Structural performance of profiled composite wall under in-plane cyclic loading

• Experimental investigations on novel composite walls under cyclic loading.
• Use of ductile engineered cementitious composite in the wall system.
• Analyse hysteric responses of load, deformation and stress development.
• Performance evaluation based on strength, ductility & energy absorbing capacities.

This paper presents the behaviour of a composite walling system consisting of two skins of profiled steel sheeting and an infill of concrete under in-plane cyclic shear loading. Double skin composite wall (DSCW) specimens with overall wall dimensions of 1626 mm high by 720 mm wide were tested. Steel sheet–concrete connections were provided by intermediate fasteners along the height and width of the wall to generate composite action. Two types of concrete namely self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and highly ductile engineered cementitious composite (ECC) as well as cold formed profiled steel sheet having same geometry but with two different yield strengths were incorporated to investigate their influence on the composite wall behaviour. The benefit of using mild over high strength steel was demonstrated through more ductile failure. Overall, ECC wall showed better performance showing lower stiffness degradation and higher displacement ductility as well as higher energy ductility (based on hysteretic loop) compared to its SCC counterpart.