Effects of opening location on flexural behavior of RC columns with sidewalls

Practical use of secondary walls such as sidewalls is common because the contributions of secondary walls for stiffness or strength have been recognized. In 2016, “AIJ Standard for Lateral Load-carrying Capacity Calculation of Reinforced Concrete Structures” was published as a draft by Architectural Institute of Japan. In this standard new equations for columns with side walls were proposed. From this viewpoint, the authors have conducted static loading tests of flexurally controlled RC column specimens with single opening in the sidewall, to investigate the effects of openings on strength and deformation capacity of RC columns with a side walls. In this paper, the limitations on location of openings inside sidewalls to avoid their effects on flexural strength and deformation capacity are examined using design equations for flexural strength based on full plastic moment of the column and sidewall. The test results indicate that the proposed limitation line on location of openings to avoid their effects for flexure could be effective for practical design.