Development of loading protocols for experimental testing of double skin composite wall

Abstract

Double skin composite wall (DSCW) is an innovative composite shear wall taking the advantage of concrete and steel components, which has gained popularity among high-rise steel buildings worldwide. Quasi-static testing is used widely for evaluating the seismic behavior of DSCW components. The selection of appropriate loading protocols is critical for obtaining an accurate assessment of seismic performance. There is a need that the loading protocols subjected to a specimen are supposed to reasonably reflect its realistic seismic demands under earthquakes. In this paper, the loading protocols which could represent the seismic demand of DSCW members under real earthquake excitations (far-field and near-fault earthquakes) are proposed. The refined numerical simulation model of DSCW, which could capture the nonlinear behavior of DSCW under hysteretic loads, is presented. The methodology for developing loading protocols is introduced in detail, and all necessary assumptions and decisions of the development are discussed. The results show that the near-fault earthquakes tend to impose high deformation demands on DSCW structures than far-field ground motions. The damage of the DSCW structure is mainly caused by cumulative deformations under far-field earthquakes, while a few large excursions would induce the damage under near-fault earthquakes. The CDFs of proposed loading protocols have a considerable agreement with the analysis results, which indicated that the loading protocols enable an accurate assessment of DSCW components.