Thin–Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Thin-Walled Structures
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tws

Steel slit shear walls with an efficient geometry

Zahra Ahmadi a, Ali Akbar Aghakouchak a, *, Seyyed Rasoul Mirghaderi b
a
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Ale Ahmad Highway, Tehran, Iran
b
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Tehran University, Enghelab Square, Tehran, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper presents the results of a study to improve the seismic behavior of steel shear walls with vertical slits. In
Lateral load resistance system this system, the steel plate segments between the slits behave as a series of flexural links, which provide a fairly
Steel slit shear wall ductile response without the need for heavy stiffening. An efficient slit geometry is proposed, which assures
Energy dissipation
simultaneous yielding of the plate along the vertical links and prevents strain localization. Experimental study
Strain localization
and finite element modeling are used to verify the proposed steel slit shear wall and to study its nonlinear
behavior under monotonic and cyclic loading. Out-of-plane buckling of the wall and the effects of buckling
restraining clamps on this phenomenon is also studied. The results show satisfactory performance of this system,
when used as a seismic force resisting system. The important geometric parameters that result in the desired
behavior of the wall, including appropriate stiffness and strength, as well as stable hysteresis curve, are deter­
mined and evaluated.

Author statement
Zahra Ahmadi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Valida­
tion, Investigation, Writing - original draft. Ali Akbar Aghakouchak:
Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review & editing, Supervi­
sion, Funding acquisition. Seyyed Rasoul Mirghaderi: Writing - review &
editing, Supervision.
1. Introduction
Extensive researches have been conducted in the past on utilizing
shear capacity of steel plates to resist the seismic forces induced in the
structure and to dissipate the input energy. Steel shear wall is an
example of such an element. Quite a number of studies have been carried
out on the behavior of steel plate shear walls, which has led to devel­
opment of their design criteria [1]. Thorburn, Kulak and Montgomery
[2] developed an analytical technique, suitable for studying the force
transfer in a story-sized steel panel subjected to shear, which recognized
the contribution of the post-buckling strength of a web to the overall
shear resistance. Later Timler and Kulak [3] developed a new analytical
approach for the design of this type of shear wall. Behbahanifard,
Grondin and Elwi [4] tested a large-scale three story unstiffened Special
Steel Shear Wall, SPSW, under a combination of constant gravity and
cyclic lateral loads in a quasi-static condition in order to monitor closely
the behavior of the boundary members. The results of research carried
out so far on SPSW, is presented in AISC341-16 [5] in the form of an
approved approach for design of this system.
Despite their technical merits, previous studies have shown that steel
shear walls are often very strong, so excessive forces are introduced to
the surrounding frame members. Some solutions that have been
considered to reduce this negative aspect of steel shear wall include the
use of low yield steel (LYS) instead of conventional steel [6–9], creating
circular openings [6,10] or vertical slits in the steel plate [11]. Perfo­
rations in the steel plates can significantly reduce the forces on boundary
elements by weakening the shear walls. This allows utilizing the
perforated or slit shear wall as an energy dissipating device in a struc­
ture, while maintaining it as a seismic force resisting system in a com­
bination with a frame. It alleviates some of the shortcomings of the
conventional steel shear wall, albeit through reducing the stiffness and
strength of the system.
The idea of using slits in shear walls is traced back to earlier studies
by Ohmori et al. [12] and Muto et al. [13]; who proposed using slits to
improve the earthquake resistance of reinforced concrete shear walls.
Although the slit walls increased ductility, they also added substantial
weight to the structure and consequently increased the inertial forces
generated by the earthquake motion. Moreover, reinforced concrete was
destroyed rapidly under cyclic plastic deformation. The added weight
and rapid deterioration are believed to be the reasons that ended the use

