Review

A comprehensive review of squat and perforated shear walls: seismic behavior and simulation techniques

¹ School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
² China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd, Beijing 100840, PR China

^* e-mail: zhouwei-hit@163.com (Wei Zhou); xuguoshan@hit.edu.cn (Guoshan Xu)

Received: 17 February 2025
Accepted: 17 April 2025

Abstract

Squat shear walls are critical components in nuclear power plants due to their exceptional seismic resistance. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in the study of squat shear walls, perforated shear walls, and their numerical simulations. Squat shear walls, characterized by low shear span ratios (SSR) and high strength, are widely employed in seismic and impact-resistant structures. However, their ductility and energy dissipation capacity are highly sensitive to axial load ratios (ALR) and reinforcement ratios. Perforated shear walls, commonly used in engineering practice, exhibit significant variations in strength, stiffness, and seismic performance depending on the size, layout, and number of openings. Optimized opening configurations and reinforcement strategies can enhance their mechanical behavior. Numerical simulation techniques, ranging from advanced material constitutive models to efficient finite element methods, provide powerful tools for analyzing the complex behavior of shear walls, enabling accurate prediction of nonlinear responses and failure modes. This study offers a robust theoretical foundation and practical guidance for the performance optimization and design enhancement of shear walls.