Effect of Different Infill Types on the Cyclic Behavior of Steel Plate Shear Walls

The steel plate shear wall (SPSW) is a prevalent lateral load-resisting system in high-rise steel buildings. Comprising a boundary frame and an infill plate, its performance is the focus of this study. This work aims to investigate the effects of different infill plate types of identical weight and boundary frame characteristics on the seismic behavior of SPSWs. A numerical method is proposed to enable a comprehensive comparison of the seismic behavior of different SPSW types of equal weight. The model is validated using previously published numerical and experimental works. The study examines unstiffened (USPSW), stiffened (SSPSW), and corrugated steel plate shear walls (CSPSW). The effects of boundary frame stiffness were studied, with key performance metrics, such as load-carrying capacity, stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity, analyzed in detail. It is found that SSPSWs exhibit superior seismic behavior compared to USPSWs and CSPSWs. The load-carrying capacity of SSPSWs is approximately 14% and 24% higher than that of USPSWs and CSPSWs, respectively. USPSWs demonstrate greater sensitivity to boundary frame stiffness than CSPSWs.