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United StatesTMS 402/602-22

Masonry Shear Wall (LRFD)

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Design reinforced masonry shear walls to TMS 402/602-22 LRFD for combined axial and lateral loads. Models Ordinary, Intermediate, or Special shear walls with automated SDC filtering, P-M interaction diagrams with P-delta effects, and validated seismic detailing. Loads link from Wind and Seismic analysis modules so demands update across the structural system.
Instantly create a new Masonry Shear Wall (LRFD) calculation by clicking here:Create Masonry Shear Wall (LRFD) Calculator(This link automatically opens a new project and sheet in Calcs.com.)
This calculator checks reinforced masonry shear walls for in-plane axial load, overturning moment, and shear using factored load combinations per TMS 402/602-22. It supports Ordinary, Intermediate, and Special reinforced shear wall designations, walls with or without openings, and plots a moment-axial interaction diagram for each case.
This calculator follows TMS 402/602-22 Chapter 9 (LRFD). Walls with openings use the segmented pier method per Section 4.1.6.

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Method & scope

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Choosing the right calculator

Calcs.com has three TMS 402/602-22 masonry wall calculators. They are not interchangeable.

Gravity Wall (LRFD)

Out-of-plane loading on a load-bearing wall span, checked per linear foot using LRFD.

Gravity Wall (ASD)

Same out-of-plane problem using allowable stress design (TMS Chapter 8).

Shear Wall (LRFD)

This page. In-plane lateral force-resisting walls with multi-story geometry and optional openings.
This calculator is for in-plane lateral force-resisting walls only. For out-of-plane wind or seismic pressure on a load-bearing wall span, use one of the gravity wall calculators instead.

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When to use this calculator

Use this calculator when a CMU wall acts as a lateral force-resisting element and must carry in-plane shear and overturning from wind or seismic loads.
Not a gravity wall calculator. Out-of-plane loading on load-bearing wall spans is not covered here. Use Masonry Gravity Wall (LRFD) or Masonry Gravity Wall (ASD), depending on your design method.Boundary elements are not modeled. Capacity is based on uniformly distributed vertical steel. Concentrated boundary reinforcement is outside this sheet.

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Assumptions and limitations

  • Strain compatibility is assumed between reinforcement, grout, and masonry.
  • Vertical reinforcement is uniformly distributed along the wall length.
  • Walls with openings use the segmented pier method per TMS 402/602-22 Section 4.1.6. Openings must be vertically aligned across stories.
  • Spandrel stiffness above and below openings is not included in pier stiffness.
  • Non-aligned or overlapping openings are not supported.
  • Only one layer of reinforcing steel is supported.
Full assumptions and limitations are listed in the Sheet Details tab within the calculator.
How to read the sheet: enter inputs first, review calculations in Detailed view, then read pass/fail in the Summary on the right. The Shear Wall Diagram and Interaction Diagram at the top update as inputs change.

