Numerical Analysis of Slender Steel Shear Panels for Assessing Design Formulas

In the framework of passive control devices for the seismic protection of new and existing buildings, large attention is getting more focused on Steel Plate Shear Walls (SPSW). Such a system, which is characterized by the use of slender steel panels, has been largely adopted in the last few years both in the North America and Japan. The structural behavior of slender shear walls is strongly conditioned by buckling phenomena, which may have a significant influence also on the ultimate strength of the system, despite the development of stable post-critical behavior due to tension field mechanism. In order to assess the influence of the geometry on the structural behavior of shear plates, in this paper, the theoretical behavior of steel panels in shear, based on existing simplified methodologies (PFI method and strip model theory) is analyzed and then compared to the results obtained by an extensive numerical study carried out by means of accurate finite element models. The comparison between theoretical and numerical results has been developed with reference to different values of the thickness and by varying the aspect ratio of the plate. In addition, the influence of intermediate stiffeners is investigated. On the whole, the obtained results provide useful information for the correct design of slender steel plates in shear to be used as stiffening and strengthening devices in new and existing framed structures.