Plastic Hinge Model and Displacement-Based Seismic Design Parameter Quantifications for Reinforced Concrete Block Structural Walls

A practical alternative to the traditional rectangular cross sections of reinforced masonry structural wall systems is to alter the wall ends to allow for smaller compression zone depths, and thus higher curvatures to develop under increased seismic lateral loads. Despite the significantly enhanced seismic performance of flanged and end-confined masonry structural walls compared with their rectangular counterparts, seismic design parameters …