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Calculations

After inputs are set, the calculator builds section properties, applies LRFD load combinations, and checks axial, flexural, and shear capacity. Open Detailed view to see intermediate steps and TMS 402/602-22 clause references for each section below.
Geometric Properties of CMU Wall
Geometric Properties of CMU Wall computes net area, moment of inertia, section modulus, and self-weight from the masonry and reinforcement inputs above.
Design Conditions
Design Conditions pulls the load combination code from project defaults (IBC 2024 / TMS 402/602-22) and confirms the design standard edition in use.
Load Combination Analysis
Load Combination Analysis expands LRFD strength combinations and reports factored axial, moment, and shear demands at the governing story and load case.
Wall Properties
Wall Properties reports slenderness, effective shear depth, and story-level demand summaries used in the strength checks below.
Openings in Wall
When Has Openings? is Yes, Openings in Wall validates opening geometry and builds the expanded opening tables used in the segmented analysis. Checks include:
  • Openings must fall within the wall height and length.
  • Openings must not overlap or touch; merge adjacent openings into one entry.
  • Multi-story walls require vertical alignment of opening position and width across stories.
Locations of All Wall Openings, Locations of All Repeated Wall Openings, and Locations of Individual Wall Openings list the resolved opening layout per story after the input table is processed.
Segmented Method Analysis (Piers)
For walls with openings, Segmented Method Analysis (Piers) divides the wall into solid piers, calculates pier length and aspect ratio, and distributes story base shear among piers by relative rigidity per TMS 402/602-22 Section 4.1.6.
  • Pier Boundary Condition: Cantilever (fixed base, free top) or Fixed-Fixed (top rotation restrained). This feeds pier stiffness in the segmented analysis.
  • Modulus of Rigidity: shear modulus used in pier stiffness, taken as 0.4 × masonry modulus of elasticity per TMS 402 Section 4.2.2.2.
  • Pier Tributary Width and Axial Load: tributary area and axial load assigned to each pier segment.
Pier-level strength checks appear in Piers Design Demands (Factored Forces) and Piers Capacities. Select a Story and Pier at the top of the sheet to review demands and the pier-specific Interaction Diagram.
In-Plane Shear (TMS 402/602-22, Section 9.3.3.1.2)
In-Plane Shear checks factored in-plane shear demand against masonry shear capacity. For solid walls (Has Openings? = No), summary rows In-Plane Shear Demand and In-Plane Shear Capacity report the governing result. For walls with openings, pier-level shear checks appear in Piers Capacities.
Moment-Axial Interaction (TMS 402-22, Section 9)
Combined in-plane axial and bending capacity is evaluated in Interaction Diagram (Axial & Flexure). The Interaction Utilization Check table reports utilization for every load combination. Maximum Area of Flexural Tensile Reinforcement (TMS 402/602-22, Section 9.3.5.6.1.) checks ductility limits on vertical steel for the selected Shear Wall Designation.
  • Geometric Properties of CMU Wall
  • Load Combination Analysis
  • Wall Properties
  • Openings in Wall
  • Segmented Method Analysis (Piers)
  • Piers Design Demands (Factored Forces)
  • Piers Capacities
  • In-Plane Shear (TMS 402/602-22, Section 9.3.3.1.2.)
  • Interaction Diagram (Axial & Flexure)
  • Maximum Area of Flexural Tensile Reinforcement (TMS 402/602-22, Section 9.3.5.6.1.)

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What it calculates

US structural engineers designing reinforced masonry shear walls to TMS 402-22 for low- and mid-rise commercial, residential, and institutional buildings. Consolidates multi-spreadsheet workflows, combined axial + flexure with a generated P-M interaction diagram (slenderness included), in-plane shear from masonry + reinforcement, multi-story accumulated demands, and automatic SDC-based detailing, into one code-aligned calculator. Eliminates manual interaction-diagram interpolation and reduces error-prone shear check steps.

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Calculation method

Masonry and reinforcement properties
Inputs establish the material model: masonry type (clay or concrete masonry), CMU nominal size, specified compressive strength f’m, unit weight, mortar type, and grout condition (partial or full). Reinforcement grade (Grade 60 standard) and bar layout complete the cross-section definition. The calculator derives net and gross section properties from these inputs, applying the correct maximum usable strain at the extreme compression fiber: ε_mu = 0.0035 for clay masonry and ε_mu = 0.0025 for concrete masonry, per TMS 402/602-22 assumptions.
Geometric properties and wall configuration
Wall height per story, number of stories, opening locations, and CMU pattern (running bond assumed) define the structural geometry. The segmented pier method splits walls with openings into individual piers for analysis. Each pier carries its tributary axial load and the lateral shear from above, with results combined to govern the wall design.
Load combination analysis
Factored gravity loads (dead, live, roof) and lateral demands (wind or seismic per story) are assembled into ASCE 7 load combinations. The calculator accumulates axial demand Pu at each story level and resolves in-plane lateral demands Vu and moment demand Mu at the critical section. Dynamic load linking allows wind and seismic inputs to propagate from upstream analysis calculators without manual re-entry.
In-plane shear (TMS 402/602-22, Section 9.3.3.1.2)
Nominal shear strength combines masonry and horizontal reinforcement contributions: Vn = Vm + Vs where Vm depends on the factored axial stress, f’m, and wall geometry, and Vs = 0.5·As·fy·(d/s). The design check is: φVn ≥ Vu, with φ = 0.80 for shear Separate limits apply to Ordinary, Intermediate, and Special walls. For Special Reinforced Shear Walls the code caps the total Vn at a fraction of f’m·An to ensure ductile flexural yielding governs over shear failure.
Interaction diagram (axial and flexure)
The P-M interaction envelope is built using a rectangular equivalent stress block (0.80·f’m over depth a = 0.80·c) with the neutral axis located by strain compatibility. Vertical reinforcement is modeled as uniformly distributed along the wall length. For each point on the envelope, the calculator checks P-delta amplification of moment demand using the magnified moment approach so slenderness effects are included at every load combination. The governing interaction check is: utilization = Mu / φMn (at Pu) ≤ 1.0
Maximum flexural reinforcement (Section 9.3.5.6.1)
To ensure ductile wall behavior, TMS 402-22 limits the maximum area of flexural tensile reinforcement based on the strain compatibility condition at the balanced point. The calculator enforces this limit automatically, flagging configurations where the reinforcement ratio would prevent adequate rotation capacity before masonry crushing.
Seismic detailing checks
For Intermediate and Special walls, the calculator validates minimum bar sizes at wall boundaries and maximum spacing of both vertical and horizontal reinforcement. These detailing checks are filtered by the SDC you enter, so only the requirements that apply to your wall type and seismic category are shown.

