Seismic performance of coupled steel plate shear wall with slits

This study proposes a coupled system of steel plate shear wall with slits (SPSWS), called C-SPSWS. The mechanical behavior of the C-SPSWS system was investigated, and the expressions for ultimate strength and degree of coupling (DC) were derived according to the desired plastic mechanism. Two one-third scale, four-story specimens, including coupled and uncoupled SPSWS, were tested to verify the seismic performance of the system. As the traditional SPSWS configuration, the C-SPSWS specimen exhibited robust cyclic performance and proved to be an efficient lateral load-resisting system. The coupling action of the coupling beam significantly improved the initial stiffness, strength, and energy dissipation capacity of the system. Furthermore, the coupling action decreased the axial force of the frame columns, particularly for interior frame columns. The deformation mode of the C-SPSWS specimen changed from flexural to shear because of the coupling action. The proposed ultimate strength formula can conservatively predict the maximum lateral force of the system. •A coupled system of steel plate shear wall with slits was proposed.•The expressions for the C-SPSWS system strength and the DC were derived based on the desirable plastic mechanism.•The failure mode and yielding sequence of the coupled system were obtained through cyclic quasi-static tests with two large-scale, weak-axis connected coupled and uncoupled specimens.•The coupling action can improve the initial stiffness, lateral strength, and energy dissipation capacity of the coupled system while decreasing the axial demands of the frame columns.•The deformation mode of the coupled specimen changed from flexural to shear due to the coupling action.