Experimental Tests on Steel Buckling Inhibited Shear Panels

Passive protection systems based on the use of metal shear panels represent an effective way for achieving a significant improvement of the seismic response of buildings. Nevertheless, the dissipative capacity of these devices could be limited by buckling phenomena. In order to reduce the influence of instability, "Buckling Inhibited Shear Panels" have been recently introduced as an innovative and convenient solution. It is based on the use of steel plated elements able to restrain out-of-plane displacements of the basic shear plate but without any type of interactions in terms of membrane strains. In this paper the outcomes of an extensive experimental campaign on the proposed system are shown. The tested coupons are made of steel and are characterized by two different thicknesses. Moreover, two technologies for the inhibition of buckling phenomena are examined. The former is able to contain the out-of-plane displacements for the only plate portions that are most involved in the development of the first critical modes. The latter, with a more complex assemblage of the parts, is obtained by inhibiting the out-of-plane deformations of the whole system. The results obtained, compared to the ones given by only steel plates without buckling restraining devices, allow to highlight the increase in terms of energy dissipation capacity that is possible to achieve through the proposed technologies, also evidencing some critical issues that can arise when little accuracy in the assembly of the system is spent.