Bltl'ld. Sci. Vol. 10, pp. 89 94. Pergamon Press 1975. Printed in Great Britain.

I I
I t I I

A Modified Beam Stiffness Matrix for

Interconnected Shear Walls
T. HARR1SON
J. M. S I D D A L L
R. E. YEADON

h7 the st(ffhess analrsis' q/plane interconnected shear walls, it is convenient to

spec~[), the de<g,reex )ff'j)'eedom at nodal positions defined by the intersection qf
the centroidal axi.v Of each interconnecting beam and the centroidal a.ve.s qf the
shear walls'. These intersection points are positioned a./inite distance awar J?ont
the endv of each interconnecting beam.
A modified st(ffhess matrix is presentedJbr an interconnecting beam which
includes a rigid arm at each end 1o allow for this ./inite distance, rotational
.springs to account Jor the Iocalised deformations which take place in the zones
where the beam adjoins the shear walls and transverse shear springs to allow for
shear deformations in the beam. The matrLv is presented in a form which permirv
exLs'ting computer programs to be modoqed with ease.
A st(/fness program employing th& matrix is used to anah,se a series q/'plane
interconnected shear walls, previously tested by MacLeod, in which the beam
depth was varied from model to model. The model showing the greatest sensitiviO,
to Iocalised e.ffeets was reanalysed keeping the beam depth constant, but vao,ing
the number o f storers" and in consequence the height o f the structure.
The results are presented to show the importance o f the rotational springs to
the accurao' of the mathematical model and are compared with experimental
evidence.

INTRODUCTION (2) uses a realistic theoretical model of the inter-

T H E tall building, employing shear wall assemblies
to resist lateral wind forces, provides an economic
method of utilizing expensive land. The presence of
these assemblies within the tall building has
presented complex problems to the structural
analyst.
Some early investigators[l] over simplified the
true structural problem by ignoring the axial dis-
placements due to axial force in the walls. This
omission results in an overstiff theoretical model
producing errors which are totally unacceptable for
the majority of practical shear wall structures. Later
investigations[2, 3], also highlighted the importance
of the Iocalised displacements which take place in
the zones where the interconnecting beams adjoin
the walls. These displacements at the beam-wall
interface are small but the resulting relaxation of the
beams can have a considerable effect upon the
stiffness of the overall structure.
An acceptable analysis of interconnected shear
walls requires a method which
(1) allows ['or the axial shortening or lengthening
of the walls.
89
connected beam which takes into account the
finite width of the walls, the localised deforma-
tion at the wall-beam interfaces and shear
deformations asscoiated with shear force in
the beam.
To demonstrate the importance of the second
requirement a simple theoretical model incorpora-
ting these effects was developed and included in an
existing computer program. This program was
based upon the stiffness method which automatically
fulfills the first requirement.
STRUCTURAL IDEALIZATION
MODIFIED BEAM
When analysing coupled shear walls using the
stiffness method, it is first necessary to define the
position of the nodal points at which the degrees of
freedom (displacements) are specified, these being
the unknowns of the problem. It is usual to select
points delined by the intersection of each floor level
and the centroidal axis of each shear wall. The
selection of these nodes subdivides the structure into
90 T. Harrison, J. M. Siddall and R. E. Yeadon
a number of structural members; the stiffness
matrix of each being required in order to form the
overall structural stiffness matrix.
The interconnecting beams in practical structures
vary considerably, from those obeying the engineer's
theory of bending to interconnecting elements with
a depth sometimes greater than their length.
Fortunately, this latter category of elements which
cannot be defined by simple theory of bending
provides such an effective transfer of vertical shear
force that the overall shear wall system behaves as a
cantilever of the same overall size.
The behaviour of some shear wall structures in
which the interconnecting elements are of the
former type can be extremely sensitive to small
changes in their stiffness characteristics and a
reliable analysis requires the formulation of an
accurate theoretical model.
The member stiffness matrix of the interconnect-
ing beam must be defined in terms of the degrees of
freedom at nodes positioned on the centroidal axes
of the adjacent walls which are a finite distance
Fv,V,
V T
o -
Rigid Qrrn
Y7
Fig. l . 3"hear w a l l interconnecting beam with r i g i d a r m s a n d
away from the ends of the interconnecting beam.
This distance has been taken into account by most
workers[2, 4] employing the stiffness method by
simulating it to a rigid arm. The resulting theoretical
model of an engineers beam with a rigid arm at each
end is incomplete for many partially interactive
shear wall systems, unless an adequate provision is
made for the deformations which occur in the
localised region surrounding each beam-wall inter-
face.
Several investigators[3, 5, 6, 7] have paid special
attention to the elastic behaviour in these regions.
Michael[6] analysed the interconnecting zone as a
semi-infinite plate by an elasticity approach and
obtained expressions for the joint zone tlexibilities.
MacLeod[8] suggested that the joint flexibility
could be adequately represented by the rotational
term of the Michael equations and further suggested
the use of a rotational spring, the stiffness of which
is given by:
kt¢ --= Ebd2 /6
where k R =- stiffness of rotational spring,
E = Young's modulus of elasticity,
h, d := breadth and depth of beam respectively.
Bhatt[7], using a low-order finite element analysis
to study the localised zone, suggested a modified
beam stiffness matrix which, for assembly, requires
data to be manually abstracted fi'om a graphical
representation of the finite element results. The
writers[3] who undertook a similar investigation
using higher order finite elements have found that
for all practical purposes the elastic behaviour of
the localised zone can be adequately represented by
a simple rotational sprin!} a, suggested by
M acLeod [8].
The inclusion of a theoretical rotational spring
between each end of the intercomlecting beam and
the adjacent shear walls leads to a simple modifica-
tion to allow for the elastic behaviour of the
localised zone. The modified beam can be further
improved by introducing, in addition, transverse
shear springs also positioned at each end of the
~y
t - b
Pfislnotic B~'~rn [ I r.,onsl~t ~iqld ~rm
sprmk,.~.
beam. The shear springs simulate the vertical
elastic translation of one end of the beam relative to
the other due to shear deformations associated with
shear force, the latter being constant over the length
of the beam in the absence of transverse loading on
it. The value of each shear spring is given by:
ks = AGI(fil,2))
where ks = stiffness of shear springy
A, l = cross sectional area and length of beam
respectively,
f = shape factor (t.2 for rectangular
sections),
G = shear modulus.
The theoretical model of the shear wall beam can
therefore be reduced to that of a prismatic member
attached to a rigid arm at each end by means of
rotational and shear springs, figure 1. The concept
is not new and has been suggested and used in part
or in lull by MacLeod[8], Bhatt and others.
 Beam Stiffness Matrix for Interconnected Shear Walls 91