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: a_agha@modares.ac.ir (A.A. Aghakouchak).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2020.107296
Received 24 November 2019; Received in revised form 2 October 2020; Accepted 9 November 2020
Available online 24 November 2020
0263-8231/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Z. Ahmadi et al.
Fig. 1. Slit Shear Plate [11].
of this system in concrete structures [14]. Later, Hitaka and Matsui [11]
proposed steel slit shear walls as an energy dissipation element.
Several studies have been reported on design of steel plates with slits.
Hitaka and Matsui introduced the steel plate shear walls with vertical
slits. In this system, the segments between the slits formed a series of
flexural links and provided a fairly ductile response (Fig. 1). Hitaka and
Matsui derived equations to predict initial stiffness and ultimate
strength of the slit panels. They studied the effect of the slit patterns, by
varying three main parameters: b/t (width to thickness ratio of links), α
(length to thickness ratio of links), and m (number of rows of links). It
was found that by limiting the width-to-thickness ratio of links to 10, the
steel slit shear walls can sustain roughly 2.5% drift without buckling
[11,15]. Hitaka et al. [16] also performed cyclic tests with the aim to
obtain data for the wall-frame connection design, and comparisons be­
tween the frame and wall elements. In the experiments, the shear walls
exhibited stable hysteresis curves and provided excellent energy dissi­
pation and ductility. Also, the effect of walls in increasing the stiffness
was more than increasing the strength.
The effects of various design parameters on the behavior and per­
formance of the slit walls such as width, height and thickness of the slit
steel plate, the number of rows, the number of links in a row, the height
and width of the links, the height of the band zones, material of stiff­
ening panels, number and initial torque of bolts to restrain the stiffening
panels, and end detail of the slits, beam stiffness, number of bays and
combining multiple panels within a single bay have been examined
experimentally as well as numerically [14,17–23]. Also the relationship
between the link dimensions and its torsional deformation has been
studied by Kurata et al. [24] with the help of numerical analysis as well
as a series of tests.
In addition to these researches, some attempts have been made to
find out a method to calculate energy dissipation of links and the wall,
when the wall is subjected to lateral loads; and also to identify the
maximum drift angle sustained by a story level during an earthquake
event. Studies of Ke and Chen [25,26] and Jacobsen et al. [20,21] can be
referred in this regard.
On the subject of utilizing the yielding potential of metals, in order to
use them as a damper and to improve the seismic behavior of the
Fig. 2. A typical steel slit shear wall.
2
Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296
structures, many studies have been carried out in the past, and several
types of dampers have been presented in the literature. The energy
dissipation potential of a metallic damper largely depends on the hys­
teretic response achieved due to the inelastic deformation of plates
under either axial or flexural or shear loading. Added damping and
added stiffness (ADAS) devices are among the most common metallic
dampers, in which the hysteretic energy is achieved through the flexural
yielding of steel plates [27]. Another category of metallic dampers,
known as shear links, relies on the inelastic shear deformation of
metallic plates under the in-plane loading. Aluminum shear yielding
damper (Al-SYD) has also been launched as an alternative solution to the
conventional panels made of mild steel or low yield steel due to its low
yield strength and high deformability characteristic [28,29]. Later
shear-and-flexural yielding damping device (SAFYD) was introduced
and it was argued that the combined flexure and shear inelastic de­
formations of the flexure and shear plates may result in a better lateral
load resistance and energy dissipation [27].
Regarding the subject of slit shear walls, as per the conclusions of the
following references [11], a slit wall has the following features:
- Behavior is ductile and stable;
- Strength and stiffness can be adjusted independently by changing the
slit configuration (interval, length, and number of rows of slits);
- Fabrication and installation are simple, since the shear panel con­
struction technique minimizes welding and does not require special
materials or fabrication procedures
- Much less weight is expected compared to other braced systems;
- Less steel consumption is foreseen compared to steel shear wall due
to non-requiring stiffeners;
- The wall need not occupy the full beam span, thus can accommodate
door or window openings adjacent to the wall.
- Damaged panels can be easily replaced;
- The system can be used to retrofit or strengthen existing buildings.
Considering the results and observations of previous studies on slit
walls, this paper studies the behavior of this type of walls with a new
efficient shape for the slits. Here the objective is to have simultaneous
yielding along the length of vertical links and to prevent strain locali­
zation and premature failure. The characteristics of the proposed system
are derived analytically and its behavior under cyclic loading is assessed
through a set of experimental and nonlinear finite element analysis
studies.
2. Slit shape design
2.1. Steel slit dampers
Chan and Albermani [30] performed cyclic tests with the aim to
develop the slit steel damper (SSD). The SSD was fabricated from a
standard structural wide-flange section with a number of slits cut from
the web, in a Vierendeel truss arrangement. Energy was dissipated
through flexural yielding of the Vierendeel web members when the
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Fig. 3. A fixed-ended beam with a variable rectangular cross section and its buckled section.

device was subjected to inelastic cyclic deformation. Ghabraie et al. [31] where λ is a constant parameter, then the bending stress obtained from
attempted to optimize the shape of an existing steel slit damper device Eq. (3) does not depend on the x. Consequently all external fibers of link,
by using the BESO (Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization) regardless of their distance from the end of the link, reach yield stress
algorithm. The optimum shapes were bars tapered in the middle forming simultaneously.
diamond shaped slits irrespective of the material volume. Jie et al. [32] The yielding load fy , yielding displacement, δy , and elastic stiffness of
proposed a non-uniform slit damper (NSD) to achieve better energy
an individual link Kel , can be calculated as below (Eqs. (5), (6) and (7)):
dissipation capacity. Garivani et al. [33] introduced a new type of
yielding damper called comb-teeth damper, CTD. An optimum geometry 2
fy = tλσ y (5)
for teeth having a parabolic shape was suggested, which assures uniform 3
distribution of stress along them and prevents strain localization. In this ∫ 3
study the latter idea is extended to design of a steel slit shear wall and an
h
∂U ∂M(x) M(x) 4σ y h2
δy = =2 dx = (6)
optimal geometry is proposed.
1
∂f 0 ∂f EI(x) 3Eλ2
3 √̅̅̅ 3
2.2. The proposed geometry for slit shear wall Kle =
fy Etλ2
= 3 =
2 Etλ2
(7)
3
δy 2h2 l2
The geometry of proposed slit wall and individual link as well as the In these equations σ y is material yield stress.
bending moment and shear force diagrams of the link are shown in
By increasing the number of rows of slits, flexural links in each row
Fig. 2. The schematic figure shows that when subjected to horizontal act in parallel; on the other hand rows of flexural links act in series.
displacement, the steel slit wall undergoes an overall shear deformation.
Considering these explanations and above equations, the elastic stiffness
However the links between the slits behave as beams in a double cur­ of the slit wall with m rows of slits and n flexural links in each row can be
vature state of deformation, which work in parallel. Since the links act in
determined with Eq. (8). So increasing the number of rows of slits re­
parallel, the behavior of the slit wall can be approximately studied by duces the height of the flexural links and improves the wall stiffness.
that of an individual link. Fig. 2-b shows one of the links of a typical steel
√̅̅̅
slit shear wall. If n is the number of links of the wall, when a shear force
3
2 nEtλ2
e
Kwall-flex = (8)
of magnitudeFis applied to the wall, the shear force, which is transferred 3
m l2
to each link, f, is equal to:
All above calculations and results are based on the assumptions that
F shear yielding does not occur in the middle of links and out of plane
f= (1)
n buckling of the links under bending does not occur and the behavior of
Considering the boundary conditions shown in Fig. 2-b, this shear the link follows the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. In order to check the
force causes a uniform shear force distribution and a triangular moment validity of the latter assumption, the shares of shear and flexural en­
distribution along the link. Based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and ergies (US , UM ) in the total strain energy of the link should be checked.
assuming a rectangular section, the elastic section modulus and the The shear and flexural parts of total strain energy are
bending stress in the outer fiber section before yielding can be calculated 4(1 + ν)k f 2 h0.5
by Eqs. (2) and (3), respectively. US =
Etλ0.5
(9)
tb2 (x) 2f 2 h1.5
S(x) = (2) UM =
6 Etλ1.5
6fx κ is the shear correction factor and is equal to 1.2 for rectangular
σ (x) = (3) cross sections. G and ν are the shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio,
tb2 (x)
respectively. Thus, in the case of steel with ν = 0.3, the ratio of shear
x is the distance from the middle to the end of the link, t is plate energy to total strain energy is
thickness and b (x) is the width of the link at this section. As seen, the
characteristics of a link depend on b (x), which defines the shape of link. US
=
US
=
3.12λ
(10)
An optimal shape of the link is when the plastic deformation is uniformly U US + UM h
distributed along the links. If it is assumed that: As a rule of thumb, the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory produces
√̅̅̅̅̅ negligible errors when US /U < 0.1. For US /U ≥ 0.1 the Timoshenko
b(x) = 2 λx (4)
beam theory, which includes the effects of shear deformations, is well

