Wall-frame interactive behavior in GFRP-reinforced steel plate shear walls with circular cutout openings

The present study investigates the effect of glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRPs) on the nonlinear and energy dissipation behavior characteristics of steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) with a single circular cutout opening using the finite element method. In the study, the effect of the opening features (diameter and location), geometrical properties of the SPSW systems (aspect ratio and height) and properties of fiber laminates (number of layers and orientation angle) on the FRP-wall-frame interactive behavior is investigated. The results show that the introduction of opening does affect the distribution of stresses across the wall. The use of an adequate amount of FRPs can successfully compensate the impact of the opening on the system strength and energy dissipation capacity. The use of fibers does not change the system initial stiffness significantly, while it reduces the ductility to some extent. There is an interaction effect between FRPs, infill wall and frame, and the use of FRPs results in a better distribution of stresses across the perforated wall area at the ultimate state, although it causes a delay in the onset of wall yielding. The presence of opening in the infill wall of different SPSWs, especially in taller multi-story cases, improves the system ductility. Finally, a procedure is presented for design of FRP-reinforced perforated SPSWs and the accuracy of the proposed equations is compared with the finite element results.