Nonlinear dynamic analysis

of steel plate shear walls

including shear and bending
deformations
S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

School of Engineering, University of Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff, UK

(Received March 1990)

A nonlinear analysis of the dynamic response of thin steel plate shear

walls, based on a finite difference solution of the governing differen-
tial equations of motion, is presented. The equations of motion incor-
porate both shear and overall bending displacements of the shear
wall. The hysteretic characteristics of the individual storeys, incor-
porated in the nonlinear analysis, include the influence of shear buckl-
ing and plastic yielding of the web plate and plastic yielding of the
surrounding frame. The results presented validate the analysis for
elastic response and demonstrate the effectiveness of the hysteretic
characteristics in inhibiting resonance.

Keywords: steel plate shear walls, nonlinear analysis, dynamic

response

The structural elements commonly iased in tall buildings,
to resist lateral forces induced by wind and earthquakes,
are moment resisting frames, braced frames and shear
walls ~. Shear wall systems, which have been built
almost exclusively of reinforced concrete, usually con-
sist of a series of plane walls, often surrounding an
interior service area to form a central core. They are
always heavily reinforced, particularly when used in
seismic regions.
In recent years, steel plate shear walls have been
incorporated in a number of tall buildings, mainly in
Japan and North America I-8. They consist of thin steel
plates, framed by columns and beams, as shown in
Figure l(a). The beneficial properties of steel plate
shear walls are enhanced stiffness, strength and
ductility, stable hysteretic characteristics and a large
capacity for plastic energy absorption.
The majority of the steel plate shear walls constructed
to date have been heavily stiffened, to prevent elastic
shear buckling of the relatively thin web plates. In the
early 1970s Takahashi et al I conducted a series o f
quasi-static cyclic loading tests on one- and two-storey,
stiffened steel plate shear wall panels. All the panels
exhibited adequate ductility during several cycles of
alternating load and the shape of the hysteresis loops was
not affected significantly by the arrangement of the
stiffeners. An elasto-plastic finite element analysis,
based on the assumption that the web plates did not
buckle, showed satisfactory correlation with the test
results.
Recently, Kulak et al. 9'1° reported a comprehensive
experimental and ~eoretical study of the quasi-static
cyclic loading behax;iour of unstiffened steel plate shear
wall panels. The beneficial post-buckled reserve of stiff-
ness and strength and stable hysteretic characteristics of
the thin steel plates, were clearly demonstrated.
While shear walls are invariably designed to remain
elastic under normal service conditions, it is of interest
to examine their performance under extreme forms of
dynamic loading which may induce geometric and
material nonlinearities. Of particular interest is their
response to periodic loading, which may induce
resonance. Under such conditions, the change in stiff-
ness of the structure due to plastic yielding, stable
hysteretic characteristics and plastic energy absorption,
are significant in limiting the maximum amplitude of the
dynamic response.
A theoretical study of the nonlinear dynamic response
of planar steel plate shear walls is presented. The shear
wall is idealized as a vertical cantilever plate girder,
which exhibits both shear and bending deformation. The
coupled nonlinear differential equations of motion are
then derived, and solved in discretized form using a
finite difference time stepping scheme. The hysteretic
characteristics of the individual panals or storeys of the
shear wall, are presented by an approximate elasto-
plastic model, based on quasi-static cyclic loading tests 11.
Solutions are presented for a five-storey steel plate shear
wall subjected to pulse loading and periodic ground
motion.

0141-0296/92/050309-09
© 1992 Butterworth-HeinemannLtd Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5 309
Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

plastic moment of columns forming frame

/ ~ Beam N defined by equation (23)
ratio of plastic strains along panel diagonals
"yy effective post-buckled shear strain of web at
/ / ~ Column yield
/ / / inclination of panel diagonals from horizontal
Od
/ / / " " Steel plate Poisson's ratio
tro uniaxial yield stress
o~ post buckled tension field stress at yield
rc~ critical (buckling) shear stress
b rO yield shear stress
ry post buckled shear stress at yield
4, weighting factor
////////
Structural idealization
a
The thin steel plate shear wall shown in Figure I (a) can
be idealized as a vertical cantilever plate girder, in
which columns and cross-beams of the shear will act as

