Strength design of T-shaped stainless steel core plate wall under axial compression

Abstract Stainless steel core plate wall (SSCPW), as an innovative type of wall, consists of stainless steel plates that are connected by orthogonally arranged stainless steel tubes. In this study, the axial load-bearing capacity of the T-shaped SSCPW was investigated experimentally and numerically. The experimental results indicated that local buckling occurred in the stainless steel plates although lateral restraining to them were provided by the stainless steel tubes. Finite element models of T-shaped SSCPW were established and validated by the experimental results. Moreover, the nonlinear finite element analysis was used to analyze the influence of different design parameters of T-shape SSCPW including height-width ratio, stainless steel plate thickness, stainless steel tube diameter, stainless steel tube spacing on the axial load-bearing capacities of T-shaped SSCPW. The empirical formulas for calculating the ultimate bearing capacity of T-shaped SSCPW were proposed. The bearing capacities of T-shaped SSCPW specimens calculated by the formulas are in good agreement with those from experimental results and FE results, verifying the safety and effectiveness of the strength design formula of the T-shaped SSCPW.