Practical application of dissipative shear walls in seismic design of steel frames: A comparative study

Non-linear dynamic analyses for investigating the seismic response of moment resisting steel frames having low-yield steel shear walls acting as dissipative devices are presented in the paper. Shear panels are schematised as equivalent bracing elements having a suitable hysteretic behaviour based on a purposely defined analytical model which has been calibrated with available experimental tests. A parametric analysis is therefore carried out for different frame configurations and with reference to a predefined design method. Obtained results show that the considered design procedure is valuable, low-yield steel shear panels providing a remarkable reduction of storey deflection and damage level of primary structure. On the other side, it is highlighted that the impact of shear panels on the seismic response of the whole structure is related to the type of primary structure and in particular to the structural overstrength, which should be accounted for in order to optimise the design of the structure.