Study on the buckling behavior of steel plate composite walls with diamond arranged studs under axial compression

Abstract

In this paper, ten steel plate composite wall specimens with studs in a diamond arrangement and a rectangular arrangement, and one parallel specimen with steel-bars trusses were tested under axial compression. The buckling stress of steel plate and the load-displacement curves for experimental parameters, including solder joint spacing-to-thickness ratio, spacing ratio, stud arrangement shape and connector type, are analyzed. With the solder joint spacing-to-thickness ratio decreasing, both the axial compressive strength of specimens and buckling stress of steel plates increase. Based on the test, the finite element models with the studs simulated as the solid element to consider the contact between concrete and studs are established and validated against the test results. The parametric analysis about the buckling stress of steel plate and stress state of studs are both conducted involving the solder joint spacing-to-thickness ratio and initial geometrical defect. When the increase in the initial geometrical defect coefficient, the outward and average buckling stresses of steel plate decrease, but the maximum tensile stress of the studs first increases then decreases and does not exceed the yield stress of studs. The equations for predicting the buckling stress of steel plates are proposed, providing the reference for the design of steel plate composite walls.