3
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

suited; so the stiffness of slit wall is calculated based on combining the √̅̅̅̅̅̅ √̅̅̅
shear deformation of plate (KShear ) and flexural deformations of links KShear =
κGnt 2λl κtG λ n
+ √̅̅̅̅ (12)
(KFlexural ) when λ/h < 0.03[11]. (hwall − ml) 2l m

1 So the total stiffness of the slit wall can be obtained from Eq. (13).
e
Kwall = 1 1
(11)
+ KShear 1
(13)
KFlexural e
Kwall = 3 √̅̅̅
The flexural stiffness can be obtained from Eq. (8). The shear stiffness
(hwall − ml)
l2
√̅̅̅ 3
m
n
+ √̅̅̅̅
κGnt 2λl
+ κtG2l√̅λ m
n
2 Etλ2
contributed by the upper part, middle part and lower part of the slits is:

Fig. 4. Specifications of experimental specimens.

4
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

3. Out-of-Plane buckling of slit shear walls √ ̅̅̅ ( )1.5 3

3
βl 4.68 t √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
= 2.34⇒Pcr− 0 = EGλ (22)
In this section the lateral stability of links associated with bending 2 l 3
about the strong axis of the section is studied. In the slit shear walls, the The other solutions of Eq. (21) are:
links subjected to bending can be considered to behave similar to fixed-
( )1.5 3
ended beams. In the compression zone of the laterally unsupported links, 5.738 t √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
Pcr− 1 = EGλ
lateral torsional buckling may occur. This type of out-of-plane buckling l 3
may be prevented or postponed using clamps composed of double ( )1.5 3
8.176 t √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
channels placed on both sides of the plate and bolted to each other. Pcr− 2 = EGλ
l 3
A beam, which is bent about its section major axis, may buckle
( )1.5 3
laterally at certain values of loads. Considering a beam with a variable 11.042 t √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
Pcr− 4 = EGλ (23)
rectangular cross section shown in Fig. 3, the differential equations for l 3
bending of the beam become: ( )1.5 3
13.572 t √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
Pcr− 6 = EGλ
d2 ν l 3
EIξ = Mξ ( )1.5 3
dz2 t √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
(14) Pcr− 8 =
15.888
EGλ
d2 u l 3
EIη 2 = Mη
dz
The above are the critical values of P, causing buckling of individual
In these equations Iξ and Iη are the principal moments of inertia of the links of the slit shear wall in different modes. Physically these values of
cross section about ξ and η axes, respectively. The equation for twisting critical load may be attained, if required numbers of clamps are placed
of the buckled bar is: on both sides of the link, forcing it to buckle in higher mode.
dϕ d3 ϕ
C − C1 3 = M ζ (15) 4. Development of test program
dz dz

where C = GJ is the torsional rigidity and C1 = ECw is the warping ri­ 4.1. Specimen specifications
gidity.
Under the boundary conditions shown in Fig. 3: Part of this investigation consisted of studying the SSW system
( ) experimentally. The experimental program consisted of two one-third
l
Mx = − P − z , My = 0 , Mz = P(− u1 + u) scaled, single bay-single story specimens. Apart from the primary
2 objective, which is to validate the behavior of this new earthquake-
( ) ( ) ( )
l l l du resisting element, the testing program had another objective, to
Mξ = − P − z , Mη = − P ϕ − z , Mζ = P − z − P(u1 − u) examine the effect of web plate connection to surrounding frame.
2 2 2 dz
(16) Accordingly, the two types of specimens consisted of a full panel SSW
and a partial panel SSW. When the web plate is not connected to the
The quantity u1 represents the deflection of the end of the beam, column, all the shear force corresponding to the web plate capacity and
assumed positive when in the direction of the positive x axis. yielding at the end of the beams need to be transferred by the beam to
Substituting these expressions into equations 14 and 15; and differen­ the column connection. This may cause an early failure of the beam to
tiating with respect to z, and eliminating d2 u/dz2 = − P ϕ (l/2 − z) /EIη : column connection. In the full panel specimen, the steel slit shear wall
( )2 was connected to the column and the tangential radius at the end of the
4 2 P2 l
2
− z ϕ slits for last slit was increased from 9 mm to 18 mm. The main param­
d ϕ d ϕ
C1 − C 2− =0 (17) eters studied were the stiffness, the strength, the stress distribution
dz4 dz EIη
throughout the slits and the failure modes. The strength and the stiffness
Introducing a new variable, s = l/2 − z, Eq. (17) can be written in the were later compared against results obtained from FEA.
form of Eq. (18): Hot rolled sections IPE220 and IPB200 (HEB200) profiles were used
as beam and column members of frame, respectively. Span length, col­
d4 ϕ d2 ϕ P2 s2 ϕ
C1 − C 2 − =0 (18) umn height and floor height in both samples were 1240 mm, 1550 mm
ds4 ds EIη and 1000 mm, respectively. Details of designed specimens are shown in
For a beam of narrow rectangular section, the warping rigidity can be Fig. 4-a, 4-b. In order to prevent out-of-plane deformation of frame, a
taken as zero and Eq. (18) can be converted to Eq. (19): pair of 2BOX 80 × 40 × 4 mm were used as lateral bracing system on the
upper level of the specimens on both sides. Lateral bracing locations are
C
d 2 ϕ P2 s 2 ϕ
+ =0 (19) shown in Fig. 4-c. End of columns were simply supported by using hinges
ds2 EIη which were attached to strong base with M30 high strength bolts. The
For a beam with variable section: arrangements of these bolts are shown in Fig. 4-d. Full penetration
√̅̅̅̅̅̅ groove was used for column to base plate. In SSW-1 the beam-to-column
b(s)t3 2 λ st3 connection was made by connecting the beam flange and web to the
J= =
3 3 column flange using full penetration groove weld. However in SSW-2 in
√̅̅̅̅̅̅ 3 (20)
b(s)t3 λ st addition to welding the beam flange and web, the cover plates depicted
Iη =
12
=
6 in Fig. 4-b was also used for beam-to-column connection. Top and bot­
tom flange plates with dimensions200 × 90 × 12 mm and200 × 120 ×
Also using the notation β = 9P2 /EGλ t 6 Eq. (19) can be written as: 8 mm, respectively, were welded to the column flange using complete
d2 ϕ joint penetration (CJP) groove welds, and to beam flange using fillet
+β s ϕ = 0 (21) weld. The plates effectively strengthen the connection so that flexural
ds2
yielding of the beam at the end of the cover plate can provide the
The lowest root of general solution of Eq. (21) is:
connection ductility. After construction of the specimens, quality control
of the welds was done. Ultrasonic testing for groove welds and dye

