Hysteretic analysis of thin steel plate shear walls

Thin steel plate shear walls (TSPSWs) are especially concerned due to the economic factor and excellent energy dissipation capacity. TSPSWs commonly define as steel plate with height-to-thickness ratio over 300. The post-buckling capacity, deformability and energy dissipation capacity of TSPSWs are now accepted by structural engineers. This brings about evident economic benefit. This paper presents a finite element analysis of TSPSWs under cyclic loading. The calculated results are compared with experimental results to validate its accuracy. Then based on the finite element model, the influence of height-to-thickness ratio and span-to-height ratio on the hysteretic behavior of TSPSWs is analyzed. Also, the influence of column moment rigidity on the development of tension field is studied. At last, a new simplified Combined Strip Model is introduced which is suitable for the hysteretic analysis of TSPSWs. Based on the Combined Strip Model, a formula for calculating shear strength is proposed, which considers the compression effects of TSPSWs.