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How to use it

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Inputs

Work through the input sections in order. Geometry, reinforcement, and story loads feed all downstream checks.
1

Masonry Properties

These inputs feed section properties, self-weight, the Shear Wall Diagram, and opening layout.
  • Story Height and Number of Stories: define the wall height used in slenderness, shear, and story-level load tables.
  • Total Wall Length: plan length of the shear wall system.
  • Masonry Type, Concrete Masonry Unit Size, CMU Pattern, and Mortar Type: feed unit dimensions and material properties from CMU-TEC references.
  • Fully or Partially Grouted?, Specified Compressive Strength, Masonry Modulus of Elasticity, and density inputs: feed Geometric Properties of CMU Wall and strength checks. Masonry Properties inputs showing story height, wall length, CMU size, grout type, and material strengths
2

Wall openings

Set Has Openings? to Yes when the wall has doors, windows, or other penetrations; No for a solid wall over the full length and height. When openings are present, the calculator treats the wall as a series of solid masonry piers and distributes in-plane base shear to each pier by relative stiffness (the Segmented Pier Method per TMS 402/602-22 Section 4.1.6).
Contributions from masonry above or below openings (spandrels) are neglected in the stiffness calculation for conservatism. Non-aligned openings across stories are not supported because they require load transfer analysis (such as strut-and-tie) outside this pier-based model.
Use Location of Wall Openings to define each opening:
  • Story Number: set to All when the same opening layout repeats on every story, or enter an individual story number for story-specific openings.
  • Distance to Left of Opening: horizontal distance from the left end of the wall to the left edge of the opening.
  • Opening Width and Height of Opening: plan and vertical dimensions of the opening.
  • Height from Floor to Bottom of Opening: sill height measured from the story floor.
Openings must stay within the wall length and height, must not overlap or touch each other, and must align vertically across stories (same horizontal position and width at each level). Merge adjacent or edge-touching openings into one larger opening before entering them. The Shear Wall Diagram updates as you enter opening geometry.
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Reinforcement Properties

  • Steel Reinforcement Grade, Vertical Bar Size, and Vertical Bar Spacing (c/c): feed axial, flexural, and shear capacity. The calculator validates spacing against TMS 402/602-22 limits for the selected Shear Wall Designation.
  • Vertical Reinforcement Wall Edge Distance (Cover): horizontal distance from the wall end to the nearest vertical bar.
  • Vertical Reinforcement Opening Edge Distance (Cover): appears when openings are present. Horizontal distance from an opening edge to the nearest vertical bar.
  • Include Horizontal Reinforcement?, Horizontal Bar Size, and Horizontal Bar Spacing (c/c): optional bond-beam steel checked in Horizontal Reinforcement (Bond Beam). Reinforcement Properties inputs showing bar grade, size, spacing, cover, and horizontal reinforcement option
4

Loads

Enter unfactored loads per story. The calculator applies LRFD load factors in Load Combination Analysis.
  • Include Self-Weight?: toggles whether Self-Weight is added as a dead load.
  • Loads at Top of Wall: enter axial, shear, and moment loads by story. Loads can be linked from other Calcs.com sheets such as wind or seismic analysis modules.
  • Seismic Design Category: appears when seismic loads are entered. Filters available Shear Wall Designation options per TMS 402/602-22 Section 7.3.2.
  • Shear Wall Designation: set to Ordinary, Intermediate, or Special based on SDC. The calculator applies the corresponding reinforcement and detailing limits.
Use Link from Calculator to pull wind or seismic reactions from a Diaphragm Analysis sheet. See the load-linking walkthrough in Load Linking: Wind Loads → Diaphragm → Shear Wall.Loads inputs showing self-weight toggle, loads at top of wall table, and link-from-calculator options
2

Results

The Summary panel on the right collects governing pass/fail outcomes.

