In apartment buildings in Korea, irregular walls, such as T-, L-, and U-shaped walls, are commonly used. However, in practical design, the geometric irregularities of walls are often neglected when determining the length of the lateral confinement region. Further, although earthquake loads apply from various directions, the lateral confinement region is typically determined for the in-plane direction of the web. Thus, using finite element analysis, this study investigated the structural performance of irregular walls subjected to various loading directions. As the design parameters, wall shape, cross-sectional aspect ratio, and loading direction were addressed. According to the parametric analysis results, as the length of flange in tension increased, the lateral confinement region should be evaluated with consideration of the geometric irregularity. Further, for the L- and U-shaped walls, it is recommended to evaluate the lateral confinement region for various loading directions. Based on these results, a design method to determine the lateral confinement region of irregular walls was suggested.

Recently, high-rise residential buildings in Korea have adopted slender shear walls with irregular section shapes, such as T-shape, H-shape, and C-shape. In the seismic design of the slender shear walls, the transverse reinforcement for lateral confinement should be provided in the boundary elements to increase deformation capacity and subsequent ductility. However, in practice, the irregularity of the shear walls is not adequately considered, and the lateral confinement region is calculated for the rectangular wall segments. This study investigated the proper design method for lateral confinement regions using finite element analysis. The lateral confinement region was considered in analysis for two cases: 1) as a typical rectangular wall segment and 2) as an irregular wall. When the irregularity of the walls was considered, the compression zone depth was increased because the vertical reinforcement in the flange was addressed. The effect of lateral confinement design methods on the structural performance of the walls was directly compared under various design parameters, including the length of the flange, concrete compressive strength, vertical rebar layout, axial load ratio, and loading direction. According to the results of the parametric analysis, the peak strength and deformation capacity could be significantly increased when the lateral confinement region was calculated based on irregularly shaped walls, regardless of the design parameters. In addition, the effective compression zone was located within the lateral confinement region. Thus, it is recommended that the lateral confinement region of T-shaped walls is calculated by addressing the irregularity of the walls.