Numerical Study on Seismic Behavior of Composite Shear Walls with Steel-Encased Profiles Subjected to Different Axial Load

Abstract

Shear walls are lateral load–resisting systems that provide lateral strength and stiffness in order to reduce the horizontal sway of a building. Over recent years, composite shear walls with steel-encased profiles (CSRCWs) have attracted increasing attention. This paper aims to numerically investigate the impact of axial loads on the seismic behavior of shear walls. Numerical modeling was carried out via OpenSees. Five composite shear walls with different shapes of steel-encased profile and one typical reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall subjected to lateral cyclic displacements and different levels of axial load in the range of 10%–40% of axial load capacity were investigated. The findings revealed that increasing the axial compressive load ratio has a negative effect on the seismic behavior of shear walls. In addition, the results showed that shear walls with steel-encased profiles have more flexibility, stiffness, and energy dissipation compared with typical RC shear walls under the same axial load.