C Fixed joints
A
the flanges and transverse stiffeners of the plate girder,
respectively.
If the relatively stiff cross-beams and associated floor
slabs are fixed (built in) to the columns and continuous
through adjacent bays of the frame, it may be appro-
priate to assume that the overall bending deformations of
Pinned joints the shear wall are negligible, compared with the shear
deformations illustrated in Figure l(b). However, in
general it is necessary to consider both the shear and
overall bending deformations of the shear wall,
illustrated in Figures 1(c) and (d), in a comprehensive
analysis.

Continuous system
d
Figure 1 Steel plate shear wall (a) construction details (b) shear
The vertical cantilever shown in Figure 2 has massper
deformation (c) shear d e f o r m a t i o n - fixed and pinned joints (d) unit length m and is subjected t o a distrilmt~t, dynamic,
bending deformation - fixed and pinned joints horizontal force p(x, O. The motion of an dement of the
cantilever, length 6x, in the z direction, is described by
the equation
Notation
OF 02W
b width of shear wall p(x, t) + - - = m - - (1)
C curvature OX Ot 2
h thickness of steel plate
k shear stiffness, units of force
critical (buckling) shear coefficient
m, m i mass per unit length and discrete storey mass
p(x, t) time dependent distributed load
Pi discrete storey load
S, S i storey height
~,--,~ M + 6 M
t time
p(x,t) -- F + S F
V velocity
W, displacement and relative storey displacement, 5x
respectively. Superscripts: s, shear, b, bend- 6x
ing. Subscripts: g, ground; w, web; f, frame, p(x
e, limiting elastic; p, plastic F
cross-section area of columns forming frame
Young's modulus
F shear force. Subscripts: wcr, web critical; wu,
web ultimate; fu, frame ultimate
G shear modulus
I second moment of area of shear wall
/i second moment of area of columns forming I I I I
l--

frame Zs W
M moment Figure 2 Vertical cantilever with distributed loading

310 Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5

 Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

in which F is the shear force, w is the total displacement n+2

(shear plus bending_), t is time and a2wlat 2 is the i
acceleration. The total displacement w can be expressed Oi ~ External nodes
as n+l

w = w' + w b (2)

where superscripts s and b denote shear and bending,

respectively. )
Considering the moment equilibrium of the element,
neglecting rotational inertia, gives
= qi / m /

aM ) I s/
F = ~ (3)

It is assumed that the shear force F is proportional to

the gradient of the shear displacement n - 14.

aW s
F = k -- (4)
ax I

where k is the shear stiffness (units of force). The 0

moment M is related to the bending displacement w b by
the equation ~t
-I
0
a2W b
Figure 3 Diacretized model of shear wall
M = -El -- (5)
ax 2

in which E is Young's modulus and I is the second are the height and concentrated mass of the ith storey
moment of area of the shear wall. Hence, substituting
equations (4) and (5) into equation (2) gives
2m i
m= (9)
82w s a4w b (si + 1 + s3
k - - - EI-- (6)
ax 2 ax 4
Similarly, the distributed dynamic loading p ( x , t) can be
assumed to be concentrated at each storey, such that
Substituting F from equation (4) into equation (1)
gives
pi, t
p ( x , t) - (10)
a2W s 82 (Si + 1 + Si)
p(x, t) + k ~ x 2 = m ~-~ (w" + w b) (7)
in which Pi, t is the concentrated dynamic force for the
ith storey at time t and p(x, t) is the average distributed
Alternatively, substituting equation (6) into equation (7) force acting between storeys i - 1 and i + 1.
gives Equations (7) and (8) are singular if a2w'/Ox 2 and
a4wb/ax4 expressed in central f'mite difference form at
04w b a2 time t. This is a consequence of equation (6). It is
p ( x , t) - E1 ax----
T = m fff~ (w s + w b) (8) necessary therefore to express w" and w b as weighted
averages of their values at times t - 6t, t and t + dtt as
follows
Equations (7) and (8) are the coupled differential equa-
tions of motion for the system. When k and E1 are cons- w: - 6 t + dpws + wt~+at
tant, the equations are linear. If, however, k is a function w, = (11)
of the shear displacement (discussed in detail later),
(2 + a)
equation (7) becomes nonlinear.
Wb
w G , + ~w: + Wt+6t
(12)
(2 + ~)
Discrete system
It is now assumed that the mass of the shear wall and in which ¢~ is a weighting factor. The numerical solu-
associated storey masses are concentrated at each storey tions obtained were numerically stable when a value of
(i = 1, 2 . . . . . n) as shown in Figure 3. If si and mi 0 = 0, was assumed. As ~bwas increased, the numerical

