Abstract
Background: One of the structural systems that has attracted significant attention from researchers and engineers over the past two decades is the composite plate shear wall-concrete filled (C-PSW/CF) system. In high-rise buildings, shear wall cores are commonly employed to meet structural demands; however, the presence of openings necessitates coupling the walls using coupling beams. In the existing literature, most studies have focused on isolated C-PSWs/CF, whereas only limited research has been conducted on coupled C-PSWs/CF and link beams. Therefore, the need for further investigation in this area is clearly evident. Depending on their geometric characteristics, link beams may exhibit either flexure- or shear-controlled behavior.
Methods: In the present study, the behavior and performance of coupled C-PSWs/CF are investigated in terms of stiffness, strength, and ductility. The influence of link beam type on the structural response and performance of the system is also examined. To this end, nonlinear modeling is conducted using OpenSees.
Results: The type of coupling beam has a significant effect on the key structural parameters, including stiffness, strength, and ductility. In the structures studied, the maximum strength of the composite wall system with shear-controlled coupling beams was 33–35% higher than that with flexure-controlled coupling beams.
Conclusion: The distribution of story drift in coupled walls exhibits behavior intermediate between that of isolated walls and moment-resisting frames. Specifically, coupling the walls alters their response from cantilever action toward frame-like behavior, resulting in the maximum story drift shifting from the top stories to the mid-height levels.