Masonry versus Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls - Should They Be Designed Differently?

Design provisions for reinforced masonry shear walls (MSJC, 2011) differ in several significant ways from design provisions for reinforced concrete shear walls (ACI 318-11, 2011). Masonry shear walls have distributed flexural reinforcement, while reinforced concrete shear walls often have longitudinal reinforcement concentrated in confined boundary regions. In this paper, the reasons for these differences are reviewed, and areas for possible future harmonization are presented. Designs are compared for masonry shear walls and geometrically similar reinforced concrete shear walls in Seismic Design Category D.