Steel Perforated Shear Panels as Dissipative Devices: Part 1- Experimental Tests

This paper presents two full scale cyclic tests on steel perforated shear plates. These devices have been recently proposed as an effective way for protecting steel and reinforced concrete structures in earthquake prone zones. The response of the proposed devices is analysed with particular regard to the dissipative capacity and the main observed experimental evidences are shown. It is pointed out that the hysteretic cycles could be detrimentally affected by pinching effects and cumulated damage. These are mainly due to unexpected lateral-torsion buckling phenomena that arise when the panel portions delimited by holes are too much slender. On the basis of the experimental results, a reliable finite element model is introduced in a companion paper for carrying out parametric analyses aimed at optimizing the perforation arrangement on the base plate