Behavior of Double Skin Composite Wall Subjected to In-Plane Cyclic Loading

Abstract

Structural walls have long been used as an efficient lateral forceresisting system for buildings. Although, traditionally, walls have been constructed with reinforced concrete, steel plate walls are a promising alternative. Steel plate walls can reduce the weight of the structure, increase the usable floor area by the use of relatively thin walls, and enable rapid construction. Three types of steel plate walls have been studied: framed steel plate wall Fig. 1 a , Driver et al. 1998 , Park et al. 2007 , profiled composite framed wall Fig. 1 b , Hossain and Wright 2004a,b,c, 2005 , and double skin composite wall Fig. 1 c , Wright et al. 1991a,b . The framed steel plate wall comprises a steel moment frame and an infill steel plate. The profiled composite framed wall comprises a boundary steel frame, profiled steel sheets connected to the steel frame, and infill concrete. Experimental tests were performed for the framed steel plate wall and the profiled composite framed wall. Based on the results, analysis and design methods have been developed. A double skin composite wall comprises two steel plates connected by tie bars Wright et al. 1991a,b and an infill of concrete. The double skin composite wall is a good choice when thin and uniform wall thickness is required. The composite action of the concrete and steel plates provides strength and stiffness for the wall. The filled concrete prevents early buckling of the steel plates, while the steel plates are used as the formwork for the concrete filler during construction. Wright et al. 1991a tested double skin composite beams and columns subjected to static loading. Based on their test results, they developed design methods for double skin composite members, which are similar to the design methods used for doubly reinforced concrete members Wright et al. 1991b . The local buckling of the steel plate skins and the shear strength of the tie bars connecting the steel plate skins have been evaluated by Wright et al. 1991b , Wright 1995 , and Liang et al. 2004 . Xie and Chapman 2006 developed detailed design methods for double skin composite beams subjected to static loading and fatigue loading. These previous studies focused on double skin composite beams and columns. In the present study, we investigated the structural capacity of double skin composite walls as a lateral force-resisting system. Cyclic tests were performed for both slender isolated walls and coupled walls. The seismic resistance of the walls including the load-carrying capacity and ductility was evaluated.