Seismic performance and shear lag effect of T-shaped steel plate reinforced concrete composite shear wall

This research introduces an experimental test and finite element method to study the seismic performance and shear lag effect of T-shaped steel plate reinforced concrete composite shear walls (SPRCWs). Low-cycle cyclic loading tests were conducted on five T-shaped specimens and one conventional rectangular specimen, with axial compression ratio, shear span ratio, and geometric dimensions of web and flange as the primary test parameters. The test results demonstrated that the specimens showed bending, bending-shear, and shear failure modes depending on the shear span ratios, with T-shaped specimens exhibiting more satisfactory seismic behavior than the rectangular specimen. Furthermore, the T-shaped specimens showed better seismic behavior under compression in the flange than under tension. Smaller axial compression ratios and web lengths, as well as greater flange widths, resulted in better deformation capacity and energy dissipation capacity, and the bearing capacity was enhanced by increasing the axial compression ratio and web length. Test results were used to investigate the shear lag effect of T-shaped SPRCW, and a parametric study was performed using ABAQUS to examine the impact of various design parameters on the shear lag effect. The simulation results indicated that increasing the wall height and steel plate ratio in the flange, and reducing the flange width could significantly weaken the shear lag effect. In contrast, the web length and axial compression ratio have little effect on the shear lag effect.