Ductility and energy dissipation capacity of shear-dominated steel plate walls

An experimental study was performed to investigate the potential maximum ductility and energy dissipation capacity of steel plate walls with thin infill plates. Three specimens of a three-story steel plate wall were tested. A concentrically braced frame (CBF) and a moment-resisting frame (MRF) were also tested for comparison. To maximize the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the steel plate walls, ductile details were used. The test parameters were the aspect ratio of the infill plate and the shear strength of the column. The steel plate walls exhibited much better ductility and energy dissipation capacity as compared to the CBF and MRF. This result indicates that unlike conventional reinforced concrete walls and CBFs, shear-dominated steel plate walls with thin infill plates possess excellent ductility capacity as well as high strength and stiffness. Based on the results of previous studies and the present study, the variations in the ductility and the energy dissipation capacity of the steel plate walls according to the design parameters were investigated.