5
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Table 1
Mechanical property of steel materials.
Type Steel DIN Young, s Modulus Yield Stress Ultimate Stress
standard
E (GPa) Fy (MPa) Fu (MPa)

Web Plate (PL. 5 mm) SSW-1 ST-37 206 297 401

SSW-2 348 393
IPE 220 Flange SSW-1 ST-37 206 363 520
SSW-2 318 521
IPE 220 Web SSW-1 ST-37 206 364 489
SSW-2 327 466
IPB 200 Flange SSW-1 ST-37 206 282 451
SSW-2 347 511
IPB 200 Web SSW-1 ST-37 206 342 477
SSW-2 343 525

penetration testing for fillet welds were performed based on the AWS
standard [34].

4.2. Material properties

To determine the material properties of the boundary members and

the web plate, a series of tests were conducted on coupons taken from
this material. The coupons were taken from unused sections of members
or from lengths of plate cut immediately adjacent to the material used in
the slit wall specimen. All tested coupons were of the same configura­
tion, as outlined in ASTM standard ASTM E8M − 98 [35]. Two coupons
were tested for each material. The values obtained by the coupon test
indicate that the steel used for the specimens conform to St-37 according
to DIN standard, with a specified minimum ultimate strength of 370
MPa. Mechanical properties of the steels used for all specimens are
summarized in Table 1.

4.3. Test setup

As shown in Fig. 5, specimens were fixed in the test rig by high-

strength bolts. The test rig consisted of ground beam and steel reac­
tion frame. The lateral in-plane deformation of the test specimen was
controlled using the loading system, which consisted of a horizontal
hydraulic jack, a hydraulic pump system, and a control computer. A load
cell attached to the head of each jack measured the horizontal load
applied by the jack. Digital displacement transducers that had a reso­
lution of 0.02 mm were used to measure the displacements of the
Fig. 5. Test setup. specimen.
Fig. 6 presents the test setup in the laboratory. The horizontal load
was applied at the location of top beam by actuator whose capacity was
1000 kN with an accuracy of 0.01 kN. In addition, two sets of lateral
bracing were set to keep the loading beam stay in-plane. All specimens

Fig. 6. Test sample before loading.

