Wall 2: Cyclic horizontal displacement test with an axial load ratio of 0.25 for a shear wall representative of Chilean construction practices prior to the Maule 2010 earthquake.

The wall specimen was designed identical to wall 1 and was subjected to constant vertical load of 0.25f’c Ag (Axial Ratio Load of 0.25) and to cyclic horizontal displacement with increasing amplitude. The wall had length of 700 mm, a thickness of 100 mm aspect ratio (M/Vlw) of 2.5. No special boundaries element was provided. The flexural-compressive failure mode exhibited by damaged walls during the earthquake was reproduced in the tests. The wall specimen evidenced bar buckling of vertical bars, brittle concrete crushing, and out-of-plane buckling, which suggest that the axial load and the thickness of RC walls should be limited in critical walls to prevent brittle localized failures.