SEISMIC RESISTANCE OF STEEL PLATE SHEAR WALLS

In recent years, steel plate shear walls have been used in a number of tall buildings, mainly in Japan and North America, to resist lateral forces induced by wind and earthquakes. The perceived advantages of such shear walls, in seismic resistant structures, are enhanced stiffness, strength and ductility, stable hysteretic characteristics and a large capacity for plastic energy absorption. They are also much lighter than equivalent reinforced concrete shear walls, which reduces the dynamic forces and loads on the foundations. Recent experimental and theoretical research into the structural performance of steel plate shear walls is discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the development of theoretical models for representing the hysteretic characteristics, which can be incorporated in nonlinear dynamic analyses of steel plate shear walls subjected to prescribed dynamic loading or ground motion.