This paper presents the first full-scale experimental investigation of the self-centering steel plate shear wall (SC-SPSW) system. The SC-SPSW system is a lateral force-resisting system developed to provide system recentering and limit structural damage to easily replaceable energy dissipating fuses (i.e., thin steel web plates). Recentering is provided by posttensioned (PT) beam-to-column connections. This test program is composed of two two-story SC-SPSW specimens, each with a different PT beam-to-column connection. For one specimen, connections rock about both beam flanges; for the other, connections rock about the top beam flange only. Both specimens incorporated a posttensioned column base detail to further promote recentering and damage mitigation. The specimens were tested pseudodynamically using excitations representing three different seismic hazard levels. Results show that the SC-SPSW system is capable of meeting and exceeding the specified performance objectives.

Summary This research investigates the seismic behavior and design method for the bottom‐level boundary columns, also called the vertical boundary elements (VBEs), in multi‐story steel plate shear walls (SPSWs). This paper firstly introduces the proposed design method for the bottom‐level VBE for the case when a frame swaying action causes the VBE to bend in single curvature, as is often seen in mid‐ and high‐rise buildings. Two 12‐story (12F) prototype SPSWs were designed using the proposed design method. Two 40%‐scale substructural test specimens representing the first 2.5 stories of the 12F SPSW prototype designs were cyclically tested with the Multi‐Axial Testing System at the Taiwan National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in 2013. The test results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed design method in predicting the yielding of the top end of the bottom VBE. In addition, test results show that the lateral torsional buckling of the bottom VBE could occur after the VBE top end yields, indicating that premature top‐end yielding should be prohibited for the bottom VBE before the SPSW develops uniform yielding mechanism under the lateral forces.

This paper presents the results of a self-centering steel plate shear wall (SC-SPSW) experimental program conducted at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) as part of a collaborative research endeavor. Two full-scale two-story SC-SPSW specimens were tested under pseudo-dynamic loading. The specimens investigated two different post-tensioned (PT) beam-to-column connection configurations-one using a PT connection detail where a gap forms in a connection as the beam rocks about its flanges, and one using a PT connection (called the NewZ-BREAKSS connection) where the beam in a connection always rocks about its top flanges, thus eliminating the problem of frame expansion. The test specimens also incorporated a post-tensioned column base connection that allowed the column to rock about its flanges, relying on vertical post-tensioned rods anchored along the column height. The PT column base provides additional recentering capabilities, as well as eliminates the damage and residual plastic deformations that occur in the moment resisting base connections of SC-SPSWs. The results from this project will be used to validate numerical models and inform construction and design recommendations.