6
Z. Ahmadi et al.
Fig. 7. Quasi-static displacement control loading sequence.
Fig. 8. Positions of LVDTs installed on specimens.
were painted with a layer of diluted lime to facilitate the observation of
yielding locations in the specimen during loading.
4.4. Loading and measurements
To simulate earthquake loading effects and to investigate the cyclic
behavior, quasi-static cyclic tests were employed, which use a horizontal
in-plane load history. This is a gradually increasing load or displacement
in successive cycles. Each test was conducted under fully reversed cyclic
loading in both the elastic and inelastic response regions. AISC341-16
[5] protocol was applied in order to evaluate the cyclic behavior.
Based on this protocol the number of loading cycles and the maximum
horizontal displacement applied to the specimens are as follows:
- Six cycles of fully-reversing displacement at 0.375%, 0.5% and
0.75% drift ratio are applied.
- Displacement is then increased to 1% drift ratio for four cycles.
- The loading is followed by two cycles of 1.5% drift ratio.
- The loading is continued to 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% and 6% drift ratio or
until the applied force diminishes to 25% of the maximum strength.
The described cyclic loading is shown in Fig. 7. It should be noted
that since the displacement of the middle of the top beam was monitored
as the control point in the laboratory and there were small slipping and
rotation at the base connection during loading, the applied displace­
ments were actually slightly different from intended values, especially in
cycles with small displacement.
During the loading process, the applied load and displacement values
at the top of the specimen were continuously measured using load cells
and LVDTs. In addition LVDTs measured the magnitude of the defor­
mation at other points of the specimen and they were recorded contin­
uously by the data logger. The positions of the LVDTs are shown in
Fig. 8.
7
Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296
5. Experimental results
5.1. Specimen SSW-1
The first cycle that showed minor signs of yielding in this specimen
was cycle 2. In this cycle as well as cycle 3 to 6 (corresponding to
nominal drift ratio of 0.375%) flaking of the white-wash (lime paint) in
the zone between flexural links was observed. Fig. 9-a illustrates the
SSW-1 response in cycle 2. The response of the boundary frame during
the first 18 cycles, up to a nominal drift ratio of 0.75%, was linear. No
flaking of the white-wash paint on the frame was noted during the first
18 cycles. Considerable fairly uniform yielding of flexural links accom­
panied by paint flaking (Fig. 9-b) was observed during cycle 18, corre­
sponding to 0.75% story drift ratio. No visual signs of steel plate
buckling were observed up to cycle 19. Out-of-plane buckling was
observed in the flexural links in this load cycle (nominal drift ratio of
1%) (Fig. 9-c). Inelastic deformations were noted at beam segment near
the beam to column connection during cycle 21. During cycle 29, a
fracture developed at the weld lines of the beam to column connection
(Fig. 9-d). This failure could be due to overstress in the weld. At 4%
nominal drift ratio, a maximum load of 439 kN was applied associated
with a maximum story drift of 66.78 mm. The specimen deformation at
4% drift ratio is shown in Fig. 9-e.
Force-displacement curve of this specimen is shown in Fig. 10.
Hysteresis loops are stable and full. In the elastic region, a high initial
stiffness with little energy dissipation is evident. In the post yield region,
several well-defined segments of the load deformation curves represent
the various stages of loading, unloading, and the reversal of the web
plate buckling. Increased energy dissipation is achieved with each
displacement level increment in the post yield region. Some decrease in
energy dissipation in subsequent cycles at the same displacement level is
noted, due to local damage. Sequence of significant inelastic action in
the specimen consisted of yielding of the web plate followed by yielding
of the boundary frame.
5.2. Specimen SSW-2
The response of the SSW-2 during the first 18 cycles was effectively
linear despite some localized yielding detected in the web plate. Yielding
initially occurred during cycle 1 (nominal drift ratio of 0.375%) at the
end of the slits. By increasing load and displacement amplitude, the
yielded areas on the web plate grew larger. In cycle 13 (nominal drift
ratio of 0.75%), parabolic shape basically generated fairly uniform
yielding; however, plastic deformation was observed at the ends of the
slits (Fig. 11-a). None of these signs of local yielding had any noticeable
effect on the global load versus deflection response of the slit wall and
the behavior remained fairly linear elastic. The surrounding frame also
remained elastic during first 18 cycles. With increasing displacement
amplitude in the subsequent cycles, larger stresses and significant plastic
deformation occurred in the region between the two rows of slits at the
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Fig. 9. Specimen SSW-1 during test.

1% drift ratio accompanied with flaking of the white-wash paint due to

Fig. 10. Hysteresis curves of SSW-1.
shear. In cycle 21 (nominal drift ratio of 1%), the inner links deformed
out-of-plane in the upper left of the link as evidence of initiation of
buckling due to deformation of the flexural link. Moreover, when in­
elastic buckling took place, residual out-of-plane deformations remained
clearly visible. The buckling of links can be seen in Fig. 11-b. In cycle 27
(nominal drift ratio of 3%) inelastic deformations were created in the
beams at the end of cover plates. In cycle 29 (nominal drift ratio of 4%)),
flange local buckling was detected at both ends of the beam near the
beam-to-column connection (Fig. 11-c). Local buckling in the web of the
beam was also observed. A small tear at the web beam was observed in
cycle 34 (nominal drift index of 6%) (Fig. 11-d). Altogether SSW-2
performed in a very ductile manner, reaching 6% inter story drift
(Fig. 11-e) before load carrying capacity dropped below 80% of ultimate
strength. In this specimen, yielding of the web plate occurred first and
then plastic zone spread in the web plate, the beam end zones were also

8
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Fig. 11. Specimen SSW-2 during test.

plastified at last.
The base shear versus deformation of SSW-2 is presented in Fig. 12.
In cycle 1 to 18 the specimen behavior is elastic with high initial stiff­
ness. This high initial stiffness is a necessary requirement for an ideal
lateral load resisting system in order to minimize drift under wind and
service loads. The slope of the unloading curve represents the elastic
stiffness of the specimen. As can be seen, there is slight reduction of
stiffness after each loading cycle.

6. Finite element modelling

Fig. 12. Hysteresis curves of SSW-2. ABAQUS Finite element software [36] was used in this research to

9
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Fig. 14. Force-displacement curve for (7x-16).

