Study On Seismic Behavior Of Steel Plate Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls

The composite steel and concrete structural system is such an innovative type of structure that takes advantage of both steel structure and reinforced concrete structure. Composite construction in steel and concrete has been increasingly used as a primary structural member in high-rise and even ultra-high-rise buildings subjected to seismic loading for its performance characteristics including high capacity in strength, stiffness and ductility. Recently, solid structural steel plate has been introduced into the composite wall systems, namely "Composite Steel Plate Shear Wall", which was put forward by Prof. Astaneh-Asl. However, few researches have been conducted in the field of both academic and practical projects, especially in China. In order for a better understanding of the structural behavior of this composite shear wall and at the same time laying the foundation for rational design procedures, it is necessary to research on a series of such members with variation in material and geometric parameters, and detailing as well. The thesis presented herein is the result of the efforts devoted to developing the composite shear wall with steel plate in practical design and construction with methods of both experimental research and computational simulation.A total of 16 specimens were designed for the cyclic experiments of the composite shear wall, termed here as, "Steel Plate Reinforced Concrete Shear Wall". Such seismic behaviors as carrying capacity, deformation capacity and energy dissipation capacity are evaluated in light of experimental observation and findings, consisting of failure pattern, hysterics loops, skeleton curves, ductility index and viscous damping coefficient, and etc. The combination of the following parameters are varied so as to compare their influence on structural response of the walls: the aspect ratio, thickness of the wall, thickness of the steel plate, and shear connections like ties passing through holes in the steel plate and studs welded on the steel plate. Another major objective of this project is to conduct cyclic testing of both traditional reinforced concrete shear walls and innovative composite members, which therefore offers comparative analytical results for further information concerning effectiveness and potential of SPRCWs. In addition, cyclic behavior of SPRCWs is concluded in the form of mathematic expressions by the tool of linear regression method, which will potentially provide numerical guidelines for structural nonlinear analysis in the future. The formula for calculating maximum shear capacity of SPRCWs is also put forward according to the experimental results and thus can be applied for design code.Throughout this thesis, a software package called DIANA, which is rarely applied in China but chosen for its powerful capabilities to analyze reinforced concrete problems, is used to solve nonlinear problems by means of finite element method. A set of element models and constitutive formulations are defined to build up the specimen models under both axial compression and cyclic loading in accordance to the DIANA manuals and references. The model is validated through a comprehensive verification study where results obtained from the model are compared to test results, in the form of hysteretic curves. It is found that the model is capable of simulating pre-peak strength stages, but slightly deviates in post-peak strength cycles. Parametric analysis is also carried out for the compressive ratio and concrete strength value. A review of the aspects of nonlinear modeling is discussed, which can provide reference for DIANA application in our country.Finally, conclusions drawn from this research on seismic behavior of "Steel Plate Reinforced Concrete Shear Wall" are summarized and recommendations about future design procedures on this new type of structure are made. Additionally, the problems requiring further studies are discussed, which will lend great assistance to in-depth research on the related topic.