New form of perforated steel plate shear wall in simple frames using topology optimization

Abstract

This study presents a practical application of topology optimization (TO) technique to seek the best form of perforated steel plate shear walls (PSPSW) in simple frames. For the numerical investigation, a finite element model is proposed based on the recent particular form of PSPSW that is called the ring-shaped steel plate shear wall. The TO is applied based on the sensitivity analysis to maximize the reaction forces as the objective function considering the fracture tendency. For this purpose, TO is conducted under a monotonic and cyclic loading considering the nonlinear behavior (material and geometry) and buckling. Also, the effect of plate thickness is studied on the TO results. The final material volume of the optimized plate is limited to the material volume of the ring-shaped plate. Finally, an optimized plate is introduced and its nonlinear behavior is investigated under a cyclic and monotonic loading. For a more comprehensive view, the results are compared to the ring-shaped and four usual forms of SPSWs. The material volume of the plate for all the models is the same. The results indicate the strength, load-carrying, and energy dissipation in the optimized plate are increased while the fracture tendency is reduced without changing the material volume.