Stress versus strain responses obtained from tension coupon tests

Fig. 13. Finite element model of slit walls.
analyze the behavior of structural models. This analysis was carried out
to determine the hysteretic characteristics, the spread of strains through
the slit walls and to study the out-of-plane buckling of the flexural links.
Both the web plate and boundary elements were modeled using a
general-purpose four-node doubly-curved shell element with reduced
integration (S4R). The S4R element is based on an isoperimetric
formulation. This element uses one integration point on its mid-surface
to form the element internal force vector. Reduced integration elements
are used as they give accurate results and significantly reduce running
time if the elements are not distorted locally. The element size was
selected from a mesh refinement study.
In a real application, a steel plate normally has some initial plate
imperfections resulting from various sources such as slightly rotated
connection between the plate and the beams or due to residual strains
introduced by the cutting. Any initial out-of-plane deformations can
significantly affect the initial behavior compared to a perfectly flat plate.
The definition of initial imperfection in FE model includes a basic shape
plus any numbers of additional ones added to the basic shape using a
linear combination. Imperfections based on linear buckling modes can
be used for the analysis of structures. Therefore in order to define the
shape of imperfections an eigenvalue buckling analysis was carried out
on the perfect structure to establish probable shapes. The lowest buck­
ling mode is frequently assumed to provide the most critical imperfec­
tions; therefore it should have the largest factor. The magnitudes of the
perturbations used are typically a few percent of a relative structural
dimension such as shell thickness. For this purpose an initial imperfec­
tion equal to 0.5 mm was considered in wall specimens. The magnitude
of the imperfection was found not to have a significant effect as buckling
of the plate occurred early when the system pushed.
were used to identify the Young’s modulus and yield strength of the steel
used for the models. The von Mises yield criterion was adopted for the
analyses presented in this study. The associated flow rule was used to
obtain the plastic strain increment.
6.1. Finite element model of slit walls
FEM analysis was initially applied to predict the behavior of the slit
walls. The steel slit wall was assumed to be made from a steel plate with
rows of vertical slits separated by equidistant spaces, which forms a
series of flexural links between the slits. Steel panels had the dimensions
of 800 × 739.5 × 4.5 mm, which was about one-quarter to one-third of
the full scale applications. The bottom edge of the models was
completely constrained while for the top edge, only the horizontal
translations were released. Fig. 13 shows an example of the typical
models. A displacement control solution was used in this study for all
analyses. The displacement at the top of the plate was used as the control
parameter and the analysis was carried out under monotonic loading
and it was stopped when the displacement reached a specified limit.
Here a comparison can be established between the results obtained
from the equations developed in Section 2 of this paper for the design of
slit shear wall and those of the FEM analysis. Table 2 compares the
elastic stiffness of the slit wall Kei , and also its yielding load fy , and
yielding displacement δy , obtained from finite element analysis and
those of derived formulas. The specimens are designated as follows: The
first digit indicates the λ and the second digit corresponds to b0 , which
are defined in Section 2.2. In FEM analysis fy and δy are obtained from bi-
linear curved filled to the actual force-displacement curve and fyi ,δyi are
associated with the first yield point, as shown in Fig. 14. In this case, the
equations reproduce FEM results with an error of approximately 4.00%.
This shows that the suggested formulas produce satisfactory results.

Table 2
Characteristics of studied specimens and the results obtained from different methods.
Sample No. of Rows No. of Links b0 (mm) λ (mm) Analitical Equation FEM

fy δy Kel fy δy Kel fyi δyi

3x – 7.15 1 12 7.15 3.00 37.72 9.10 4.14 49.22 11.37 4.33 37.44 8.70
4x –16 1 10 16.00 4.00 41.91 7.88 5.32 53.77 10.15 5.30 40.28 7.60
2 14 58.67 5.68 10.33 60.15 5.93 10.14 57.12 5.60
5x –16 1 9 16.00 5.00 47.14 7.05 6.69 62.65 9.42 6.65 46.62 7.00
2 13 16.00 68.10 5.08 13.40 72.71 5.93 12.25 63.80 5.08
7 x –16 1 8 7.00 58.67 6.07 9.66 79.49 8.39 9.47 58.00 6.10

10
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Table 3 6.3. Finite element model of test specimens

Comparison of the critical buckling load from the proposed equations and the
FEM analysis. Fig. 15 shows the FE models of SSW-1 and SSW-2 specimens, which
Sample Pcr-FEM Pcr–EQ(kN) Clamps Position have been subjected to cyclic loading. Simply support conditions were
(kN) simulated at the base of columns. Out-of-plane deformations were
No Clamp 25.60 26.40 – restrained only at the level of lateral brace system. Fig. 16 shows the
1 Clamp per Link 35.83 35.84 0.50l stress distribution of SSW-2 at three levels of applied lateral deflections.
2 Clamps per 61.36 60.97 0.291,0.68l As seen, it confirms both simultaneous yielding of outer fibers and also
Link
uniform spread of plastic region within the link. When the wall is sub­
4 Clamps per 96.29 95.69 0.21l,0.37l,0.62l,0.82l
Link jected to the cyclic loading, out-of-plane deformations in the system
6 Clamps per 132.36 130.39 0.17l, 0.30l, 0.41l, 0.59l, 0.74l, gradually increases; hence fairly uniform stress distribution at the
Link 0.88l relevant link will be lost. Fig. 17 compares the results of finite element
and experimental models.
Curves shown in dotted line in Fig. 18, are the envelope curves of
6.2. Buckling analysis of individual flexural links
each SSW obtained from a nonlinear finite element analysis. Good
agreement is observed between the prediction obtained from the finite
To provide for a numerical verification of the equations developed in
element analysis and the behavior observed in the experiments. This
Section 3, a finite element model of a single flexural link was developed
figure indicates that stiffness of SSW-2 in the elastic and inelastic range
in ABAQUS. The flexural links modeled have 500 mm in height, a
is somewhat different from the stiffness of the SSW-1. The elastic stiff­
thickness of 5 mm, λ = 30 mm and a various numbers of clamps.
ness of SSW-2 is nearly 30% larger than that of SSW-1.
Obtaining a more accurate approximation to the real boundary condi­
The value of applied load for occurring the first yielding in the sys­
tion of flexural link, the assembly was fixed at the bottom; the rotation
tem is called the elastic strength and the maximum applied load is called
and vertical displacement at the top was restrained. Out-of-plane de­
the ultimate strength. Fig. 18 indicates that the elastic strength and ul­
formations were restrained only at the level of clamps situations. The
timate strength of the SSW-2 are nearly 55% larger compared to the
model was analyzed to estimate the critical buckling load of the flexural
SSW-1. So by connecting the web plate to column and strengthening the
links. The results are presented in Table 3. A good correlation between
beam-to-column connections, not only the early damage of beam-to-
the numerical (Pcr− FEM ) and analytical (Pcr− EQ ) results from Equations
column connection has been prevented, but also the initial stiffness,
(22) and (23) was observed.
elastic strength and ultimate strength have been increased.
Energy dissipation capacity refers to the structure or component

Fig. 15. Finite element models of specimens.

Fig. 16. Stress distribution along the link in different stages of loading.

11
Z. Ahmadi et al. Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296

Fig. 17. Comparison of hysteresis curves obtained from the experimental and FE models.

Fig. 18. Comparison of envelope curves obtained from the experimental and FE model.

