Create shear only walls

Shear only walls provide resistance to in-plane lateral loads only.

You can model shear only walls over several story heights. In these cases, Tekla Structural Designer creates a single wall with a uniform thickness between the base and top level.

Tekla Structural Designer determines the location of the wall from the alignment specified in the shear only wall properties, and the selected insertion points.

Note: Requirements for these walls are that they must be; within a single bay (i.e. do not overlap one or more columns); strictly rectangular; vertical and surrounded by columns and beams (other than at the bottom edge).

Note: Shear only walls do not perform the same function as wall panels. In other words, shear only walls do not allow you to apply loads calculated by the Wind Wizard to your structure.

Therefore, to apply wind loads, you must create additional wall panels in the same locations as the shear only walls.

Material type

The chosen material will only affect the weight of the wall. Whilst Shear only walls are most suited to masonry, three Material types are available:

Concrete
Timber
General

Geometric rules

Shear only walls can only be created as rectangular in a vertical plane.
They must be totally enclosed by members (concrete or steel), except at the base.
Wall openings are ignored.
Shear only walls cannot be included in cores.

Create shear only walls in a level view

Note: Ensure that you have defined the construction levels between which the wall will run, and the grid points between which the wall will lie.

On the Model tab, click Shear Only Wall.

The wall will adopt the properties displayed in the Properties window.
Go to the Properties window.
If necessary, adjust the base level and top level of the wall.
Adjust stiffness, thickness, and other wall properties according to your needs.
In the model, click the start point of the wall.
Click the end point of the wall.

Tekla Structural Designer creates the wall between the selected start and end points.

Create shear only walls in a frame or structure view

Note: In order to define a wall in a frame or structure view, you must have already defined the construction levels between which the wall will run and the grid points between which it will lie.

On the Model tab, click Shear Only Wall.

The wall will adopt the properties displayed in the Properties window.
In the Properties window, adjust the stiffness, thickness, and other wall properties according to your needs.
In the model, click the first corner of the wall.
Click the opposite corner of the wall.

Tekla Structural Designer creates the wall between the selected points.

Shear only wall properties

Select one or more shear only wall and then use the Properties window to view and modify their properties.


General
Name	The automatically generated name.
User Name	Can be used to override the automatically generated name if required.
Top Level	Specifies the top level for the wall.
Base Level	Specifies the bottom level for the wall.
Wall Type	Shear Only Wall Note: Shear only walls must be rectangular in a vertical plane.
Material Type	Choice of: Concrete Timber General
AutomaticGenerate Support	• Cleared - a support will only be created if the Generate support property is checked. • Checked - a support will only be created if no members/slabs capable of providing support exist under the wall.
Generate support	• Cleared - no support is created under the wall. • Checked - a support is created under the wall. Note: When a support is created, a line support is formed under a meshed wall, a point support under a mid-pier wall, and a series of point supports under a bearing wall. Note: When a support is created, its degrees of freedom are as specified in the ‘Wall support’ area of the wall properties.
Plane	Indicates the grid along which the wall is placed.


All panels
Grade	The grades available here are set from the Materials button on the Home ribbon. Note: The grade is only required to specify the correct density to be used in the wall self weight calculation.
Thickness	The thickness of the wall. Note: The thickness is only required for the wall self weight calculation.
Alignment	Alignment of the wall: Front Back Middle User
Alignment offset	When the alignment is set to User it can be adjusted by specifying an exact offset.
Spring stiffness	The stiffness to be used in the analysis. See: How shear only walls are represented in solver models
Live Load reduction [ACI/AISC], Imposed Load reduction [Other codes]
Override calculated value	This option allows the user to specify their own percentage of load reduction to cater for situations where the automatically calculated value is inappropriate. See: Overview of live or imposed load reductions


UDA
Name Finish Class Phase Note File	A customizable list of the attributes that can be applied to individual members and panels. See: Work with user-defined attributes