Structural Performance of an Innovative Composite Shear Wall System: Experimental Results

Shear wall systems made of reinforced concrete are widely used in modern design practice for the protection of structures against earthquake loads. As a result of their high stiffness the inter-storey drift and the associated damage to non-structural elements are minimized. They are however characterized by critical drawbacks that limit their use, such as the low dissipative capacity of the concrete wall that causes high seismic force and high overturning moment at the wall base foundation. The present study is part of a European research project, INNO-HYCO [1] (INNOvative HYbrid and COmposite steel-concrete structural solutions for building in seismic areas) with the aim of the examination of the structural behaviour of composite (steel/concrete) shear wall systems. The structural behaviour of an innovative shear wall system is examined both experimentally and numerically. The shear wall system studied consists of reinforced concrete infill walls surrounded by a steel frame which contains energy dissipation replaceable elements. In this paper a detailed description of large-scale experiments on the composite shear wall system is presented. The shear wall system is subjected to cyclic lateral load patterns until failure and the effectiveness of its design evaluated. The cyclic behaviour of the dissipative elements, of the concrete wall and of other main components, is studied. The results obtained will be used to calibrate and to verify the effectiveness of the numerical model within the European Project INNO-HYCO.