A Theoretical Prediction for Shear Capacity of Cellular Solid Shear Walls

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) nowadays are accepted as an efficient lateral force-resisting system, especially for high-rise structures, because of their large initial stiffness and high level of energy absorption. There are different types of SPSWs based on their infill plate type. Cellular solid shear walls (CSSWs) are innovative steel shear walls filled with cellular solids. CSSWs can be useful for special architectural designs because of their unique appearance and openings. Whereas many studies have been reported on the SPSWs, there is a shortage of studies about CSSWs. This study presents the results of a detailed, numerical parametric analysis of triangular and quadrilateral CSSWs under monotonic loading in terms of their shear capacity, initial stiffness, and ductility, and also compares them with SPSWs. The investigated parameters are the size of cells, the cellular solid depth, and the cell wall thickness. The study results indicate that at the same capacity, the quadrilateral cellular solids are far lighter than triangular ones, making the quadrilateral CSSWs more suitable for use. In addition, the findings reveal that the performance of CSSWs is good enough to be used as a lateral force-resisting system in buildings. Finally, a practical procedure for the strength capacity of CSSWs based on the theoretical strip model is proposed.