Seismic Behaviour of Concentrically Braced Frame System Combined with Steel Shear Panel

The recent researches have demonstrated that thin steel plates have good performance under shear loadings, and upon that property, they have been used in some of the lateral resistant systems such as steel plate shear walls. In the present study, it is intended to employ the shear panels for seismic performance improvement of concentrically braced frames. Hence, a combined system is developed and its non-linear behavior has been numerically and experimentally investigated. For experimental study, a scaled one-story shear panel model, with hinge type connections of boundary elements at four corners, is selected. Bolts are used for connections of infill steel plate to surrounding frame. The specimen is subjected to quasi-static cyclic loading along the diagonal axes. It is found that the system have had good seismic performance, proper energy absorption, and stable behavior in nonlinear range. Finite element analysis of the laboratory specimen has been carried out and results are obtained and presented. Good agreement between the numerical and the experimental outcomes is observed.