Composite shear walls

As demonstrated in real-world projects of composite buildings such as the 58-story Rainier Square Tower in Seattle and the 19-story building at 200 Park Ave in San Jose, the use of composite shear walls as the cores of tall buildings not only reduces significantly construction time but also enhance the strength compared to conventional reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls [1]. This project will develop different composite shear walls using different types of shear connectors subject to different loading conditions (axial, shear and combined axial and shear). This project is part of the ARC Discovery Project (DP200100112) in collaboration with Professor Brian Uy at The University of Sydney.

Experimentation

A large number of specimens have been tested at The University of Sydney to explore the behaviour of composite shear walls under different loading conditions. Different types of shear connectors (bolts and headed studs) are also considered. The long-term effect of concrete on the behaviour of composite walls under axial compression is also investigated.

Numerical Modelling

Detailed FE models have been developed in ABAQUS and validated with the experimental results (see [2,3]). The model can capture very well both the load-displacement behaviour and failure modes of composite shear walls. It has therefore been used to examine the effect of various geometric and material parameters on the behaviour of connections to provide useful information for the development of design guidelines.

Design Code Development

Design guidelines for composite shear walls are being developed and will be incorporated in the composite standard ASNZS 2327 for composite buildings. Preliminary results for determining the slenderness limits of the steel places used in composite shear walls was also proposed and recommended by [2].

References

[1] Mo J, Uy B, Li D, Thai HT, Tran H. A review of the behaviour and design of steel–concrete composite shear walls. Structures 2021;31:1230-1253.

[2] Mo J, Uy B, Li D, Thai HT, Wang Y. Behaviour and design of composite walls under axial compression. Journal of Constructional Steel Research 2022;199:107635.

[3] Mo J, Uy B, Li D, Thai HT, Wang Y. Behaviour and design of composite walls under lateral loading and combined loading. Journal of Constructional Steel Research 2023;210:108087.