Seismic analysis of multi-storey building with shear walls using ETABS

¹ Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Villa College, QI Campus, Male, Maldives
² Department of Civil Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, India
³ Department of Civil Engineering, C.K. College of Engineering and Technology, Cuddalore, India
⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College, Tirupati, India

^* Corresponding author: premkumar.vagestan@villacollege.edu.mv

Published online: 7 January 2026

Abstract

A load-bearing wall is a structural component designed to support vertical loads while resisting lateral forces acting parallel to its plane, such as those induced by wind, seismic activity, and earthquakes. These lateral forces can cause deflections, particularly critical in high-rise buildings, as they help prevent structural failure under seismic loads. Shear walls, commonly known as reinforced concrete (RC) structural walls, are crucial in enhancing a building’s resistance to earthquakes by acting as an effective lateral load-resisting system. The characteristics of the walls in a building have a strong influence on the overall structural performance of the building. Hence, a thorough understanding in the behavior of the walls under seismic loading is essential. Operational effectiveness of different structural arrangements such as conventional reinforced concrete (RCC) frames, arrangements using shear walls, arrangements using dampers, and combinations may be different to a significant extent when they are placed in seismic situations. This study examines how the position of shear walls in reinforced concrete constructions effect significant parameters like ground movement, base shear, and foundation forces especially in multi- storey structures. The effect that shear wall arrangement has on seismic behavior of such edifices is analyzed by a response-spectrum analysis which is based on seismic intensity. The analysis is done using the ETABS software with emphasis on the difference in bending moments, shear forces and axial loads, at varying shear -wall positions.