Numerical Study on the Shear Resistance Behavior of Steel Plate Shear Walls with Full Height Opening and Different Configurations of Stiffeners

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are efficient options for lateral load-resisting systems in buildings. However, introducing opening(s) in the SPSWs results in a significant drop in their performance. To investigate the effects of introducing openings and adding stiffeners around them on the performance of SPSWs, thirty-three finite element-based models of stiffened SPSWs with full height opening were analyzed. These models had different steel plate thicknesses, opening aspect ratios, and stiffener configurations. Numerical results of this study agreed with the Plate-Frame Interaction (PFI) theory. It was found that adding stiffeners considerably increased shear stiffness and shear strength of SPSW. Furthermore, improvement in the shear load carrying capacity of the SPSW is significantly influenced by cross-sectional shape and even arrangement of the stiffeners. Finally, it was shown that SPSWs with a thicker steel plate are more sensitive to both the presence of the opening and its widening.