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5 311

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

results tended to oscillate about mean displacement

values. Ci- 1 = [ ( E [ ) i ( Wb - - Wb-Si 1)

Substituting equations (9)-(11), with 0 = 0, into

equations (7) and (8) gives (W b Wb ~'~. 2
- (EI)i-i ~ i~_l- _i_-2)} (20)
s, , ,i
2pi.~ + k 02
(S, +1 + Si) ~ O~ ~ (W[_& + O'W[+ft)i Equations ( 1 6 ) - (20) are valid for all time stations, and
in particular for t - 6t and t + 6t in equations (13) and
2m i 02
: - -(si+l + si) at 2 ( w e + W b )i,t (13) (14).
After substituting equations (15)-(20) and introduc-
ing the appropriate boundary conditions, equations (13)
2pi,, -El 04 b b and (14) represent a set of 2n simultaneous algebraic
(Wt_ & + Wt+&) i
(si + 1 + si) 2 OX 4 equations (two for each node i = 1 to n in F i g u r e 3)
which can be solved for w[ and wib at time t + 6t, in
2m i 02
(14) terms of known values at times t and t - &.
- -

(si + l + si) Ot 2 (we + W b )i,t The appropriate displacement boundary conditions for
all time t, including t "= 0, are
In equations (13) and (14), subscripts i and t denote
storey and time, respectively. Wb , = Wg,,/(1 + N ) (21)
The time and space derivatives in equations (13) and
(14) can be expressed in central finite difference form as W~o,, = Wg,tN/(l + N ) (22)
follows
2
N = (3EI4ks2)l (23)
- - (w ~ + wb)i,, = [ (w ' + wb)~,,+ ~,
Ot 2 wb- i., = w~,, (24)
- 2(w ~ + wb)i,~
w~. + 1., = w~,, (25)
+ (w e + Wb)~,,_~,]/6t 2 (15)
Wnb + 1,t _ 2 w b + Wnb - l,t = 0 (26)
In equation (15), 6t is the finite difference time step.
Allowing for unequal storey heights and stiffnesses, the Cn+l,t~- Cn_l, t (27)
space derivatives can be expressed as
Equations (21)-(23) apportion the total horizontal
02 ~ (wL = - wT) ground displacement % , (corresponding to node zero)
in accordance with the finite difference representation of
OX ~ ( Si+l equation (6), when the displacements of all other nodes
(w] --__
W $,_ ,)~ 2 are assumed zero. Equation (24) implies that the
l

ki (16) gradient of the bending displacement at node zero is

si L) (s~ + 1 + si)
zero. Equation (25) implies that the gradient of the shear
displacement, and therefore the shear force in the
and
imaginary (n + 1)th storey, is zero. Equations (26) and
(27) imply that the second and third derivatives of the
04 I(ei+l ~_¢i) (Ci~_C_i-l)1 bending displacements, and therefore the moment and
E l ~ox ( w b) = t. si + l si ) shear force, at node n are zero, which is consistent with
the continuous system equations (see F i g u r e 2).
2 At time t = 0 it is necessary to specify the initial
× (17)
(si+t + si) displacement wi, and velocity vi, boundary conditions,
for all nodes i = 1 to n, as
in which the c~ etc. are defined as

ci+ , = {. (El)i+2 (wb+2--Wb+l)

Si+2
W~,o = (w/),=o

w°i,0 = (wi°),= o
(28)

(29)

