Analytical study of the effects of opening characteristics and plate thickness on the performance of sinusoidal and trapezoidal corrugated steel plate shear walls

Abstract

Corrugated thin steel plates are common elements to transfer lateral forces to the structural systems. These plates can be placed horizontally as diaphragms or vertically as shear walls. It is necessary sometimes to have openings in diaphragms or shear walls, as these openings affect the stiffness and ductility of the system for lateral load distribution. In this research, the effects of openings with specific locations in shear wall systems are considered. It has been noted that many researchers have studied the effects of openings in shear wall systems – however, none have specifically evaluated the effects due to the opening's geometry and location, and the plate's geometry and thickness concurrently. The current work explores the aforementioned points using ABAQUS software to model thin steel shear walls with openings under seismic load conditions. Trapezoidal and sinusoidal corrugated steel plates with two different thicknesses are considered. The square and circular openings are investigated. Also, the performance of the steel shear walls versus the location of the opening is studied. The results showed that increasing the thickness of the corrugated steel plate would increase the loading capacity. Also, a square perforation reduces the loading capacity of the shear wall as compared to a circular perforation.