Frame Analysis of Shear Wall Cores

Existing methods for analysis of shear wall cores tend to involve techniques somewhat unfamiliar to designers. The frame method does not reequire the use of mathematics by the user and is applicable to a wide range of core shapes under arbitrary loading conditions. In particular torsional loading can be applied. Two elements are introduced to facilitate the use of the frame model. These are termed the solid wall element which is a bending and axial force element with rigid ends having two vertical degrees of freedom and a tracing element which is an axial force element used to preserve the cross-sectional shape of the core. The validity of the frame model is checked against three different core shapes under torsional loading.