Numerical and experimental studies on sectional load capacity of concrete-infilled double steel corrugated-plate walls under combined compression and in-plane bending.

The concrete-infilled double steel corrugated-plate walls (CDSCWs) consist of two steel corrugated plates (SCPs), infilled concrete and two boundary elements. The two SCPs are connected by high-strength bolts and the spacing between the two SCPs is filled with concrete. The two vertical boundary elements are installed at both sides of CDSCWs. The sectional load-bearing performance of CDSCWs only under uniform compression has been investigated previously by the authors. But CDSCWs under a combination of compression and in-plane bending moment are applied in practice widely and commonly. Therefore, this paper presents the corresponding sectional load-capacity design method of CDSCWs under a combination of compression and in-plane bending moment. Firstly, an experimental investigation on sectional load-capacity of an I-shaped CDSCW specimen subjected to combined compression and in-plane bending moment is completed. The experimental results reveal a high axial load-bearing efficiency of the SCPs in the CDSCW specimen, and also validated the finite element (FE) model adopted in this study. Then, the FE numerical simulation is applied to systematically analyze the load-bearing performance of CDSCWs subjected to the combination of compression and in-plane bending moment. The coefficient φ sp is introduced to consider the local buckling of compressive zone and the weakening effect of tensile-compressive transition zone in SCPs. The coefficient β c is introduced to consider the weakening effect of tensile-compressive transition zone in concrete and the adverse cooperative effect among SCPs, concrete and boundary elements owing to their different ultimate strains at the ultimate state of CDSCWs. As a result, the N - M correlation curve for predicting the sectional load-bearing capacity of CDSCWs under both the uniform compression and in-plane bending moment is then established and also verified by the experimental results. • CDSCWs have favorable sectional load-bearing capacity. • FE analyses are used to study the load-bearing mechanism of CDSCWs under in-plane combined compression-bending loads. • The weakening effects of local buckling, tensile-compressive transition zone and cooperative performance are considered. • Cross-sectional load-capacity design formulae for CDSCWs are proposed. • An experiment of an I-shaped CDSCW specimen is conducted to investigate the cross-sectional capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]