Modeling Methods and Seismic Performance Study of Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls Considering Initial Random Defects

Latent defects， such as poorly compacted concrete and voids， are increasingly detected in existing structures due to advances in structural inspection technology. These defects are formed during concrete pouring because of inadequate vibration， blockage by coarse aggregates， or obstruction by reinforcement. They exhibit high randomness. In this study， the defect detection in reinforced concrete structures was analyzed， and the random distribution of poorly compacted areas was characterized. Finite element models with random defects were developed using ABAQUS and Python. The effects of different modeling methods and defect rates on seismic performance were investigated， and the finite element modeling method was validated through experiments. The results showed that both the random element method and the random sphere method could effectively simulate random defects in shear walls while meeting computational requirements， with the random element method exhibiting higher computational efficiency. The influence of defect rates on the seismic performance of shear walls was primarily reflected in the degradation of initial stiffness and bearing capacity. Additionally， the presence of defects significantly affected the cracking and failure patterns in concrete.