Numerical and parametric studies on SCS sandwich walls subjected to in-plane shear

Abstract

Steel-concrete-steel (SCS) sandwich walls with J-hooks (SCSSWJs) exhibit wide potential applications in both civil and offshore constructions. This paper firstly developed nonlinear finite element models (NFEMs) for SCSSWJs. Two different NFEMs, namely FEM-I and FEM-II, were developed that adopted different simplifying methods on modelling complex J-hooks. Accuracies of these two NFEMs were validated by 11 tests on SCSSWJs under in-plane shear. The validations showed that these two NFEMs were capable of simulating structural behaviours of SCSSWJs subjected to in-plane shear. The FEM-II was finally adopted for the parametric studies considering both numerical accuracy and simulation efficiency. The studied parameters in the parametric studies included concrete core strength, J-hook spacing, thickness of faceplate, wall thickness of steel tube in edge column, and axial force ratio. The effects of these parameters on ultimate lateral shear resistance of SCSSWJs were detailed reported and discussed. Theoretical models have also been proposed to predict the ultimate lateral shear resistance of SCSSWJs. Their capabilities on the predictions of ultimate lateral shear resistance of SCSSWJs have been checked through validations against 22 test results and 60 FE simulated results.