Seismic behavior of RC frames with partially attached steel shear walls: A numerical study

Steel shear walls are used to strengthen steel and concrete structures. One such system is Partial Attached Steel Shear Walls (PASSW), which are only connected to frame beams. This system offers both structural and architectural advantages. This study first calibrated the numerical model of RC frames with and without PASSW using an experimental sample. The seismic performance of the RC frame was evaluated by 30 non-linear static analyses, which considered stiffness, ductility, lateral strength, and energy dissipation, to investigate the effect of PASSW width and column axial load. Based on numerical results and a curve fitting technique, a lateral stiffness equation was developed for frames equipped with PASSW. The effect of the shear wall location on the concrete frame was evaluated through eight analyses. Nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed to investigate the effect of the shear wall on maximum frame displacement using three earthquake records. The results revealed that if PASSW is designed with appropriate stiffness, it can increase the energy dissipation and ductility of the frame by 2 and 1.2 times, respectively. The stiffness and strength of the frame are greatly influenced by PASSW, while axial force has the most significant negative impact on energy dissipation. Furthermore, the location of PASSW does not affect the frame's behavior, and it is possible to have large openings in the frame bay.