Effects of using low yield point steel in steel plate shear walls

Steel plate shear walls are lateral load resisting systems, especially against earthquake excitation. They are constructed with or without stiffeners. Stiffened walls are more ductile than those without stiffeners. In this research a numerical study using finite element analysis via a finite element program is conducted. Nine thin steel plate shear wall models were considered in three groups of 5-storey, 10-storey and 15-storey walls. In each group different yield point steel for the infill plate was used. The yield points of infill plates were assumed to be 160, 200 and 240 MPa. The results showed that using low yield point (LYP) steel will increase energy dissipation of models by up to 63%. Using LYP steel also decreases the lateral displacement of models by up to 16%.