Abstract

Composite plate shear wall (C-PSW) is a lateral resisting system primarily used to resist wind and earthquake loadings. A composite steel plate shear wall system consists of a steel plate shear wall with reinforced concrete panels attached to one side or both sides of the steel infill plates by bolts or shear studs. Research on composite plate shear walls is still in the initial stage and a significant amount of research is needed before it can be adopted by the Canadian steel design code, CAN/CSA S16-09. This study evaluates performances of one 6-storey and one 4-storey C-PSW under spectrum compatible seismic records for Vancouver. A nonlinear finite element model which includes both material and geometric nonlinearities is used for this study. The model is first validated using the results from a quasi-static test. The study describes details of the validation of the finite element model by comparing the results from quasi-static experimental program with finite element analysis results. Excellent correlation between the test results and the finite element analysis results is observed. With the validated finite element model, the performance of 4-storey and 6-storey C-PSWs were studied under spectrum-compatible seismic records. Nonlinear seismic analysis shows that C-PSWs, in high seismic region, behave in a stable and ductile manner. Dynamic analysis showed that major portion of the shear is taken by the steel infill plate, which confirms the intended design philosophy of C-PSWs.
A series of C-PSWs with different geometry were designed and analysed to estimate the fundamental periods. It is observed that the current code formula predicts periods that are generally shorter than the periods obtained from finite element analysis. In addition, the effectiveness of a simple shear flexure cantilever formulation for determining fundamental periods of C-PSWs was studied.

Shear studs spacing and concrete panel thickness are two important parameters that influence the performance of the composite plate shear wall. Currently there are no guidelines on what would be the minimum or maximum spacing of the shear studs. A rational method based on classical buckling theory of stiffened plate for determining shear stud spacing and thickness for the reinforced concrete panel is presented in this research.