Hybrid Coupled Walls with Replaceable Shear Links: Technical Solution and Seismic Performance of a 3D Multi‐Story Building

As recent research findings evidenced a significant potential of the steel‐concrete hybrid coupled wall (HCW) systems, further research activities are still needed for addressing particular issues and for developing advancements in the analysis, design, and detailing. These aspects are currently being addressed within the ongoing European research project “HYCAD”, which also represents the research framework of the current study. This paper investigates through a set of nonlinear static and dynamic analyses the behavior and the seismic performance of a newly introduced steel‐concrete HCW system. In particular, a case‐study was carried out on a 3D multi‐story building structure with perimeter lateral load resisting frames, each composed of: (i) a HCW, i.e. a steel‐concrete composite wall coupled to steel columns through a set of replaceable steel shear links; (ii) a moment resisting frame (MRF). Beside a brief state of the art, a description of the research framework and the case‐study structural system, the current paper makes an overview of the following: (i) experimental program on components; (ii) proposed technical solution for connecting the replaceable dissipative shear links to the composite wall; (iii) experimental test set‐up; (iv) response of the shear links based on pretest FE investigations; (v) seismic demand in terms of rotation for the shear links.