The writers developed the elements of the beam
stiffness matrix using Mohr's first and second
theorems which contain the necessary rotational,/
translational (slope/deflection) terms. The resulting
modified beam stiffness matrix is presented in the
Appendix. The sign convention for forces and dis-
placements is shown in figure 1 with other relevant
details. It is seen that the stiffness matrix is in a form
which permits existing computer programs to be
modified easily.
for several of the models to assess the accuracy
obtained.
A further series of models were considered to
investigate the effect of varying the wall height with
all other parameters constant. The beam geometry
was chosen after consideration of the first series of
results, the most sensitive to localised effects being
the one of major interest• Again results with and
without the rotational springs were obtained.
The results for the MacLeod walls with varying
beam depth are presented in figure 3 which shows

lib P0!BTLOgO
i-
i

!
M AC_LEOEHOOE~SLU
THICKNESS = O 0525 in.
J YBUNG'S MOOBLOS OF ELASTICffY = 9 92 x IO O ¢Of /~n 2
I ?OISBON'S RATIO = O 3G
1l
t--

BEAM OEPTB
I
I B 625 ABOIT[ONAL BEAM
I ? GOB MACLEGO MODEL OlD
i
2 T25 MACE/DO MODEL Blb
1825 MACLEO0 M~EL Blc
I125 MACLEOO MOOEL Old

! i_ I OBO
0925
AOOITIOBAL BEAM
ADDITIONALBEAM
O 825 AOOSTIONALBEAM
0 725 A~IT~ONAL BEAM
,t
0B25 MACLEOD MOOELBle
0525 AOOITIOBALBEAM
375 25 3.75
O 1,25 AO[]ITIONAL BEAM
0325 AOONONAL BEAM
0225 AOOITION~LBE~@'(
O 125 AOOITIONALBEAM

F&. 2. ,91aeLeod models of constant height (seven storeys) with va<v#lg beam depth.

