Benjamin Pimentel, P.E., is the President at Rosenwasser/Grossman Consulting Engineers, P.C., He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Concrete Industry Board of New York. Benjamin can be reached at bp@rgce.com.
Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls are usually the primary lateral force resisting system for reinforced concrete buildings and adjacent shear wall piers are typically connected with coupling beams above doors or corridors at floor levels. …
During their service life, high-rise buildings and the associated nonstructural components endure various movements and deformations. Although the deformations and movements are not life threatening, inappropriate design of buildings and associated nonstructural components could induce expensive economic consequences in the long-run and, in order to ensure proper building behavior of the superstructures and the attached nonstructural elements, should not be ignored. In this article the possible deformations and movements of reinforced concrete high-rise buildings and the accommodation of the affected components are discussed. …