Non-linear analysis models for Composite Plate Shear Walls-Concrete Filled (C-PSW/CF)

Composite Plate Shear Walls-Concrete Filled (C-PSW/CF) are a special seismic-force resisting system consisting of steel plates and concrete infill. Composite walls have been occasionally built in the past decades, but their use for seismic application is fairly new and particularly attractive. As a result, there is a need (by researchers as well as practicing engineers) for nonlinear inelastic hysteretic models that can be used in pushover analyses, cyclic analyses, and seismic response analysis of C-PSW/CF and coupled C-PSW/CF. This paper describes two different approaches for modeling C-PSW/CF walls for these purposes. In a first approach, walls are modelled using a fiber-hinge elements (i.e., distributed plasticity model) using model with constitutive equations that account for both buckling and fracture of the steel. In the second approach, the walls are modelled with fiber-hinge elements having effective stress-strain curves derived from results of 3D finite element analyses.