Axial

Axial Demand vs Factored Axial Capacity, Considering Axial Demand (Pu)

In-plane moment

Moment Demand vs Moment Capacity, Considering Axial Demand (Pu)

In-plane shear

In-Plane Shear Demand vs In-Plane Shear Capacity

Interaction

Interaction Governing Utilization across load combinations
Green badges indicate passing utilization; red badges flag a governing failure.Solid walls (no openings)When Has Openings? is No, the Summary reports wall-level demands and capacities for the full wall section:
  • Axial Demand vs Factored Axial Capacity, Considering Axial Demand (Pu)
  • Moment Demand vs Moment Capacity, Considering Axial Demand (Pu)
  • In-Plane Shear Demand vs In-Plane Shear Capacity Summary panel for a solid wall showing axial, moment, and in-plane shear demands with design capacities
Walls with openingsWhen Has Openings? is Yes, governing checks move to the pier level:
  • Piers Design Demands (Factored Forces): factored axial, shear, and moment for every pier on every story.
  • Piers Capacities: design shear and moment strength plus pass/fail checks (✅ Vu ≤ ΦVn and ✅ Mu ≤ ΦMn) for each pier.
  • Story and Pier selectors at the top of the sheet filter the Interaction Diagram and summary demands for one pier at a time.
  • Warnings appear in Summary when one or more piers fail shear or flexure design checks. Piers design demands and capacities tables showing factored forces and shear and flexure pass/fail checks per pier
Open Segmented Method Analysis (Piers) in Detailed view for pier geometry, stiffness distribution, and tributary assignments.
Switch to Detailed using the toggle at the top of the calculator to see every intermediate step and the relevant TMS 402-22 clause for each check.
Reading the diagramsThe Interaction Diagram plots the moment-axial capacity envelope. Each LRFD load combination appears as a point. Points inside the envelope correspond to passing rows in Interaction Utilization Check. For walls with openings, use the Story and Pier selectors to view the diagram for an individual pier segment.Toggle Interaction Diagram between Design (factored ΦPn and ΦMn) and Nominal (unfactored Pn and Mn) capacity when reviewing pier or wall results.Interaction diagram for a selected story and pier showing design capacity envelope and slenderness effectThe Shear Wall Diagram shows story heights, opening locations, and pier layout based on Masonry Properties and Location of Wall Openings inputs. Update the diagram by changing opening geometry or story count.Shear wall diagram showing story heights, opening locations, and applied loads at each level

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Troubleshooting

Check the validation message next to the field. Common causes include invalid opening geometry, bar spacings outside TMS limits for the selected Shear Wall Designation, or story load entries that conflict with Number of Stories.For openings, also check that openings stay inside the wall bounds, do not overlap, and align vertically across stories. Merge edge-touching or adjacent openings into a single wider opening.
CMU openings must share the same Distance to Left of Opening and Opening Width at every story where they occur. Use Story Number = All when the same layout repeats on every floor, or verify that story-specific rows match horizontally.
Open Piers Capacities in Detailed view to find the governing pier and story. Increase pier width by reducing opening size, add reinforcement, or review Pier Boundary Condition and Vertical Reinforcement Opening Edge Distance (Cover).
Seismic Design Category filters available designations per TMS 402/602-22 Section 7.3.2. Open Design Conditions and the Loads section to confirm SDC and entered seismic loads.
Open that check in Detailed view to see which inputs feed the calculation. Summary rows link to the governing section. Use the input list above to find the corresponding fields in the sheet.

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Common questions

Strength Design (LRFD) per TMS 402/602-22. Load and resistance factors follow ASCE 7 load combinations; masonry resistance is computed from nominal strengths reduced by the applicable phi factor.
Masonry type (clay or concrete), CMU size, compressive strength (f’m), grout condition (partial or full), bar size and spacing for vertical and horizontal reinforcement, wall height, number of stories, axial and lateral loads per floor level, and Seismic Design Category.
In-plane shear capacity (masonry plus reinforcement, per Section 9.3.3.1.2), moment-axial force interaction including P-delta effects, the ductility limit on maximum flexural reinforcement (Section 9.3.5.6.1), and SDC-based seismic detailing for minimum boundary bar sizes and maximum spacing.
Yes, the segmented pier method handles walls with openings. The calculator divides the wall into piers and analyzes each segment for the governing demands before combining results.
The calculator automatically filters available wall types based on the Seismic Design Category you enter, so only code-permitted configurations appear for your project’s SDC. For SDC A and B, Ordinary is available; higher SDCs require Intermediate or Special.
Yes, lateral loads can be linked directly from the Wind and Seismic analysis calculators in the same project. When wind speed or seismic parameters change in an upstream calculation, the linked wall demands update automatically across all affected stories.