The Effect of Diagonal Stiffeners on the Behaviour of Stiffened Steel Plate Shear Wall

Abstract

In the current study, the nonlinear behavior of the stiffened steel plate shear wall with diagonal stiffeners is numerically studied. After nonlinear pushover analysis, the finite element modeling results are compared with un-stiffened and stiffened steel plate shear walls, with the horizontal and vertical stiffeners. First, a finite element model of steel plate shear wall is developed and validated by using Abaqus software. After assuring the behavior of the boundary elements (beams and columns) and the infill steel plate, the finite element models of the steel shear walls are developed and analyzed using nonlinear pushover method. Steel plate shear wall models are designed according to AISC 341-10 Seismic Provisions. Finally, the obtained results and the behavior of finite element models are compared with each other. The important seismic parameters (initial elastic stiffness, ultimate shear strength, and ductility) are calculated and percentage of changes are discussed. Based on the results, the performance of steel plate shear walls with diagonal stiffeners enhances as compared with unstiffened steel plate shear walls.