Numerical and experimental study on pure aluminium shear panels with welded stiffeners

Stiffened shear walls as passive control devices to protect moment resisting frame structures against earthquake attacks have been largely used in the last years. In this field, the use of heat treated pure aluminium allows a good hysteretic behaviour of the applied system thanks to the low yield stress point as well as the large ductility of the base material. The main aim of the study is to investigate the cyclic behaviour of a pure aluminium shear panel stiffened by means of welded aluminium ribs. In order to examine the performance of such a device, experimental and numerical analyses have been carried out aiming at evaluating both the stiffening and dissipative capacity for different displacement demands. In the current paper, the tested device and the corresponding numerical model, calibrated on the basis of the experimental evidence, are described and the main results of the analyses are presented.