Strain-Hardening Behavior of Shear Panels Made of Low-Yield Steel. I: Test

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the hysteretic behavior of shear panels made of low-yield steel whose nominal 0.2% offset yield stress is 120 MPa. Six shear panels were tested, with the loading conditions and width-to-thickness ratio as test variables. Major findings drawn from this study are as follows. Strain-hardening is very conspicuous under cycles with the same deformation amplitude as well as with increasing deformations. Energy dissipated by the tested shear panels is 1.5–2.0 times larger than the energy that can be dissipated by the equivalent linearly elastic and perfectly plastic system. The hysteretic behavior that involves drastic strain hardening can be simulated accurately by the multisurface model if the associated parameters are chosen properly. A companion paper presents relatively simple models that can simulate the hysteretic behavior of the tested shear panels.