Investigation of the infill plate boundary condition effects on the overall performance of the steel plate shear walls with circular openings

Abstract Steel Plate Shear Wall (SPSW) is considered as one of the efficient lateral loading resisting systems used in areas with high seismicity. The present study investigates the behavior of plates with circular cut-outs under different infill plate boundary conditions. The effect of opening dimensions on the behavior of steel plate shear walls, boundary element stiffness and steel infill plate interconnection are studied computationally. The prediction equations for steel plate shear wall systems with circular openings are proposed based on the regression analysis. For this purpose, experimental laboratory tests were initially verified under cyclic loading condition, and the corresponding modes of behavior are captured and validated. Subsequently, more than 30 numerical models with different boundary elements and openings’ conditions are constructed and compared under cyclic loading to obtain the backbone curves. The results indicate that any increase in the opening dimensions leads to the reduction of the ultimate strength, stiffness, ductility, and energy absorption in proportion to the effective wall height. Furthermore, any increase in the stiffness of the SPSW’s beams and columns improves the overall hysteric performance of the steel plate shear wall. It is shown that the infill plate interconnection conditions, specifically with the beam member, has a significant effect on the tension field action development inside of the infill plate leading to proper post-buckling resistance of the steel plate shear walls.