Impact force profile of RC shear wall under out-of-plane impact load: Prediction from numerical perspective

Building structures are frequently exposed to collision and impact events during their service life, leading to significant economic losses and casualties. While the impact force characteristics and structural responses of reinforced concrete (RC) beams under drop-hammer impacts have been extensively investigated, the behavior of shear wall structures under impact loading remains insufficiently explored. This study examines the impact force profile of RC shear walls subjected to out-of-plane impacts through three-dimensional finite element numerical modeling. The effects of cross-section stiffness, overall stiffness (by changing the wall’s thickness and height) and drop-weight-to-wall mass ratio on the profile were analyzed based on a total of 64 numerical models. The results reveal that the peak impact force increases as the cross-section stiffness rises. As the overall stiffness decreases, the plateau force decreases and the duration is prolonged. The rise in impact mass makes the plateau force and the plateau duration rise. Variations in the impact mass-to-wall mass ratio significantly alter the time-history curves of impact forces. Numerical simulations identify three characteristic patterns for out-of-plane impacted RC shear walls: single-peak, double-peak, and peak-plateau configurations. Through strategic identification of characteristic points, empirically derived formulas were established to predict impact force profiles, with predictive validity confirmed through rigorous comparisons with experimental datasets and computational results.