Behavior of semi-supported steel shear walls: Experimental and numerical simulations

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study of semi-supported steel plate shear walls which are connected to frame beams and a pair of secondary columns. As the infill plates are not connected to the frame primary columns, the large stresses due to tension field, causing the formation of plastic hinges in the primary columns, are avoided. In order to intensively investigate the structural mechanism of this new type of shear walls, eight specimens were tested under reversed cyclic lateral load. The effects of four perforation diameters as well as two slenderness ratios of infill plates on the seismic behavior of SSSWs were studied experimentally and numerically. All the specimens exhibited satisfactory cyclic inelastic and energy dissipation, thereby indicating an alternative to traditional steel shear walls. Based on the test results, the strength, stiffness, ductility factor and energy absorption characteristics of the specimens were substantially reduced in specimens with openings. Maximum strength reduction, stiffness loss and ductility deterioration in the perforated specimens were 42%, 61%, and 33%, respectively. Deteriorating pinched hysteresis was observed due to the occurrence of cyclic out-of-plane buckling and tension field action. In addition to the test program, complex elastoplastic FE models of the eight specimens were developed to investigate in detail the cyclic behavior of semi-supported steel plate shear walls. Excellent agreement was observed between the experimental and numerical results.