2 s
Wi.o+ft _ Wi,s o-6t 26t(vT)t = 0 (30)
- (El)i+, (w~+_! w~) 1 -

Si + 1 (Si + 2 + si+O
W bi,0 +6t -- W bi.O-6t = 26t(ViO)t_O (31)
(18)
If nonzero initial conditions are specified, they should be
Ci
l(el), +, (w?+ , - w~)
Si+l
in accordance with equations (6) and (2). Substituting
equations (28) to (31) into the 2n algebraic equations
resulting from the finite difference representation of
- (El)i (wbi - wbi- ' ) l 2 equations (13) and (14), enables w[ and wi b at time
(19)
+s~) 0 + & to be determined. Subsequently, values of w[

312 Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5

 Non/inear dynamic analysis of stee/ plates shear wa//s: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts
and Wib at time t + 6t can be determined from known
values at times t and .t -~t.
Hysteretic characteristics of steel plate shear
walls
An individual panel (storey) of a steel plate shear wall,
with assumed fixed beam to column connections, is
shown in Figure 4(a). Fi denotes the shear force in the
panel and ~ = w/s - w1_ ~ is the shear displacement of
the panel.
A typical hysteresis loop for the panel is shown in
Figure 4(b). Assuming that the overall bending displace-
ments, illustrated in Figure l(d) do not affect
significantly the shear stiffness of the panel, the shear
stiffness corresponding to a known shear displacement
w~, at time t (see equation (16)) can be determined
from the hysteresis loop, via the equation
F/,t
(k/s)i,, - (32)
l, I
The overall bending stiffness of the panel (El)i is
assumed to remain constant (see equations (17)-(20)).
The constant bending stiffness and variable shear stiff-
ness are incorporated in the nonlinear dynamic analysis.
An approximate elasto-plastic model for the hysteresis
loops of a panel, is illustrated in Figure 5. The model
was developed from a series of cyclic
models i~quasi-static
loading tests on small-scale . Figures 5 (a) and
(b) show the first two hysteresis loops for the web plate
and frame, respectively. Hysteresis loops of the com-
plete panel, shown in Figure 5(c), are obtained by
superimposing the hysteresis loops for the web plate and
frame.
In Figure 5(a), Fwcrand F~, are the critical (buckling)
and ultimate shear forces of the web plate and ~ e and
~, are the limiting elastic and plastic shear
displacements, respectively. From O to A the response
-'•D Beam
\ c
Column
C D
b
I I
a b
Figure 4 Individual panel (storey) of steel plate shear wall; (a), storey shear displacements; (b), typical hysteresis loop
is assumed elastic and linear, even though the plate may
buckle at a shear force less than Fw~. After buckling an
inclined tension field gradually develops in the plate,
which becomes fully developed and yields when the
shear force equals FwuTM. From A to B1 the plate
strains plastically and from B1 to C1 the plate unloads
elastically parallel to O - A .
The length 0.C1 is proportional to be plastic elonga-
tion of the panel diagonal C-C in Figure 4(a). The length
O.D1 is proportional to the corresponding plastic con-
traction of the panel diagonal D-D, and is defined by
O.D1 = ~O.C1 (33)
The ratio/3 can be determined from the flow theory of
plasticity and an assumed state of stress in the plate.
D1-E1 is parallel to O-A. The loop now continues
from C1 to E1 to F1. At E1 the plate buckles and from
E1 to F1 an inclined tension field develops in the plate.
From F1 to G1 the plate strains plastically in the
opposite direction after which it unloads from G1 to D 1,
parallel to O-A. The plastic elongation of the panel
diagonal D-D during the second half o f the cycle is
assumed proporti__onal to the length of D1.D1. Hence
the length C1.C1, which is proportional to the cor-
responding contraction of the panel diagonal C - C ,
is given by
C1.C1 = ~D1.D1 (34)
C 1 - H I is parallel to O-A. At H1 the plate buckles and
from H1 to B1 an inclined tension field develops in the
plate.
Starting from B1, the seco__ndcycle is similar to the
first cycle. The length D1.D2 is given by
D1.D2 =/3C1 .C2 (35)
and length C2.C2 is given by
C2.C2 = flD2.D2 (36)
If
Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5 313
Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

Fw~ ~ I __W% . . . .
single bay, five-storey shear wall, similar to that shown
A BI B2
in Figure l(a), having fixed beam to column connections
Fwu - -

and the following dimensions and material properties.

