Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea ISSN:1229-3059(Print) 2287-2302(Online) 한국전산구조공학회 논문집

In Korea, one of the most used structural systems for residential apartment buildings is the combination of the reinforced concrete (RC) wall and rahmen structures in the upper and lower floors, respectively. To alleviate the significant difference between the stiffnesses of these two structural systems, large transfer girders are generally required in the transition zone of the structure, which then results in the use of large amounts of construction materials and low economic feasibility. This paper proposes a new RC boundary-beam–wall system that can minimize the disadvantages of the RC transfer girder system. The structural performance of the proposed system subjected to axial loading was evaluated via rigorous three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis. Four parameters, namely the ratio of lower wall to upper wall lengths, distance between stirrups, main bar slope ratio, and slab length, were considered in the finite element analysis, and their effects on the maximum axial load were analyzed and discussed.