Improving Cyclic Behavior of Steel Plate Shear Walls with Elliptical Perforations

In this paper, the effect of elliptical shape openings was numerically compared to the case when circular openings were used in the steel panel shear walls. At first, the finite element model in ABAQUS was calibrated by experimental results, obtained from previous studies. Then, three steel shear panels with different sizes of elliptical openings were analyzed under cyclic loads, and the results were compared to those circular perforations. Moreover, comparisons of cyclic response parameters such as elastic stiffness, ductility ratio, and energy absorption were made. According to the results, the shape of the openings has a significant effect on the seismic behavior of the perforated shear wall. The elliptical opening with the smaller to larger diameter ratio, equal to 0.5, increased the ultimate capacity by 15%. Furthermore, the elastic stiffness, ductility ratio of the frame, and the absorbed energy were promoted by 28%, 3%, and 8%, respectively. Finally, the distance between the openings was improved. Using a ratio of about 0.17 for the center to center distance of elliptical openings to the total width of steel panel led to the best performance.