Seismic and Torsional Performance of Reinforced Concrete U-shaped Walls

Research Seminar, October 1

Summary :
Reinforced concrete (RC) walls are embedded in millions of buildings internationally and provide the lateral resistance from wind and earthquakes. These structural elements can be placed on the perimeter of the building, which has the potential to create a torsional response (i.e., twist) when subjected to earthquake ground motions. If the non-planar wall (e.g., U-shaped section) has not been designed for the torsional actions, extensive damage will occur that could result in the catastrophic collapse of the building. Importantly, current building codes internationally do not account for the design of open section walls subjected to torsion. There is also currently no experimental evidence for the torsional capacity of non-planar RC walls.
This seminar will focus on Dr Hoult’s previous and current research related to the seismic design and performance of RC structural wall buildings. The current research program investigates the torsional performance and capacity of non-planar RC walls under the supervision of Professor João Almeida in the Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering (iMMC).

Bio :
Dr Ryan Hoult is a postdoctoral researcher from Melbourne, Australia. He attained his Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Master of Structural Engineering, and PhD in Earthquake Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia. In 2018, Dr Hoult was awarded a Swiss Government Excellence Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral experimental research at EPFL, Switzerland. Most recently, Dr Hoult received funding through the F.R.S – FNRS to conduct some large-scale testing at UCLouvain, Belgium. Dr Hoult’s primary research has focused on the plastic hinge analysis of RC walls, ground motion models of low-to-moderate seismic regions, seismic health monitoring of high-rise structures, and the torsional capacity of non-planar RC walls.