Enhancing of Shear load carrying of Steel Shear Walls using Piezoelectric Actuators

In this research, electromechanical finite element modeling of unstiffened smart steel shear walls (SSSWs) is investigated using ANSYS®. The SSSWs are made of an elastic host plate and piezoelectric active layers. The piezoelectric active layer act as extensive or shear actuation mechanism based on their poling direction (excitant piezoelectric constants in piezoelectric matrix) and applied electrical field. These piezoelectric pieces are used parallel to the diagonal direction of steel plate. In other words, the piezoelectric segments will be placed parallel to the tension field of plate which will happen after buckling. This new combination can be imaged as combination of SSWs with diagonal piezoelectric braces. Load bearing capacity of plate will be increased when an electric field intensity vector is applied

Keywords:

Finite Element Modeling , Steel Shear Walls , Piezoelectric Actuator , Smart Structures