20 292 1.40 200 1.70
H1.4-CGV 46 0.14 115 0.43 207 1.43 213 1.50 179 1.71
H1.4-CGH2 99 0.21 186 0.57 230 0.86 250 1.07 178 1.29

Notes: P = applied lateral load; d = drift ratio.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Fig. 8. Hysteretic responses: (a) H1.0-RC, (b) H1.0-CGV, (c) H1.0-CGH1, (d) H1.0-CGH2, (e) H1.4-CGV, and (f) H1.4-CGH2.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Fig. 9. Envelope curves of all tested shear walls.

such that the cracks that formed extended to higher positions and were
narrower. As the displacement increased, the higher horizontal re-
inforcement ratios translated into sufficient confinement to delay par-
tial failure at the bottom of the wall. According to shear theories in
[29–31], the existence of horizontal reinforcement provides additional
resistance along shear cracks such that the forces transferred between
the cracked segments are maintained at higher loading levels. As a
result of the stress redistribution, the concrete stresses in uncracked
segments continued increasing, and additional shear cracks formed
towards the top of the wall, shown as finer crack pattern. Thus, spe-
cimen H1.0-CGH1, with its higher horizontal reinforcement ratio, ex-
hibited larger deformation and energy dissipation capacities.

4. Shear capacity model

4.1. Shear theory models

Fig. 10. Residual deformation of the walls with a height of 1000 mm. Research on the application of CFRP grids for new construction has
only recently begun. Consequently, design methods for the shear ca-
pacity of concrete members reinforced with CFRP grids have not yet
grids (e.g., H1.0-CGH1, H1.0-CGH2, and H1.4-CGH2) displayed larger
been developed. Existing design codes from different countries for RC
strain values than those with vertically laid grids (e.g., H1.0-CGV and
shear walls are based on a variety of methodologies. For instance, ACI
H1.4-CGV) and the RC specimen (H1.0-RC) throughout the loading
318-18 [24] and GB 50010-2010 [25] have adopted the truss model to
process. This may imply that the horizontal CFRP grids provided a
assess shear resistance. The formula pattern and parameters of shear
higher degree of confinement to concrete, which enhanced the shear
theory in these two specifications depend on experimental results and
capacity. Higher horizontal strain values in different reinforcement
lead to conservative predictions. CSA A23.3-14 [32] uses the modified
configurations indicated a sufficient load transfer between the concrete
compression-field theory [31], while the Architectural Institute of
and CFRP grids, which resulted in the development of narrower cracks
Japan (AIJ) [33] employs the truss-arch model theory [29,30], both
at higher positions, larger lateral displacements, and higher shear re-
considering load-transferring mechanisms. Of these methods, the truss-
sistance.
arch model used by the AIJ was selected as the reference for this study
Fig. 13 depicts the strain of the horizontal grids that acted as stir-
due to its explicit mechanical model and theoretical derivation. In this
rups in an attempt to reveal the grid effects on concrete confinement.
section, the truss-arch model is implemented with the parameters of
Average values of the tensile and compressive strains were obtained
CFRP grids to evaluate the shear capacity of wall specimens.
from two symmetrically placed gauges in H1.0-CGH1, H1.0-CGH2, and
The codes such as ACI 440.1R-15 [34] and CSA S806-12 [35] list the
H1.4-CGH2. The maximum strain in H1.0-CGH1 was found to be 4200
provisions for FRP bars that can be used as a reference. However,
με, which was equivalent to a stress of 515 MPa. However, the yield
considering the structural difference between CFRP bars and grids,
stress of the stirrups or horizontal steel bars was only 390 MPa in the RC
some parameters for CFRP grids still need to be determined via ex-
shear wall, which implied that the CFRP grid enhanced the concrete
perimentation. For instance, the design tensile strain of CFRP bars in
confinement as expected in comparison to the steel bars. Though the
ACI 440.1R is 4000 με, which cannot be directly used in the calculation
reinforcement ratio of H1.0-CGH1 was twice that of H1.0-CGH2 and
of members with CFRP grids. This is since the transverse and long-
H1.40-CGH2, the ultimate strains were four times greater, suggesting a
itudinal fibers of grids are strongly bonded; the force-transferring me-
considerably better confinement effect. The increase in horizontal re-
chanism is different from reinforcement webs. Thus, experimental va-
inforcement had a marginal influence on the load capacity but a sig-
lues including the designed tensile strain of CFRP grids and inclination
nificant influence on the deformation capacity. In practical terms, this
angle of the compression stress in the concrete were adopted for
means that the horizontal CFRP grids enhanced the structural integrity
parameters.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Fig. 11. Vertical strain distributions along the wall width: (a) H1.0-RC, (b) H1.0-CGV, (c) H1.0-CGH1, (d) H1.0-CGH2, (e) H1.4-CGV, and (f) H1.4-CGH2.

