The Effect of Dimensional Change of Boundary Elements on the Response Modification Factor of the Steel Plate Shear Wall

During the past few decades, steel plate shear wall (SPSW) has been used as a lateral load bearing system in building construction; however, the wall boundary conditions have been considered symmetric and identical in most of the performed projects and researches. While our design codes are in the form of linear analyses, nonlinear behavior is considered as a parameter called the Response Modification Factor (R). Response Modification Factor is in fact a parameter that includes the non-elastic behavior of a structure against severe earthquakes. In this paper, the Response Modification Factor of this system, when the columns are non-identical, and the effect of changing the dimensions of each boundary element have been investigated. These wall models could be seen when architectural and facility limitations are governing in the design or in the seismic retrofitting of existing structures, when boundary elements especially the columns are of non-identical dimensions. Moreover, the necessity of this investigation would be important concerning the role of Response Modification Factor in seismic design of structures. In this study, the effect of changing the dimensions of boundary elements on the Response Modification Factor of steel plate shear wall was calculated using Uang's method and Newmark & Hall's method. The same study has also been performed on ductility, energy absorption, and ultimate strength.