Analysis and design of a novel segmented energy absorbing steel plate shear wall system

A steel plate shear wall (SPSW) system capable of providing strength and stiffness under normal load conditions and dissipating energy under extreme load conditions is proposed. The infill plate of this proposed Segmented Energy Absorbing SPSW (SEA-SPSW) system consists of two trapezoidal plate segments. For each plate segment, one edge is connected to the beam while the opposite edge is joined together by steel strips. The steel strips are held together using high strength bolts with long-slotted holes. Under normal load conditions, the SEA-SPSW behaves like a conventional SPSW. However, under extreme load conditions, the plate segments will slide between the steel strips and dissipate energy through friction. Because the proposed system does not rely on yielding or buckling to dissipate energy, it can be reset and reused after a severe load event. The behavior of this SEA-SPSW is studied using finite element and compared to an all steel conventional SPSW system. It is found that the proposed system not only helps reduce inter-story displacement, it also offers a desirable equivalent viscous damping ratio as well as a rather favorable energy dissipation to mass ratio.