Experimental investigations on the seismic behavior of composite steel concrete coupled shear walls with central openings

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study performed on concrete structural walls subjected to vertical and cyclic lateral loads. The purpose of the study is to experimentally investigate the seismic behavior and performance of composite steel–concrete coupled walls with regular openings and conventional reinforced coupling beams. The paper also addresses the manner in which the use of steel fibers reinforced concrete and various composite steel–concrete connections influence the hysteretic performance of the walls. Four of the total five experimental specimens had centrally aligned openings, while the fifth one was designed as a solid wall and served as reference. The experimental specimens present various cross-sectional arrangements, thus the testing matrix comprises of a total of three composite steel–concrete walls with central openings (CSRCW) with steel profiles partially embedded on the edges, one conventional reinforced concrete wall (RCW) with central openings and the solid specimen, which is also a composite steel–concrete wall. Based on the experimental results, it was observed that by embedding supplementary steel fibers in the concrete matrix, the ductility loss due to openings could be regained and significantly improved. The composite connection between structural steel and concrete web panel of the walls could successfully resist until the specimens reached the ultimate failure. The paper therefore concludes on the performance of various structural solutions and details by highlighting strengths and weaknesses of the systems.