Shear capacity calculations based on the truss-arch model are pro- concrete when the horizontal reinforcement ratio is low. The basic as-
posed which combines the mechanical properties and configuration of sumptions of the truss-arch model are as follows: (1) The tensile
the CFRP grid. In the truss-arch model, shear resistance is divided into strength of the concrete is ignored; (2) The shear resistance is the linear
two parts, that is the truss model and the arch model. The truss model superposition of resistances provided by the truss and arch models (i.e.,
determines the shear strength contributed by the CFRP grids and part of the inclination angle of the compressive stresses in the two models are
the concrete, while the arch model characterizes the contribution of the assumed to be equal); (3) The shear stresses of the two parts are

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

Fig. 12. Average horizontal strain distributions at different displacements: (a) H1.0-RC, (b) H1.0-CGV, (c) H1.0-CGH1, (d) H1.0-CGH2, (e) H1.4-CGV, and (f) H1.4-
CGH2.

distributed along the height of the cross section; (4) The average strain the cracked concrete segments could be considered as compression
of the CFRP grids in the failure section is considered to be the designed struts, while the horizontal reinforcement of the CFRP grids functioned
tensile strain of the CFRP grids; (5) The inclination angle of the prin- as tie rods (Fig. 14a).
cipal compressive stress ranges from 30° to 60° under axial load. The equilibrium equation for the horizontal forces is shown in Eq.
(1).
4.2. Theoretical derivations Vt = (1)
sh Esh sh bh w cot

When diagonal cracks emerged in the shear wall with CFRP grids, where Vt is the shear resistance of the truss model, sh is the horizontal

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

reinforcement ratio of the CFRP grid, Esh is the elastic modulus of the
CFPR grid, sh is the average tensile strain of the horizontal reinforce-
ment of the CFRP grid on the failure surface, b is the thickness of the
shear wall, h w is the distance of the CFRP grid vertical reinforcement
between two opposite sides, and is the inclination angle of the
compression stress in the concrete.
According to the stress analysis of the element, the principal com-
pressive stress of concrete, c , can be expressed by Eq. (2).

sh Esh sh
c = = (1 + cot2 ) sh Esh sh
sin2 (2)

The existence of principle tensile stress causes the compressive

strength of concrete to decrease obviously in the direction of principal
compressive stress after cracking. Hence, the softening coefficient, ,
was introduced, and the relationship is shown in Eq. (3).

Fig. 13. Average horizontal strain along the wall width direction. c fc (3)

Compared to ACI 318-18 [24] and Euro Code 2 [36], AIJ [33]

Fig. 14. Mechanical model: (a) truss model, (b) arch model, (c) shear capacity of truss-arch model considering axial compression.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

provides a suitable formula for the softening coefficient, , as shown in Va 1 sh Esh sh

Eq. (4). =( ) 2
fc bh w 1+ fc (11)
fc The dotted horizontal line in Fig. 14c adds Eq. (11) based on the truss
= 0.7
200 (4) model, and considers the shear resistance of the arch model. When the
When the inclination angle, , is constant, the compressive strength horizontal reinforcement ratio of CFRP is zero, the shear strength is
of concrete in the truss model is proportional to the reinforcement ratio completely provided by the arch model. As the reinforcement ratio in-
of the CFRP. However, once the reinforcement ratio goes beyond the creases, the contribution of the arch model is reduced and tends toward
limit, the shear resistance is fully provided by the truss model, where zero. If sh Esh sh/ fc = 1/(1 + 2) , the arch contribution can be ignored.
Thereafter, shear resistance is provided exclusively by the truss model.
c = fc , while the arch is neglected.
Eqs. (5) and (6) are obtained by combining Eqs. (1), (2), and (3): It is worth mentioning that the compressive stress resulting from the
axial pressure, N , is also part of the principle compressive stress.
fc Therefore, a conversion coefficient, N , should be adopted to modify Eq.
Vt = sh Esh sh bh w 1
sh Esh sh (5) (8), as shown in Eq. (12).
a = fc t N N (12)
Vt sh Esh sh fc
= 1 The solid horizontal line in Fig. 14c shows the shear resistance of
fc bh w fc sh Esh sh (6) the truss-arch model with consideration for the axial pressure. The
By setting = cot , Eq. (1) can be expressed as Eq. (7). shaded area is divided into three parts that represent the truss model,
arch model, and axial pressure, respectively.
Vt sh Esh sh The formulas for shear resistance under monotonic loading are
= ·
fc bh w fc (7) listed as follows:

