Technical Note: Analytical Evaluation of the Vulnerability of Framed Tall Buildings with Steel Plate Shear Wall to Progressive Collapse

In recent decades, vulnerability of tall buildings to unforeseen loads, induced by progressive collapse, has drawn researchers’ attentions. Steel plate shear walls have long been used as a lateral load-resisting system. It is composed of beam and column frame elements, to which infill plates are connected. There is a growing tendency among engineers to design tall buildings using steel plate shear walls. This paper investigates the progressive collapse-resisting capacity of the strip model of steel plate shear wall system compared with X-braced and moment frame system. The 3D models are used to assess the collapse behavior of typical 50-story building models, under sudden loss of elements from the middle and corner of the exterior frame in the story above the ground. The progressive collapse potential of model structures is evaluated by different nonlinear static and dynamic analyses using conventional analysis software. In this study, the vulnerability of candidate structures subjected to progressive collapse is also assessed by a sensitivity index regarding the sensitivity of structures to the dynamic effect induced by progressive collapse. To identify vulnerable members, the resulting actions of two nonlinear and linear static analyses are compared by the factor of redundancy related to the overall strength of the structure. Comparison of the analysis results indicated that in the steel plate shear wall system, the progressive collapse-resisting potential is more than X-braced and moment frame structure. Sensitive index of highly sensitive elements to the dynamic effect stated that in the structural models, beams are significantly more vulnerable in the moment frame than X-braced and SPSW structure. The index depicted that the vulnerability of columns in X-braced and SPSW structure is more than the moment frame structure.