FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF INNOVATIVE COUPLED SHEAR WALL SYSTEM WITH REPLACEABLE ENERGY DISSIPATION COUPLING BEAM

An innovative hybrid coupled shear wall system is proposed, which consists of mild steel damping plate in the center of the coupling beam and steel elements at both ends of the coupling beam with concealed columns of shear walls to form a new-type lateral resistant system. The finite element model for this hybrid coupled shear wall was established via OpenSees software to investigate the influence of steel elements in coupling beam and mild steel damping plate on the seismic performance of coupled shear wall system. For the purpose of comparison, the other two coupled shear wall systems were also analyzed. One is traditional reinforced concrete coupled shear wall and another one is the coupled shear wall system with concealed steel column at both ends of the wall and concealed steel within coupling beam. The results show that the new hybrid coupled shear walls can withstand significant deformation. Energy dissipation capacity and bearing capacity of the new shear wall is more excellent comparing with the traditional reinforced concrete coupling beam. Furthermore, vulnerable region of the new coupled shear wall is damping plate located in the central coupling beam, which is easy to be replaced.