Performance and strength analysis of shear walls with vertical steel encased profiles under tensile-shear load

Abstract

This study investigates the behavior of composite steel reinforced concrete (SRC) walls under tension-shear (TS) coupled stress state during earthquakes. Quasi-static tests on five SRC shear walls with a shear span ratio of 1.42 were conducted. The experimental results demonstrated that the SRC shear wall retained its high shear capacity and good ductility in shear failure mode. The stiffness analysis revealed that the concrete provided most axial stiffness before cracking but gradually withdrew from the work as the cracks developed and extended rapidly in the tension loading phase. And the effective lateral stiffness was approximately 10%–15% of the elastic lateral stiffness. Parametric analysis was conducted on the shear capacity, including the axial tensile ratio, steel profiles content, concrete strength grade, and horizontal distributed bar diameter. Additionally, the predictive formulas for the shear capacity in the codes of various countries were compared. It was found that the European and American code inadequately predict the shear capacity of specimens, and the Chinese code has higher safety. These findings can provide references for the practical engineering applications of SRC shear walls in earthquake-prone regions.