t~c : WE3 = FREE EHO UffLEChUH OF FULL

3E! CANTLEVER WALL
ANALYTICAL M O D E L S Ares : TREED~C DEFLECTION OF SHEAR
WALl WITH SPI~INOS INCLIIOEn
2.0 IN ANALYSIS
It has been stated earlier that often the IocaIised Arts : FREE ENI] OETLECTIOH OF SHEAR
WALL WITHOUT NOTATIONAL SPRING
relaxations at the beam-wall interface have a INCLUB~U I~ ANALYSIS
= EXPEHIMENIAL RESULTS
significant effect upon the overall behaviour of
shear wall systems. Evidence from recent work[3] 1.5 o
Arns
indicates that overall relaxations are only apparent
Z
in the regions of partial interaction; this does, how- , Ans
ever, cover a large range of interconnected shear
= 2O"/o - 1.0 '
wall problems. To investigate this phenomenon a
series of models first analysed and tested by
Mackeod[2] were reanalysed using the stiffness I A~- Arts x I~
L
program incorporating the modified beam stiffness 10O/o_0.5_ ~ .~.

matrix. In these models only the beam depths were

L ' ",I
changed, the overall geometric and mechanical F
properties being kept constant, The relevant model o

0,0 ,
data is given in figure 2. r

o 1 2 3
The value of the proposed modification was BEAM DEPTH.
tested by comparing results obtained from the [INCHES)

modified beam matrix with and without the rota- Fig. 3. Graphs showing the effect of rotation and shear
springs upon the MacLeod models with varying beam
tional springs. Experimental evidence was availaNe depth.
92 T. Harrison, J, M. Siddall and R. E. Yeadon

values of the lateral displacement at the free end
plotted against beam depth for the theoretical
models with and without rotational springs.
Experimental evidence and a plot of the relative
error between the two analyses is also superimposed
onto the same figure. The results are also tabulated
in Table 1. It can be seen from figure 3 and Table 1
that the effect of the localised deformations upon
the stiffness of the shear wall system is significant
for beam depths from 0.5 to 1-0 in, The errors
incurred in neglecting this relaxing effect are from
It is of interest to investigate i~ow the variation ol
~,a[I parameters may influence the effect that the
Iocalised deformations have upon the overall
problem. To achieve this+ a +cries of analytical
models having the same basic geometry as the most
.~ensitive wall (0.625 in. beam depth) of the previous
series were tested for different +mmbers of storeys.
Varying the height of the models effectively changes
the degree of interaction o f the shear wa!l :system
Fhe resuli~ for this serie~ ot + ' ~ I l s are plotted it,,
figure 4 and are al~o tabulated i+~ Table 2 ):~w

Table • ResnltY/i'om &'st.s on the .VlacLeod mudcl.s ~++/t/1carying beam depth

I i

i •

. <

: i
[ +

)
! • I

16-20 ~o over this range of beam depths, the model

~ iqk' = FRE~ ~ OFFLE~,,!~ O+ FULL
most sensitive being the one with the 0-625 in. deep :~H ~.~41~E~ wALL
++ms = FREE~00EFLECTI~ Of $1'~R
beams. The experimental evidence compares ~ t t WrfH SI'mGS ~LO0~
25°/, - 5 *WALY'~.
favourably with the results from the proposed ~ : F ~ [NO OEFLECIIONOF
WALL WITHOUIK B ~ L S~III~
analysis employing the rotational springs with an mctmm m ~LVmS
accuracy of 3-5 ~ in all cases except for the model 20%- L+ + ....
with the 1.125 in. deep beams.
z
The plot of wall tip displacement against beam
depth, figure 3, indicates how sensitive the overall
Q
stiffness of the wall system is to a change in the i~ Aml
++i,
interconnection properties. When the beams have
no effective flexural stiffness then the walls will be- = 10%- 2
have as two cantilevers constrained to move
together laterally. As the beam depths increase, with -~--~222:L~_ := 71
a corresponding increase in beam stiffness, then the
overall behaviour of the wall is extremely sensitive
to slight changes in interconnection characteristics.
This sensitivity decreases until eventually a large
0 5 lO ~5 20 25
change in the stiffness of the interconnecting
No. OF STONEYS
elements has little effect upon the shear wall
behaviour and the system has similar characteristics Fig'. 4. Graphs showing the effect oj rotational and shears
to that of a cantilever of the same size as an spring upon M a c L e o d model Ble with ~,arying numbers
unpierced wall. 0/"storey.~'
 Beam Stiffness Matrix for Interconnected Shear Walls 93

Table 2. Resultsfrom tests on MacLeod model Ble with varying numbers of storeys

Theoretical (with sgrln~s) Theoretical (without s ~ i n ~ s ) Percentage Difference

