Experimental and Numerical Analyses of Perforated Corrugated Steel Shear Walls

This study presents an evaluation of the seismic performance of corrugated steel shear walls (CSSWs) with openings. Cyclic experimental tests were conducted on CSSW specimens featuring square and circular openings, with a comparison made to infill CSSWs. Additionally, numerical analysis was performed to investigate various opening configurations. The results indicate that CSSWs with openings experienced a maximum strength reduction of approximately 10% when compared to infill walls. Furthermore, placing the opening at the center of the wall resulted in an elastic stiffness decrease of approximately 23%. The presence of openings also mitigated the pinching effect observed in cyclic responses. The numerical analysis further revealed that incorporating stiffeners around the openings significantly enhanced the seismic performance of CSSWs. Stiffened openings demonstrated improvements of approximately 38% in ultimate strength, 26% in stiffness, 25% in ductility reduction factor, and 15% in equivalent viscous damping ratio when compared to unstiffened openings. To further investigate the practical application, the study numerically evaluated 3-story frames with perforated CSSWs under monotonic loading. The analysis demonstrated the beneficial impact of opening stiffeners, as stiffened openings exhibited increased ductility, loading capacity, initial stiffness, and response behavior factor of approximately 13.5%, 9.0%, 20.5%, and 30%, respectively, when compared to unstiffened perforated CSSWs. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of the seismic behavior of CSSWs with openings and highlights the advantages of incorporating stiffeners around the openings to enhance their structural performance.