I I iiii s= 3000 mm (storey height)

FWCr
b = 71300 nun (width of shear wall)
h = 3 nun (thickness of steel plate)
wg Ir =799 x 106 mm 2 (second moment of area of
columns)
AI = 25400 mm21(cross-section area of columns)
Myp = 867 × 106 Nmm ~plastic moment of col-
unlns~
G2 GI Yl I
I = 6.2 × 10 u mm 4 (second moment ofiarea of
a shear wall)
# ~-s ~$ mi = 1690 kg (concentrated storey masses)
[~ --4-- @
G2 GI A Bl B2 E = 205 000 N/mm 2 (Young's modulus of steel)
Flu-- ~ - - -
/ a0 = 200 N/mm 2 (yield stress of steel)
/z = 0.3 (Poisson's ratio)
-,, t"
//1
The magnitude of the time step used in the finite dif-.
ference analysis should not exceed approximately one
-- - --,/ --Flu
E2 El DI D2 twentieth of the smallest natural period of the structure
which is considered significant. The time step should
b also be small enough to represent accurately the varia-
tion of the stiffness of the structure with time. To obtain
F
the results presented herein, a time step 5t approximately
equal to 1/200 of the largest natural period of the struc-
ture was used.

Problem 1
For this problem, pulse loads of 200 kN, with a duration
/ 1"-- _ -- - -- / i// of two seconds, were applied to each storey. With this
// /J
¢// /"1 z" loading, the shear wall remained elastic. The response
///" ~$ of the fifth storey is shown in Figure 6(a) while the

25 5thstorey

c
Figure 5 Hysteresis loops for panels of a steel plate shear wall; E
(a), w e b plate; (b), frame; (c), completepanel E 0i ~ : s) 6

The first two hysteresis loops for the frame are shown
in Figure 5(b), in which Fy= is the ultimate shear force
of the frame, w}e and w~, are the limiting elastic and
plastic shear displacements. Loading and unloading
curves are assumed to be linear and parallel. When the a - 25
beam to column connections of the shear wall are fixed,
the frame may contribute significant proportions of the 25
shear stiffness, strength and plastic energy absorption of
a panel. Alternatively, when the beam to column con- W W$ Wb
nections are pinned, the shear contribution of the frame
is relatively small and can be neglected by assuming
F~=0.
Expressions for the various parameters used to define
0 ............. I
the hysteresis loops are given in the Appendix. b I 2 .3 4 5
Storey
Examples Figure 6 Elastic response of steel plate shear wall to pulse
loading: (a), variation of displacements with time; (b),
Solutions were obtained for the dynamic response of a displacements at time t = 1 s

314 Eng.Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5

 Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: $, Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

displacements of the shear wall at time t = 1 s are shown
in Figure 6(b).
The results presented validate the numerical analysis
since the displacements reduce to zero after approxi-
mately 1.4 s, without becoming negative. This
behaviour is as expected from an elastic system, when
the duration of the pulse loading is greater than a half of
the period of oscillation of the first cycle.
Problem 2
For the second problem, the pulse loads applied to each
storey were increased to 530 kN, with a duration of
1.8 s. This loading induced plastic shear deformation of
the first storey. The response of the fifth storey is shown
in Figure 7(a) while the displacements of the shear wall
at time t = 1.5 s are shown in Figure 7(b).
The relative shear displacement of the first storey is
much greater than that of other storeys, due to the plastic
70 W
5th storey
A the structure due to the plastic straining decreases the
E natural frequency of vibration, which does not remain
E
shear deformation. The nonlinear response of the first
storey also induces higher modes of vibration (deflection
curves no longer smooth) with subsequent elastic vibra-
tion about a plastically strained state (mean
displacements not zero).
Problem 3
For this problem, ground motion defined by
Wg,, = 2 sin(4. It) (37)
was applied. The frequency of the ground motion was
chosen to be approximately equal to the lowest natural
frequency of the shear wall.
The response of the fifth storey is shown in Figure 8.
As can be seen, the periodic ground motion induced
resonance of the shear wall which is characterized by a
linear increase in the amplitude of vibration during the
first three or four cycles. The onset of plastic shear
deformation inhibited the resonance and resulted in a
reduction in the amplitude of vibration. The reasons for
this are, firstly, energy is dissipated by the structure dur-
ing the plastic hysteretic cycles, which acts as a form of
damping; and secondly, a reduction in the stiffness of
exactly in phase with the ground motion. This also
inhibits resonance.