Number of Storeys TheoPetical (full cantilever) = A Theoretical (fuil cantilever) = B (A-B)T
X 100%

5 3.8645 3.0752 20.42

7 2.8111 2.2509 19.90

9 2.2515 1.8455 18.03

ii 1.9057 1.6038 15.88

13 1.6850 1.4528 13.78

17 1.4325 1.2843 i0.35

21 1.2986 1.1957 7,85

25 1.2203 1.1460 6. i0

convenience the wall tip deflections have been
normalised with respect to the end deflection of a
cantilever having the same dimensions as the
unpierced wall. In this way it was possible to
compare walls of varying heights on the same
graphical axis. From figure 4 and Table 2 it is
evident that as the height of the models increase
then the walls become more interactive and the
effect of local relaxations becomes less significant.
Ho~vever, up to a height of seventeen storeys this
effect is seen to have practical significance. Varia-
tions from over 20% for a five storey model to
approximately 10~o for the 17 storey model are
seen to exist.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been shown that the local relaxations at the
beam-wall interface zones may, in some cases, have
a significant effect upon the overall behaviour of
interconnected shear walls. It has also been shown
that a beam stiffness matrix suitably modified to
include rotational springs, rigid arms and a shear
correction presents a simple and accurate method of
simulating important effects in shear wall inter-
action.
Although experience shows that in the majority
of practical shear wall problems the joint relaxations
have less than 10 % effect upon the stiffness of the
structural system, no parametric confidence limits
are known by which the critical model geometry can
be predicted. It would, therefore, seem prudent to
include these effects in the mathematical model
since no significant cost increase is incurred and a
more consistent solution is obtained.

REFERENCES
I. W. W. FgISCHMANN, The structural design of tall buildings, The Prestressed Concrete
Development Group, Wales Committee (1966).
2. I.A. MAcLEOD, Lateral stiffness of shear walls with openings, Tall Buildings Symposium,
University of Southampton, Pergamon Press (I 967).
3. R.E. Y~X>ON,Ph.D. thesis, University of Bradford (1973).
4. W.M. JENKINSand T. I - I ~ N , Analysis of tall building with shear walls under bending
and torsion, (see reference 2).
5. C . F . CANDY, Analysis of shear wall frames by computer, N. Z. Engng 19, (1964).
6. V. MICHAEL,The ef~e~ of local wall deformations on the elastic interaction of cross walls
coupled by beams, (see reference 2).
7. P. BHATT,EffeCt of beam-shear wall junction deformations on the flexibility of the conneCt-
ing beams, Build. Sci. 8 (1973).
8. I.A. MAcLwD, Discussion to reference 6.
94 T. Harrison, J. M. Siddall and R. E. Yeadon

APPENDIX

+AE/L -AE/L

+&23 * 6El/L2 ÷A26 * 6EI/L 2

,A22 • 12EI/L 3 .A22 e 12EZ/L 3
+e e A22 * 12EI/L 3 +b • A2 ~ 12E~/L 3

+A36 * 2EI/L
÷A33 * qEIIL
-A23 * 6EI/L 2 •b * A23 * 6EI/L 2
+2a * A23 * 6E~/L 2
• a e A26 e ~EI/L 2
÷a 2 e A22 *12El/L3 -a * A22 eI2EI/L 3
,ab * A22 eI2EI/L 3

+AE/5

SYM)~TRICAL -A26 * 6EI/L 2

,A22 • 12EI/L 3
-b * &22 * 12EI/L3

+A68 * 4EI15
+2b ~ A26 * 5EI/L 2
+h 2 * A22 * 12EI/L 3

where A22 = C e (i + A1 + A2)

A23 : C * (l + 2 * A2)
A33=C* (i+3, A2 ÷ 3 1 S )
A26 = C * (i + 2 e AI)
A38 = C * (i - 6 * g)
A66 = C ;% (i + 3 * A1 ~, 3 * S)

and where A1 : E~/(L * RI)

A2 : EI/(L e R2)
S : EI/(L 3 * Sl) + EI/(L 3 * $2)
c : i/(I + ~ 6 (AI + A2) + 12 e (AI * A2 + A1 * £ * A2 *'S * Si)

where E. I s L are the Youngts modulus, second moment of area and length of the interconnecting beam between the $ p r ~ n ~

and El. K21 SIj $2 are the 8tlffnesees of the rotational and shear sppings at ends 1 and 2 of the interconnecti~- "-~am.