Finite element analysis of mechanical performance of PEC column bundle shear wall structure under unidirectional loading

Abstract

Corrugated steel plate shear walls are prone to buckling instability, which prevents them from fully utilizing their load-bearing capacity. To address this issue, a new structure called the continuous partially encased concrete column bundle shear wall (PEC-CBSW) has been developed. This is achieved by pouring concrete into the grooves of the corrugated steel plates, leveraging the excellent mechanical properties of confined concrete. To study the mechanical properties of this structural system under horizontal lateral loads, 21 numerical models are established using finite element analysis software. The research focused on key parameters such as steel plate thickness, spacing of welded batten plates, concrete strength grade, foam concrete density, and edge column section size. Their effects on important mechanical properties like bearing capacity and stiffness were analyzed. Theoretical calculations were conducted on the yield shear bearing capacity of the structural system under various parameters, and the yield shear bearing capacity of the PEC-CBSW under unidirectional loading was thereby derived. When the concrete strength grade is the same, with the increase of steel plate thickness, the improvement range of the shear capacity of the shear wall shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. In addition, both bearing capacity and stiffness are highly sensitive to variations in parameters such as steel plate thickness, edge column section size, and welded batten plate spacing. By comparing the theoretical calculation value of the yield shear capacity of the structure with the finite element simulation value, the error is within 15%.