Experimental Studies on Cyclic Behavior of Corrugated Steel Plate Shear Walls

Corrugated steel plate shear wall (CoSPSW) is a lateral load–resisting system in which corrugated infill steel wall panels are embedded inside a steel boundary frame. Compared to flat steel plate shear walls (SPSWs), elastic buckling capacity and lateral stiffness could be enhanced considerably, and gravity loads could be avoided when the load is perpendicular to the rib, or resisted when the load is parallel to the rib, which solves the long-lasting problem of flat wall buckling under gravity loads during construction. Cyclic quasi-static tests were conducted on three, 1/3-scale, 2-story, single-bay CoSPSW specimens with different corrugation orientation and configuration. All specimens showed highly ductile behavior and stable cyclic postbuckling performance. Compared to the SPSW specimen, CoSPSW specimens had much higher lateral stiffness and elastic buckling capacity, with less pinching in the hysteric curves. Different from the tension field action mechanism in SPSW, the lateral load–resisting mechanism in CoSPSWs was shear yielding, or inelastic shear buckling, depending on the corrugation configuration. The experimental results and their implication on seismic design are summarized and discussed.