Lateral-load behavior of shear walls with structural steel boundary columns

The use of hybrid wall systems (HWS) with structural steel reinforced concrete (SRC) walls may offer several advantages over traditional reinforced concrete (RC) wall systems by combining the strength, stiffness, and ductility of RC walls with the rapid construction potential of a structural steel floor system. Although HWS offer potential advantages, significant design, construction, and behavior issues must be addressed before the systems become common. The project involves testing of approximately one-third scale SRC walls and the development of a wall macro-model for use in inelastic response analysis. Approximately eight wall specimens will be tested to address strength, stiffness, and detailing issues. The analytical aspect of the research project involves developing and calibrating multiple-vertical-line element model. The objective of this paper is to provide a summary of the critical issues for SRC walls and to summarize an ongoing analytical and experimental research project.