Dynamic Analysis of Plane Coupled Shear Walls

The continuous method of analysis of coupled shear walls is reformulated in terms of deflection variables and used to study the dynamic behavior of plane coupled shear walls. The assumption that mid-points of the connecting beams are points of contraflexure is relaxed so that the resulting theory is applicable to the general case where the lateral loading on the piers can be arbitrarily distributed. The equations of motion with appropriate boundary conditions are given. The free vibration of coupled shear walls is studied and the fundamental frequency determined. Theoretical results are verified by dynamic testing on two models to show the theory is sufficiently accurate to provide information for dynamic analysis in seismic design.