Cyclic shear performance of built-up double-corrugated steel plate shear walls: Experiment and simulation

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growing need for prefabricated modular buildings. Steel plate shear walls are widely used as the lateral load-resistant member in the volumetric modular unit of these buildings. Compared to the flat steel plate shear wall, the double-corrugated steel plate shear wall (DCPSW) possesses better out-of-plane stability and shear resistance when their thicknesses are identical. Up to now, studies on DCPSWs are still limited and the shear behaviour of double-corrugated steel plates in DCPSWs needs to be deeply understood. This paper presents experimental and numerical studies on the double-corrugated steel plate in a novel prefabricated DCPSW. Seven specimens were tested under cyclic pure shear loads. The experimental results were analysed and discussed. A finite element model of the double-corrugated steel plate was developed and verified by the experimental data. A parametric study was conducted to further examine the effects of important parameters, such as the aspect ratio, the corrugation height, the corrugation length and the bolt space. It is obtained that the failure mode of the plate is related to the corrugation height, which also affects the ultimate shear resistance and ductility. Reliable bolt connection in the interface is important to sustain the out-of-plane stiffness and shear resistance of the plate after buckling. The double-corrugated plate has a stable energy dissipation capacity and a better shear stiffness than the single-corrugated plate.