6.4. Key characteristics comparison

In this section the key parameters representing the characteristics of

the tested specimens are compared with those of FE results and
analytical equations. Generally, in the tested specimens steel moment
frame and slit wall act in parallel.
The total stiffness of the specimens can be written as
( )
1 24EIc 1
Ktotal = Kwall + Kframe = 3 √̅̅̅ + 3 (24)
(hwall − ml)
+ κtG2l√̅λ mn hc ρ+1
√̅̅̅ 3 n + κGnt√̅̅̅̅
l2 m
2 Etλ
2 2λl

whereρ = Lb Ib /hc Ic , Lb beam length, hc column height, Ib andIc is the beam

Fig. 19. Energy dissipation of experimental specimens.
ability of absorbing energy after plastic deformation in earthquake ac­
tion. Total energy dissipation for SSW-1and SSW-2 is shown in Fig. 19.
According to this figure, increasing the number of flexural links, con­
necting the web plate to surrounding frame and strengthening the beam-
to-column connection has improved the energy dissipation capacity of
the specimen. For SSW-2 this capacity is 2.78 times larger than that of
SSW-1. Also in SSW-2, 30% of total energy dissipation is related to web
plate.
and column moment of inertia respectively. In this equation the wall
stiffness has been taken from that given in Section 2.2.
Table 4 compares the results and shows a brief summary of the
experimental results (KEXP , Fy(EXP) ), the numerical results (KFEA , Fy(FEA) )
and the proposed formulas (KEQ , Fy(EQ) ). It shows the results estimated
by proposed formulas are within 12.90% of the experimental results for
SSW-1 and 6.10% for SSW-2.
Regarding the total yielding strength of the specimens, the following
can be written:
2 4Sb σy
fy(total) = fy(wall) + fy(frame) = ntλσ y + (25)
3 Lb − 2Sh

Table 4
Specimens key characteristic summary.
Specimen KEXP (kN /mm) KFEA (kN /mm) KEQ (kN /mm) Fy(EXP) (kN) Fy(FEA) (kN) Fy(EQ) (kN)

