Analytical solutions for the stability analysis of coupled shear walls: Three-field CTB beam

Pinto-Cruz M.C. · Mechanics Based Design of Structures and Machines (2025) · DOI: 10.1080/15397734.2025.2451681

Resumen

To date, no closed-form analytical solutions have been proposed for calculating the global critical buckling load of symmetric and asymmetric coupled shear walls using a novel Three-field CTB continuous model. In this model, the coupled shear wall is represented as a three-field continuous system, formed by the parallel coupling of a Timoshenko beam with axial extensibility (representing the two shear walls) and a pure shear beam (representing the coupling beams), connected by rigid links. This continuous model, developed using a displacement-based approach and energy equivalence, effectively captures the three typical behaviors of a coupled shear wall: global bending, global shear, and local bending. Additionally, it accounts for a recently identified behavior arising from the local shear deformation of the walls, which has been largely overlooked in existing literature. Due to the complexity of its equilibrium equations, characterized by strong couplings among the three kinematic variables, solutions have been limited to static and dynamic analyses, restricting its application to stability analysis. To address this limitation, this study proposes, for the first time, three analytical solutions for the stability analysis of coupled shear walls subjected to arbitrary vertical loads. The first solution is an approximate yet accurate method that decouples the original model into two independent subsystems. The second provides an exact solution to the differential equation, while the third introduces an additional reduction factor to the exact solution. These proposed solutions offer varying levels of accuracy, all within acceptable engineering tolerances, enabling engineers and researchers to choose the appropriate method based on the required precision.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería