Behaviour of composite framed shear wall system

Abstract

This research investigated the behaviour of a novel form of composite framed shear wall system (CFSWS) under lateral loading. The CFSWS consisted of a composite wall (made of two skins of profiled steel sheeting and an infill of concrete) connected to pinned steel or fixed concrete filled steel tube (CFST) frame. The experimental investigations on one and two-storey four CFSWS models of 1/6th scale provided information on shear load-deformation response, shear strength/stiffness, energy absorbing capacity, stress-strain characteristics and failure modes. The failure of CFSWS was associated with buckling of steel sheets and development of diagonal concrete core cracking as well as the wall-frame fastener and CFST frame joint failure. Overall, the failure was governed by wall failure rather than frame. Analytical models for the shear strength of CFSWS were developed and found to be in close agreement with experiments. This research confirmed the viability of using novel CFSWS in practical construction.