Experimental study on cyclic behavior of stiffened perforated steel shear panels

Abstract The use of steel shear walls in buildings has recently received much attention as a system resisting against lateral loads imposed by earthquakes. An opening in the steel shear wall may cause adverse effects on seismic behavior such as a decrease in strength, initial stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of the shear wall. Proper stiffeners can be installed around the openings to overcome these drawbacks. Seven steel shear panels with and without circular openings in the center of the panels with a diameter to width ratio of 20% and 35% with horizontal and vertical stiffeners recommended in the AISC 341-16 Regulation as well as diamond-shaped stiffener were tested under cyclic loading. The seismic parameters of the specimens, including strength, initial stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation, were determined using hysteresis diagrams obtained from experiments. Horizontal and vertical stiffeners improved the seismic performance of the shear panel appropriately. The specimens with diamond-shaped stiffeners showed an appropriate seismic performance before rupture on the plate in the vicinity of the lower corner of stiffener on the welded area during high loading cycles. Accordingly, the use of diamond-shaped stiffeners around the opening is not recommended in structural systems with high ductility demand.