Preliminary Results of Two Large-Scale Experiments on Ring-Shaped Steel Plate Shear Walls

The ring shaped–steel plate shear wall (RS-SPSW) system is a new structural system that improves upon conventional SPSWs by mitigating buckling of the web plate. The RS-SPSW is characterized by cutting a pattern of rings connected by diagonal links into a solid web plate. The RS-SPSW mitigates the challenges of conventional SPSWs by eliminating undesirable buckling limit states through an innovative yielding mechanism. The elimination of buckling results in stable hysteretic behavior with high levels of energy dissipation and large amounts of system ductility. Previous computational and small-scale experimental studies have been conducted to validate the RS-SPSW concept. Currently, large-scale, 10 feet by 8.5 feet specimens are being tested to further validate the RS-SPSW system. The results from two of the four RS-SPSW specimens are presented. This paper discusses the observed cyclic response, energy dissipation, and deformation capacity of the RS-SPSW experiments.