/ (s)
a -20 Conclusions

70
The governing differential equations of motion for a
t=I.Ss W ------ single bay, multi-storey, steel plate shear wall have been
presented and solved using a finite difference time stepp-
ing scheme. The equations of motion incorporate both
shear and overall bending displacements of the shear
E
wb wall. The hysteretic characteristics of the individual
m panels (storeys) of the shear wall, incorporated in the
.................. I" I I I
nonlinear analysis, include the influence of shear buckl-
I 2 3 4 5 ing and plastic yielding of the web plate and plastic
Storey yielding of the surrounding frame.
b -20
The results presented validate the analysis for the
Figure 7 Inelastic response of steel plate shear wall to pulse elastic response of shear walls and also demonstrate the
loading: (a), variation of displacements with time; (b), effectiveness of the hysteretic characteristics in
displacements at time t = 1.5 s inhibiting resonance.

501
5th storey
References

AgAA,,A
1 Takahashi, Y., Takeda, T., Takemoto, Y. and Takagai, M.
'Experimental study on thin steel shear walls and particular steel brac-
ing under alternating horizontal loading', IABSE, Symposium on
resistance and ultimate deformability of structures acted on by well
defined repeated loads, Lisbon, Portugal, 1973, 185-191
2 'Shear walls and slip forming speed Dallas reunion project', Engng
E News Record, July 28, 1977, 20-21
3 'Quake proof hospital has battleship like walls', Engng News
Record, September 21, 1978, 6 2 - 6 3
4 'Patent problems challenge spawn steel seismic walls', Engng News
Record, January 26, 1978, 17
5 'Steel plate shear walls blunt the winds force and carry gravity load
in a towered hotel', Architect. Rec., August, 1978, 116-117
6 'Hospital steel plate shear walls were designed for a 0.69G earth-
-50 quake', Arch. Rec., August, 1978, 118
7 Troy, R. G. and Richard, R. M. 'Steel plate shear walls resist lateral
Figure 8 Resonance and hysteretic damping of steel plate shear loads, cut costs', Civil Engineering, ASCE, 1979 49, 5 3 - 5 5
wall subjected to periodic ground motion: ( ), w; ( - - - ) w ' ; 8 Baldelli, J. A. 'Steel shear walls for existing buildings', Eng. J.
t .... )#' AISC, 1983, 20, (2), 7 0 - 7 7