SSW-1 56.00 59.50 67.18 414.40 404.38 402.60

SSW-2 76.60 78.00 82.75 557.69 554.87 557.67

12
Z. Ahmadi et al.
whereSb is the effective elastic section modulus at that plastic hinge
location. The distance to plastic hinge from the face of the column(Sh )is
used to determine the moments at the plastic hinge locations and col­
umn faces. In this equation the wall yielding load has been taken from
that given in Section 2.2. According to the values shown in Table 4, the
error of the yielding load for SSW-1 and SSW-2 is, in general, within
2.90% and 0.50% respectively.
Out-of-plane buckling of the links can be classified in two categories:
elastic buckling and inelastic buckling. When appropriate number of
clamps is used, the elastic buckling of the links is postponed and yielding
occurs prior to elastic buckling allowing energy dissipation in the links.
Later inelastic buckling of links occurs due to progressive yielding of
links. The critical force, causing elastic buckling of individual links of
the slit shear wall, has been determined in Section 3. Based on the test
resultfyi , associated with the first yield point of individual links, for SSW-
1 and SSW-2 are 32.46 kN and 34.45 kN, respectively. Since the critical
elastic buckling force of the clamped links is 35.84 kN, which is greater
than the values offyi , the figures confirm the design objective of yielding
prior to elastic buckling.
7. Conclusions
In this study a new shape for steel slit shear wall was proposed.
Similar to conventional slit wall, the energy dissipation mechanism of
proposed slit wall is in-plane flexural deformations of links. The new
shape for the links ensures simultaneous yielding along their length. A
couple of clamps were used to restrain out-of-plane buckling of the slit
wall. Specimens were analyzed and tested under monotonic and cyclic
loading. The main parameters studied were the strength, stiffness, stress
distribution and energy dissipation. The major findings are summarized
as following:
• Steel slit shear wall shows a stable hysteresis curve without any
pinching.
• By increasing the number of rows of slits, stiffness of the wall
increases.
• By connecting the wall to the column and strengthening the beam-to-
column connection, stiffness, strength and energy dissipation of the
system increase and shear hinge creation and early damage occur­
rence in beam-to-column connection is also prevented.
• The frame equipped with the proposed steel slit shear wall can
withstand the 6% drift ratio without any significant damage or
strength reduction. This is a high level of ductility, which is more
than what is expected from special moment frame.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
References
[1] M. Bruneau, C. Uang, R. Sebelli, Ductile Design of Steel Structure, 2th Edition, Mc
Graw Hill, New York, NY, USA, 2011.
[2] L. Thorburn, G. Kulak, C. Montgomery, Analysis of Steel Plate Shear Walls”,
Structural Engineering Report No. 107, Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, 1983.
[3] P. Timler, G. Kulak, Experimental Study of Steel Plate Shear Walls”, Structural
Engineering Report No, vol. 114, Department of Civil Engineering, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, 1983.
[4] M. Behbahanifard, G. Grondin, A. Elwi, Experimental and Numerical Investigation
of Steel Plate Shear Wall”, Structural Engineering Repor No. 254, Department of
Civil Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, 2003.
[5] AISC, “Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings”, ANSI/AISC, vols. 341–16,
American Institute of Steel Construction Inc, Chicago, 2016.
[6] Vian, D., and Bruneau, M. (2004), “Testing of Special LYS Steel Plate Shear Walls”,
Proceedings of the 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Paper No.
978, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, August1-6, 2004.
13
Thin-Walled Structures 159 (2021) 107296
[7] J.W. Berman, M. Bruneau, Experimental investigation of light-gauge steel plate
shear walls, J. Struct. Eng. 131 (2) (2005) 259–267, https://doi.org/10.1061/
(ASCE)0733-9445(2005)131:2(259).
[8] Sh Chen, Ch Jhang, Cyclic behavior of low yield point steel shear walls, Journal of
Thin-Walled Structures 44 (2006) 730–738, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
tws.2006.08.002.
[9] Sh Chen, Ch Jhang, Experimental study of low-yield point steel plate shear wall
under in-plane load, J. Constr. Steel Res. 67 (2011) 977–985, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.jcsr.2011.01.011.
[10] X. Ma, E. Borchers, A. Pena, H. Krawinkler, S. Billington, G.G. Deierlein, Design
and Behavior of Steel Shear Plates with Openings as Energy Dissipating Fuses”,
Report No. 173, The John A Blume Earthquake Engineering Center., 2010.
[11] T. Hitaka, Ch Matsui, Experimental study on steel shear wall with slits, ASCE
Journal of Structural Engineering 129 (5) (2003) 586–595, https://doi.org/
10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(2003)129:5(586).
[12] Muto, K., Ohmori, N. and Takahashi, T. (1973), “A Study on Reinforced Concrete
Slitted Shear Walls for High-Rise Buildings”, 5th World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, (Rome, Italy, June).
[13] K. Muto, “Earthquake Resistant Design of 36-storied Kasumigaseki Building”, 4th
World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (Special Report), Chile, Santiago,
1969.
[14] G. Cortes, J. Liu, Experimental evaluation of steel slit panel-frames for seismic
resistance, J. Constr. Steel Res. 67 (2011) 181–191, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jcsr.2010.08.002.
[15] T. Hitaka, A. Jacobsen, Cyclic tests on RC-steel shear plate composite wall system
Applicable in beam spans with large openings, ASCE Composite Construction in
Steel and Concrete VI (2011) 466–478, https://doi.org/10.1061/41142(396)38.
[16] T. Hitaka, Ch Matsui, J. Sakai, Cyclic test on steel and concrete-filled tube frames
with slit walls, Journal of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics 36
(2007) 707–727, https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.648.
[17] Cortes, G. and Liu, J. (2008), “Steel Slit Panel Configurations”, 14th World
Conference on Earthquake Engineering, (Beijing, China, October).
[18] G. Cortes, J. Liu, Lateral Resistance Using Steel Slit Panel Frames (SSPFs), ASCE
Structures Congress, 2009, pp. 1447–1451.
[19] Jacobsen, A., Hitaka, T., Nakashima, M., McCormick, J., J. Wang x, and Murata, Y.
(2008), “Condition Assessment Application of Steel Shear Walls with Slits”, 14th
World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, (Beijing, China, October).
[20] A. Jacobsen, T. Hitaka, M. Nakashima, Online test of building frame with slit-wall
dampers capable of condition assessment, J. Constr. Steel Res. 66 (2010)
1320–1329, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2010.04.011.
[21] A. Jacobsen, Development of Steel Slit Wall Dampers with Embedded Condition
Assessment Capabilities, Ph.D. Dissertation, Kyoto University, Japan, 2010.
[22] M. Hebdon, J. Lloyd, J. Liu, Practical Design Considerations for Steel Slit Panel
Frames, ASCE Structures Congress, 2012, pp. 1577–1585.
[23] M. Ito, Y. Taniguchi, N. Tsuboyama, K. Hoki, M. Nakashima, Stiffening Methods for
Enhancement of Hysteretic Performance of Slitted Steel Shear Walls, 15th World
Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Lisboa, Portugal, September, 2012.
[24] M. Kurata, L. He, M. Nakashima, Steel slit shear walls with double-tapered links
capable of condition assessment, Journal of Earthquake Engineering & Structural
Dynamics 44 (8) (2014) 1271–1287, https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.2517.
[25] K. Ke, Y. Chen, Design Method of Steel Plate Shear Wall with Slits Considering
Energy Dissipation, 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Lisboa,
Portugal, September, 2012.
[26] K. Ke, Y. Chen, Energy-based damage-control design of steel frames with steel slit
walls, Journal of Structural Engineering and Mechanics 52 (6) (2014) 1157–1176,
https://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2014.52.6.1157.
[27] D. Sahoo, T. Singhal, S.S. Taraithia, A. Saini, Cyclic behavior of shear-and-flexural
yielding metallic dampers, J. Constr. Steel Res. 114 (2015) 247–257, https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2015.08.006.
[28] D. Sahoo, D. Rai, Seismic strengthening of non-ductile reinforced concrete frames
using aluminum shear links as energy-dissipation devices, Journal of Engineering
Structures 32 (11) (2010) 3548–3557, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
engstruct.2010.07.023.
[29] G. Brando, G. Matteis, Experimental and numerical analysis of a multi-stiffened
pure aluminum shear panel, Journal of Thin-Walled Structures 49 (10) (2011)
1277–1287, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2011.05.007.
[30] R.W.K. Chan, F. Albermani, Experimental study of steel slit damper for passive
energy dissipation, Journal of Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 1058–1066,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2007.07.005.
[31] K. Ghabraie, R. Chan, X. Huang, Y. Min Xie, Shape optimization of metallic
yielding devices for passive mitigation of seismic energy, J. Struct. Eng. 32 (2010)
2258–2267, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2010.03.028.
[32] Z. Jie, L. Aiqun, G. Tong, Analytical and experimental study on mild steel dampers
with non-uniform vertical slits, Journal of Earthquake Engineering and
Engineering Vibration 14 (1) (2015) 111–123, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11803-
015-0010-9.
[33] S. Garivani, A.A. Aghakouchak, S. Shahbeyk, Numerical and experimental study of
comb-teeth metallic yielding dampers, International Journal of Steel Structures 1
(2016) 177–196, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13296-016-3014-z.
[34] ANSI/AWS D1, Structural Welding Code-Steel, American Welding Society, 2015,
pp. 1–15.
[35] ASTM E8M-98, Standard Test Methods and Definitions for Mechanical Testing of
Steel Products, American Society for Testing and Materials, 1998.
[36] ABAQUS, User’s Manual, Version 6.11, Hibbitt, Karlsson, and Sorensen Inc, 2010.