Seismic Performance and Design Process Majorization of a Reinforced Concrete Grid Frame Wall

This paper presents a new structure, called a cassette structure, and the modified design method of its core vertical elements, called a grid frame wall, is proposed. The advantages, mechanical properties and performances of the original grid frame wall are introduced, and its weaknesses are discussed based on practical engineering buildings and cycling load tests. To improve the structural performance, the modified design method considering the relative rotation and shear effect in beam-column joints is proposed and then verified through a theoretical analysis and numerical study. The detailed design process is given, and the adjusting coefficient α_c and assessing coefficient ω are used. Furthermore, a practical engineering building is used to exam the effectiveness of the newly designed method, where time history analyses are used under the design basis earthquake (DBE) and maximum considered earthquake (MCE) levels. Finally, the IDA and a fragility analysis are conducted to give a full analysis of the newly designed grid frame wall. The newly designed grid frame wall performed well in all the above-mentioned studies.