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5 3 1 5

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

9 Thorburn, L. J., Kulak, G. L. and Montgomery, C. J. "Analysis and F,,.,, is given by

design of steel shear wall systems', Structural Engineering Report
107, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Alberta,
Canada, 1983
F~. = rybh (A5)
10 Kulak, G. L. 'Unstiffened steel plate shear walls; static and seismic
behaviour', Steel structures: recent research advances and their The effective shear strain of the buckled plate, cor-
applications, M. N. Pavlovic, (Ed.), Elsevier Applied Science responding to ry, denoted by 6y, is given by
Publishers, London, UK, 1986, pp 5 6 l - 5 8 0
11 Sabouri-Ghomi, S. 'Quasi static and dynamic hysteretic behaviour of
unstiffened steel plate shear walls', Ph.D. Thesis, University of Tcr 2tit v
Wales College of Cardiff, Wales, UK, 1989 '~/y -~" - - "~ " (A6)
12 Clough, R. W. and Penzien, J. Dynamics of structures, McGraw- G E
Hill, 1975
13 Newmark, N. and Rosenblueth, E. Fundamentals of earthquake in which G = E/2(1 + #) is the shear modulus of the
engineering, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1971
plate. The limiting elastic shear displacement of the plate
14 Warburton, G. B. The dynamical behaviour of structures, (2nd edn),
Pergamon International Library, 1976 Wwe-*, is now given by
15 Porter, D. M., Rockey, K. C. and Evans, H. R. 'The collapse
behaviour of plate girders loaded in shear', Struct. Eng., 1975, 53, -s
W we = S'~y (A7)
(8), 314-325
Based on the flow theory of plasticity, the parameter
/3 which defines the ratio of the plastic strains along the
Appendix diagonals of a panel, for zero plastic volume change, is
The parameters used to define the hysteretic given by
characteristics of individual panels (storeys) of steel
plate shear walls, discussed in the main text, are now 13 = -- zcr sin(20a) + % [ sin2(0d -- lr/4) -- 1/3 } [(AS)
defined I I.
The critical (buckling) shear stress r~, of an assumed rcr sin(20d) + O~y{COS20r/4- O d ) - 1/3}
simply supported plate, width b, depth s and thickness
h (see Figure 4(a)), is given by in which Od is the inclination of the panel diagonals
from horizontal. A positive value of B should be used in
k~r~2Eh 2 equations in the main text to be consistent with direc-
tions on the hysteresis loops.
12(1 - ~2)b2 When the web plate is stiffened so that rcr is greater
b2 than the yield shear stress r0, equations (A1) should be
kcr = 5.35 + 4 ~ for s/b > 1 replaced by

b2 "rcr = 7"0 = Oo/~¢;'3 (A9)

k,.r = 5.35 ~ + 4 for s/b < 1 (A1)
When the beam to column connections of the shear
wall are fixed, it can be assumed that plastic hinges form
where E is Young's modulus and /x is the Poisson in the columns, at the top and bottom of a storey that
ratio. The critical shear force of the web plate Fwcr, is deforms plastically in shear (see Figure 4(a)). The
therefore ultimate shear force of the frame is then given by
F,,,,: = r,rbh (A2)
Ff~ - 4Myp (AIO)
It is assumed that during the post-buckled stage, a s
tension field, inclined at 45 ° to the boundaries,
gradually develops throughout the entire web plate 15.
This assumed stress distribution provides a lower bound in which M/p is the plastic moment of the columns. The
for the strength of the plate, provided that the sur- corresponding limiting elastic shear displacement ~}e is
rounding frame members are strong enough to sustain given approximately by
the normal boundary forces associated with the tension
field. According to the Von Mises' yield criterion, the M~s 2
value of the tension field stress %,, at which yielding of ~- 6EI: (All)
the plate occurs, is defined by the equation

at = 3r2cr + 37"crOry+ 02 (A3) in which I/is the second moment of area of the col-
unlns.
in which % is the uniaxial yield stress. The boundary Alternatively, when the beam to column connections
sheer stress associated with rcr and O,y, denoted by ry, are pinned, the contribution of the frame to the shear
is stiffness and strength is relatively small and can be
neglected by assuming Ff. = 0.
7~ = "rcr + Ory (A4) To ensure that the ultimate shear force of the frame
2 (columns) defined by equation (A10) can be mobilized,
in conjunction with the normal forces exerted on the
Therefore, the ultimate shear force of the web plate columns by the inclined tension field stresses try, the

316 Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5

 Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel plates shear walls: S. Sabouri-Ghomi and T.M. Roberts

following condition should be satisfied in which Mbeis the plastic moment of the cross beams.
When the above conditions are not satisfied, the value of
O,y used in the analysis should be limited accordingly.
8M/e > o',s (A12) When the beam to column connections are pinned and
h$2 -
the contribution of the frame is neglected by assuming
F~, = 0, the condition defined by equations (A12) can
The corresponding condition for the extreme cross be replaced by
beams (top of top storey and base of ground storey) is

16Mbe> (A13) 16M# > o~ (A 14)

hb 2 _ a~y h$2 -

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 5 317