Experimental and theoretical behaviour of composite walling under in-plane shear

The novel form of composite walling system consists of two skins of profiled steel sheeting with an in-fill of concrete. The study of the in-plane shear behaviour of such walls is important for their application as lateral load resisting elements such as: shear or core walls in a steel framed building. This paper presents the results of small-scale model tests and behavioural aspects of the composite wall and its components including load-deflection response, strength, stiffness, failure modes, strain condition and sheet-concrete interaction. The effect of modes application of load (either through both steel and concrete or through concrete only) on the behaviour of composite walls is also investigated. Analytical models for the shear strength and stiffness of the composite walls are developed and the performance of the design equations is validated through comparisons with experimental results. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.