Review paper on Effect of Column Removal Scenarios on the Robustness of Steel Plate Shear Wall Structures

Abstract

The robustness of steel plate shear wall (SPSW) structures under abnormal loading conditions has become a critical area of research in modern structural engineering. This study investigates the effect of column removal scenarios on the progressive collapse resistance and overall robustness of SPSW systems. The sudden loss of a primary vertical load-carrying element can trigger severe redistribution of internal forces, potentially leading to disproportionate collapse. To evaluate this behavior, analytical models of multi-story SPSW buildings are developed and analyzed using nonlinear static and dynamic methods in ETABS. Several column removal cases are considered at different locations—corner, edge, and interior columns—to assess the structural response, including plastic hinge formation, load redistribution, lateral deformation, and energy dissipation capacity. The study compares the load-resisting mechanisms and redundancy of SPSW systems under varying removal scenarios and examines the influence of parameters such as story height, panel thickness, and boundary frame stiffness. The results demonstrate that SPSW structures exhibit high redundancy and ductility, with the infill steel plates playing a vital role in redistributing loads after column loss. However, the degree of robustness significantly depends on the column location and the continuity of boundary frames. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the progressive collapse mitigation potential of SPSW systems and provide insights for improving design provisions under extreme event scenarios.