Modeling of Fracture in the Sill Plate in Partially Anchored Shear Walls

This study relates to the topic of anchorage of shear walls. At times, eccentric forces between the sheathing and the anchoring devices may be introduced in the sill plate. In severe cases, such forces may cause the sill plate to split and to fail in a brittle manner. In this study, fracture mechanics are applied to develop a simple closed-form hand-calculation expression for estimation of the ultimate load capacity of the sill plate. Finite-element analyses using both linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory and a nonlinear fictitious crack model are also used to predict the ultimate load-bearing capacity of the sill plate. The hand-calculation model is compared with the finite-element models, and good agreement is obtained. The results obtained with the various fracture mechanics models are compared with results available from previously performed experimental tests, and again good agreement is obtained. A general conclusion is that the LEFM theory is an adequate approach for the case studied and that the hand-calculation expression developed could be useful for structural design.