Fig. 14c presents Eqs. (6) and (7) in the same coordinate system sh Esh sh bhw + fc bhw + NN
0 sh Esh sh
fc
1+ 2 1+ 2
with dotted horizontal lines. The shear resistance in the truss model can Vu = fc NN fc
be expressed as O A with a low horizontal reinforcement ratio for the sh Esh sh bhw 1 + 0.5 fc bhw
1+ 2
< sh Esh sh 0.5 fc
sh Esh sh
CFRP grids, while the arch is represented by AB with a high re- 0.5 fc bhw 0.5 fc < sh Esh sh

inforcement ratio. When sh Esh sh = 0.5 fc , the shear resistance in the (13)
truss model reaches a maximum.
where N = N /(1 + 2) is the axial pressure coefficient. When the axial
However, the shear capacity will be zero when there is no horizontal
pressure ranges from 0 to 0.3, N is taken as approximately 0.34 ac-
CFRP reinforcement in the shear wall. This is not consistent with the
cording to linear fitting.
fact that the concrete provides shear strength. Thus, the arch model is
introduced to provide extra shear resistance for O A by accounting for
4.3. Comparison between the theoretical model and experimental results
the contribution of the concrete. Additionally, in arc AB , the arch
model is dismissed owing to the full shear strength of the concrete in
Table 4 provides a comparison of the theoretical and test results
the truss model.
utilizing Eq. (13). Note that the theoretical values are slightly lower
Fig. 14b depicts the force diagram of the arch model for shear walls.
than the test results because the dowel action in the vertical re-
The compressive stress in the arch model can be expressed as Eq. (8).
inforcement and the interaction of the bidirectional CFRP grid re-
a = fc c (8) inforcement are ignored. Thus, the predictions of the truss-arch model
are considered conservative for the calculation of shear wall capacity
According to the stress analysis, the shear resistance in the arch with CFRP grid reinforcement. Moreover, the parameter (i.e., the
model is given by Eq. (9). value of VT & A/VTest ) of the specimens with vertical CFRP grids is closer
Va = a bx c cos sin = a b (h w H tan ) cos sin (9) to 1 than the specimens with horizontal CFRP grids. This can be in-
terpreted that an enhancement of concrete strength provided by the
When = cot , sin 2 = 2 tan /(1 + ) , and = H /h w (the 2tan2 confinement of the horizontally CFRP grids are neglected in the model
shear span ratio), Eq. (9) can be transformed into Eq. (10). and it requires further quantitative research.

Va = a bh w 2
= ( fc t ) bh w 2 (10) 5. Conclusions
1+ 1+

By substituting Eqs. (2) and (8) into Eq. (10), Eq. (11) is obtained, This study aimed to investigate the shear performance of shear walls
which is shown as follows: with CFRP grid reinforcement under reversed cyclic loading. Six

Table 4
Theoretical value vs. experimental value.
Wall ID Aspect ratio Reinforcement configuration Theoretical value Experimental value =
VT & A
VTest

VT & A (kN) VTest (kN)

H1.0-CGV 1.0 Vl. 237.2 260.7 0.910

H1.0-CGH1 1.0 Hz. 271.6 309.6 0.877
H1.0-CGH2 1.0 Hz. 257.3 286.2 0.899
H1.4-CGV 1.4 Vl. 192.5 212.6 0.906
H1.4-CGH2 1.4 Hz. 218.7 252.5 0.866
Average 0.8916
Standard deviation 0.01742
COV 0.01954

Notes: Vl. refers to the configuration with vertically laid CFRP grids; Hz. refers to the configuration with horizontally laid CFRP grids.

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Z. Huang, et al. Engineering Structures 211 (2020) 110422

specimens with varying reinforcement configuration, horizontal re- Development Program of China [grant number 2017YFC0703000] and
inforcement ratio, and aspect ratio were tested until failure. Based on the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [grant number
the truss-arch model, theoretical formulas were proposed to calculate BK20180383]. The authors wish to express great appreciation for their
the shear resistance. Several conclusions are summarized as follows: financial support to this research.

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The research was sponsored by the National Key Research and

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