Hysteretic characteristics of unstiffened perforated steel plate shear panels

TLDR: In this paper, a series of quasti-static cyclic loading tests on unstiffened steel plate shear panels, with centrally placed circular openings, was described, and all the panels tested exhibited adequate ductility and stable S-shaped hysteresis loops, with the energy absorbed per cycle increasing with the maximum amplitude of the shear displacement.

Abstract: A series of quasti-static cyclic loading tests on unstiffened steel plate shear panels, with centrally placed circular openings, is described. All the panels tested exhibited adequate ductility and stable S-shaped hysteresis loops, with the energy absorbed per cycle increasing with the maximum amplitude of the shear displacement. The strength and stiffness of the panels decreased approximately linearly with increasing size of opening. Experimental results are compared with a previously developed theoretical model for predicting the hysteretic characteristics of unstiffened plate shear panels, which incorporates the influences of shear buckling and plastic yielding of the plate, and an assumed linear reduction in stiffness and strength to allow for openings.