Finite-element analysis of steel shear walls with low-yield-point steel web plates

Over the past three decades the steel shear wall system has been used to resist lateral loads, especially in high-rise buildings in the USA and Japan. One way to improve the performance of the system is to use different materials. This study involved finite-element analysis of steel shear walls under periodic and uniform loads, with low-yield-point steel used for the web plate and conventional steel selected for the boundary beams and columns. The aim was to achieve a system with effective web-plate performance that did not require stiffeners. The effect of system dimensions, beam stiffness, frame column and web-plate thickness on the periodic and uniform behaviour of the system was observed. It is revealed that steel shear walls with low-yield-point steel web plates exhibit better resistance to cyclic loads with more force absorption by the web plate compared to a conventional steel. Good accordance was found between numerical and theoretical values in the low-yield-point infill system, and excellent deformation capacity was shown.