Wall Pier

Wall piers are intended for use with vertical portions of the shear wall which are not interrupted by openings within the height of wall being considered. Thus, a wall pier represents part of the wall that is transferring vertical forces, whether the vertical forces are due to applied vertical loading, the result of lateral in-plane loading resulting in in-plane bending, or a combination of both. Wall piers can also restrain the bending of associated slabs, the result being minor axis bending in the wall.

The design of wall piers is based on treating the part of the wall under consideration as a concrete column under axial force (tension or compression) and biaxial bending, along with considering the effects of shear in two directions.

Wall piers are intended to design the vertical reinforcement with the wall section or sub-section. Horizontal reinforcement is sized based on detailing rules only. No design is carried out within the pier for horizontal bending, so wall piers are not suitable for the following design conditions:

a)Where loading applied normal to the wall face induces significant horizontal bending, such as would occur in tank or basement type structures

b) Compression and tension zones where the pier is not acting as a vertical load bearing element, but acting as a deep beam resisting vertical loading in bending