The steel shear wall is a lateral load resistant system that consists of steel sheets and is connected to the surrounding beams and columns. These walls are connected in one or two openings and in the entire height of the building and form a tower wall. In this article, the general concepts of this lateral load system are introduced and then the history and selected examples of structures equipped with this system are introduced.
A special shear wall (special plate shear wall) in AISC341 or a steel plates wall in CSAS16 or a special steel plate wall in FEMA2004 is a system resistant to lateral loads that consists of steel plates. and is connected to the beams and columns around it. These walls are connected in one or two openings and in the entire height of the building and form a tower wall.
Special steel shear wall beams and columns in AISC341 are generally considered as horizontal boundary elements and vertical boundary elements. Steel shear walls under the effect of alternating inelastic deformations show a large initial stiffness so that they have ductile behavior and absorb a significant amount of energy.